The 2024 Memphis Music Hall of Fame (MMHOF) Induction Ceremony this Friday, September 27th, was already going to be lit. With the likes of garage boppers The Gentrys, soul men supreme James Carr and Wilson Pickett, and hip-hop producer/rapper Jazze Pha being saluted, the music was guaranteed to be stellar.
But at a ceremony of such historical importance, it’s not just about the performances. Simply having the honorees together in the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts is significant, especially if they are expressing their mutual admiration. And it’s in that spirit that Friday night will suddenly be a lot more stellar, as Neil Young has announced that he’ll be there to induct a legendary player he’s worked with for decades: Dewey “Spooner” Lindon Oldham Jr.
Singer, keyboardist, and songwriter Oldham performed with Young at this weekend’s Farm Aid, but his association with the Canadian folk rock innovator goes back much further than that. He played on Young’s celebrated 1992 album Harvest Moon, appeared in the concert film Neil Young: Heart of Gold, and joined Crosby Stills Nash & Young on their 2006 Freedom of Speech tour. He’s also played in two of Young’s occasional touring bands, The Stray Gators and the Prairie Wind Band.
Oldham’s track record, of course, goes way beyond that. Known for his command of the organ and the Wurlitzer electric piano, he recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, at FAME Studios as part of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section in his early years, playing on such legendary tracks as Percy Sledge’s “When a Man Loves a Woman”, Wilson Pickett’s “Mustang Sally,” and Aretha Franklin’s “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You).” Later Oldham followed Dan Penn to Memphis, working at American Sound Studios as well as in Muscle Shoals, and co-writing hits by the Box Tops, James and Bobby Purify, and Percy Sledge with Penn.
In all, The Memphis Music Hall of Fame will be inducting and honoring nine inductees this year, who will thus expand the Hall of Fame roster to over 100 world-changing Memphis music icons. In addition to Oldham, this year’s inductees include Carr, Pickett, Jazze Pha, and The Gentrys, as well as operatic soprano Kallen Esperian, background singers Rhodes/Chalmers/Rhodes, Memphis Tourism CEO Kevin Kane, and Jack Soden, CEO of Graceland for more than 40 years.
The 2024 Memphis Music Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held Friday, September 27th, at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster (ticketmaster.com) and the Cannon Center box office.