Dan Penn (born Wallace Daniel Pennington, November 16, 1941) is an American

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

, musician, and

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

, who co-wrote many

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

hits of the 1960s, including " The Dark End of the Street" and " Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" with

Chips Moman Lincoln Wayne "Chips" Moman (June 12, 1937 – June 13, 2016) was an American record producer, guitarist, and songwriter. He is known for working in R&B, pop music and country music, operating American Sound Studios and producing hit albums li ...

and "

Cry Like a Baby Crying is the dropping of tears (or welling of tears in the eyes) in response to an emotional state or physical pain. Emotions that can lead to crying include sadness, anger, joy, and fear. Crying can also be caused by relief from a perio ...

" with Spooner Oldham. Penn also produced many hits, including " The Letter", by The Box Tops. He has been described as a

white soul Blue-eyed soul (also called white soul) is rhythm and blues (R&B) and soul music performed by White people, white artists. The term was coined in the mid-1960s, to describe white artists whose sound was similar to that of the predominantly black ...

and blue-eyed soul singer. Penn has released relatively few records featuring his own vocals and musicianship, preferring the relative anonymity of songwriting and producing. Dan Penn produced an album on Ronnie Milsap in 1970 on Warner Bros. (AKA the Red Album)

Early life and career

Penn grew up in Vernon,

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, United States, and spent much of his teens and early twenties in the Quad Cities–

Muscle Shoals Muscle Shoals is the largest city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. It is located on the left bank of the Tennessee River in the northern part of the state and, as of the 2010 census, its population was 13,146. The estimated popula ...

area.''Dan Penn''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, retrieved 2012-12-01. He was a regular at Rick Hall's

FAME Studios FAME (Florence Alabama Music Enterprises) Studios is a recording studio located at 603 East Avalon Avenue in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, United States, an area of northern Alabama known as the Shoals. Though small and distant from the main recording l ...

as a performer, songwriter, and producer. It was during his time with FAME that Penn cut his first record, "Crazy Over You" in 1960, and wrote his first hit, "Is a Bluebird Blue?", which was recorded by

Conway Twitty Harold Lloyd Jenkins (September 1, 1933 – June 5, 1993), better known by his stage name Conway Twitty, was an American singer and songwriter. Initially a part of the 1950s rockabilly scene, Twitty was best known as a country music performer. ...

in the same year. The success of the number 6 pop hit " I'm Your Puppet" by James & Bobby Purify in 1966 convinced him that songwriting was a lucrative and worthwhile career.

Career moves

In early 1966, Penn moved to Memphis, began writing for Press Publishing Company, and worked with Chips Moman at his

American Sound Studio The American Sound Studio was a recording studio located in Memphis, Tennessee which operated from 1964 to 1972. Founded by Chips Moman, the studio at 827 Thomas Street came to be known as American North, and the studio at 2272 Deadrick Street ...

.Dan Penn Biography
; Danpenn.com Their intense and short-lived partnership produced some of the best known and most enduring songs of the

genre. Their first collaboration, the enduring classic "The Dark End of the Street" (1967), was first a hit for James Carr and has since been recorded by many others. A few months later, during a recording sessions in which

Jerry Wexler Gerald Wexler (January 10, 1917 – August 15, 2008) was a music journalist turned music producer, and was a major influence on American popular music from the 1950s through the 1980s. He coined the term "rhythm and blues", and was integra ...

introduced

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

to FAME Studios and her first major success, the pair wrote "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" in the studio for her, which went to number 37 in Billboard in 1967. In early 1967, Penn produced "The Letter" for the Box Tops. Along with long-time friend and collaborator Spooner Oldham, Penn also wrote a number of hits for the band, including "Cry Like a Baby," another song that has been covered many times.

As songwriter

Songs written or co-written by Penn include: *" I'm Your Puppet" by James & Bobby Purify(1966) *" The Dark End of the Street", recorded by James Carr (1967) *" Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" by Aretha Franklin(1967) *"A Woman Left Lonely", originally recorded by

Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and songwriter. One of the most iconic and successful Rock music, rock performers of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and her "electric" ...

and covered by

Charlie Rich Charles Allan Rich (December 14, 1932July 25, 1995) was an American country singer. His eclectic style of music also blended influences from rockabilly, jazz, blues, soul, and gospel. In the later part of his life, Rich acquired the nickname t ...

", a number 2 hit for The Box Tops(1968) *"Rainbow Road", recorded by Bill Brandon and

Percy Sledge Percy Tyrone Sledge (November 25, 1940 – April 14, 2015) was an American R&B, soul and gospel singer. He is best known for the song " When a Man Loves a Woman", a No. 1 hit on both the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and R&B singles charts in 19 ...

and Marshall Chapman *"It Tears Me Up", recorded by

*"Out of Left Field", recorded by

and Hank Williams, Jr. *" You Left the Water Running", a number 42 R&B hit for Barbara Lynn in 1966,

Wilson Pickett Wilson Pickett (March 18, 1941 – January 19, 2006) was an American singer and songwriter. A major figure in the development of soul music, Pickett recorded more than 50 songs that made the US R&B charts, many of which crossed over to the '' ...

Sam & Dave Sam & Dave were an American soul and R&B duo who performed together from 1961 until 1981. The tenor (higher) voice was Sam Moore (1935–2025) and the baritone/tenor (lower) voice was Dave Prater (1937–1988). Nicknamed "Double Dynamite", " ...

