Although Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham are perhaps best known for their contributions to soul music, their achievement transcends the limits of genre. When I interviewed Penn for the Scene in 2020, he’d just released his first fully produced album in 26 years, Living on Mercy. As he told me then, “We all had a good time with soul music. That’s what they finally called it, but to us it was R&B pop, and it still is.” With fellow Alabama native Dewey Lindon “Spooner” Oldham, Penn wrote “Cry Like a Baby” and “Fields of Clover” for the Memphis pop band The Box Tops. Meanwhile, the duo wrote the 1970 Clyde McPhatter song “Denver,” which I rank as one of pop R&B’s greatest moments. On their own, both Penn and Oldham have released fine albums, with Penn’s 1973 Nobody’s Fool and Oldham’s 1972 Pot Luck blending rock, pop and R&B. After reuniting in 1991, Penn and Oldham released a set of live performances, 1999’s Moments From This Theatre, which featured Penn’s impassioned singing and Oldham’s exquisite keyboard work. Sunday at City Winery, the great exponents of pop R&B play a rare show together — don’t miss it.
7:30 p.m. Jan. 18 at City Winery
609 Lafayette St.
