A black-and-white portrait of two middle-aged men, likely musicians. The man on the left, Dan Penn, wears a plaid shirt and is speaking or singing. The man on the right, Spooner Oldham, has a beard and is holding the neck of an acoustic guitar, looking intently at the other man.Dan Penn & Spooner Oldham Credit: Live Nation

There are some people who know all the words to classic songs like “I Never Loved A Man The Way I Loved You”, “Mustang Sally”, and “When A Man Loves A Woman.”

Those monsters owe it all to Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame songwriters who’ve penned tunes for Aretha, Wilson Pickett, Percy Sledge, and more.

The duo plays an intimate St. Petersburg bungalow this weekend where they’ll do the songs, but tell the stories behind them, too.

Tickets for the Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham concert happening at Craftsman House on St. Petersburg on Saturday, Oct. 18 are $50.

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This article appears in Oct. 16 – 22, 2025.

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Read his 2016 intro letter and disclosures from 2022 and 2021. Ray Roa started freelancing for Creative Loafing Tampa in January 2011 and was hired as music editor in August 2016. He became Editor-In-Chief…
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