, Maurice and Mac, Billy Young, also recorded by

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

and released posthumously in 1976 *"Like a Road Leading Home" by

Albert King Albert King ( Nelson; April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992), was an American guitarist and singer who is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential blues guitarists of all time. He is perhaps best known for his popular and ...

(1971) and

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician who was the lead guitarist and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence during the counterculture of the 196 ...

*"Slippin' Around", recorded by

Clarence Carter Clarence George Carter (born January 14, 1936) is an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. His most successful songs include "Slip Away (Clarence Carter song), Slip Away", "Back Door Santa" (both released 1968), "Patches (Ch ...

and the Detroit Cobras *"I Hate You", recorded by

Ronnie Milsap Ronnie Lee Milsap (born Ronald Lee Millsaps; January 16, 1943) is an American country music singer and pianist. He was one of country music's most popular and influential performers of the 1970s and 1980s. Nearly completely blind from birth, h ...

, Bobby Blue Bland, and

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock 'n' roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis m ...

*" Sweet Inspiration", a number 5 hit for the Sweet Inspirations in 1968 *"Long Ago", recorded by Bobby Patterson *"Handy" and "Everyday Livin' Days", recorded by Merrilee Rush *"Got a Feelin' for Ya", recorded by Kelly Willis *"I'm Not Through Loving You Yet", recorded by Pegi Young (ex-wife of

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

) on her solo album *"Nobody's Fool", recorded by

Alex Chilton William Alexander Chilton (December 28, 1950March 17, 2010) was an American musician, best known as the lead singer of the rock bands the Box Tops and Big Star. Chilton's early commercial success in the 1960s as a teen vocalist for the Box Tops ...

*"Time I Took a Holiday", recorded by

Nick Lowe Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in Pub rock (United Kingdom), pub rock, power pop and New wave music, new wave,Theryl DeClouet (Galactic) *"Hillbilly Heart", a

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

hit by Johnny Rodriguez that reached number 5 in the United States and number 2 in Canada in 1976 *"Tearjoint", recorded by Faron Young, released as a single in 1980

Career:1970s onwards

Penn continued writing and producing hits for numerous artists during the 1960s and finally released four sides of his own on Happy Tiger in 1970, including "Nobody's Fool." An album of the same name followed on

Bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...

in 1973. He was coaxed into the studio again in 1993 to record the acclaimed "Do Right Man," for which he reunited with many of his friends and colleagues from Memphis and Muscle Shoals Sound Studio. He also has recently written and produced for the Hacienda Brothers. He now lives in

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

and continues to write with Oldham and other contemporaries, such as Donnie Fritts, Gary Nicholson, and Norbert Putnam. Carson Whitsett and Penn have had their collaborations recorded by

Irma Thomas Irma Thomas ( Lee; born February 18, 1941) is an American singer from New Orleans. She is known as the "Soul Queen of New Orleans". Thomas is a contemporary of Aretha Franklin and Etta James, but never experienced their level of commercial succ ...

and

Johnny Adams Laten John Adams Jr. (January 5, 1932 – September 14, 1998), was an American blues, jazz and gospel singer, known as "The Tan Canary" for the multi-octave range of his singing voice, his swooping vocal mannerisms and falsetto. His biggest ...

and often teamed with writers Jonnie Barmett and, later, Hoy Lindsey. The team of Penn, Whitsett, and Lindsey were responsible for the title track of

Solomon Burke Solomon Vincent McDonald Burke (born James Solomon McDonald, March 21, 1940 – October 10, 2010) was an American singer who shaped the sound of rhythm and blues as one of the founding fathers of soul music in the 1960s. He has been called ...

's album '' Don't Give Up on Me'' (also recorded by Joe Cocker), and Penn produced 2005's ''Better to Have It'' by Bobby Purify, which featured twelve songs from the team. Oldham and he also tour together as their schedules permit. In November 2012, the collection ''The Fame Recordings'' was released. It included 24 numbers (23 unreleased) Penn had recorded at the FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, between 1964 and 1966. In the fall of 2013, he was inducted in the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.Announcing the 2013 Alabama Music Hall of Fame Inductees
; Alabama Music Hall of Fame, 2012-11-30.

Discography

*''Nobody's Fool'' (1973) *''Do Right Man'' (1994) *''Moments From This Theatre'' (1999): Live recording (with Spooner Oldham) - Recorded live at various venues, November 1998, in Ireland and the United Kingdom *''Blue Nite Lounge'' (1999) *''Junk Yard Junky'' (2008) *''The Fame Recordings'' (2012): Compilation *''The Complete "Live" Duo Recordings - Dan Penn & Spooner Oldham'' (2015): Double pack. "Moments From This Theatre" CD plus bonus 22-track DVD recorded live June 1, 2006 at St. James Church, Piccadilly, London *''Close To Me: More Fame Recordings'' (2016): Compilation *''Living On Mercy'' (2020)

Notes

References

*Hoskyns, Barney; ''Say It One Time For The Broken Hearted'', Fontana Paperbacks, 1987. *Guralnick, Peter; ''Sweet Soul Music'', Penguin Books, 1991. *Gordon, Robert; ''It Came From Memphis'', Secker & Warburg, 1995. *Younger, Richard: ''Get a Shot of Rhythm and Blues: The Arthur Alexander Story'', The University of Alabama Press, 2000, . {{DEFAULTSORT:Penn, Dan 1941 births Living people People from Vernon, Alabama American male singers Songwriters from Alabama American soul musicians Singers from Alabama Proper Records artists American male songwriters