As an integral part of the Memphis/Muscle Shoals studio bands of the late '60s, organist Spooner Oldham made a definite mark on the sound of soul music. Starting as a piano player in high school bands, when Oldham graduated and began studying at the University of North Alabama, he quickly found himself skipping classes in favor of hanging around Rick Hall's FAME studios in nearby Florence, Al. After adding the ghostly organ sound on Percy Sledge's runaway hit "When a Man Loves a Woman," Oldham became a member of Rick Hall's ace studio band alongside guitarist Jimmy Johnson, bassist Junior Lowe and drummer Roger Hawkins.
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