Mercy of Muscle Shoals

DOWN ON MUSIC ROW AND IN MUSCLE SHOALS: SONGWRITING LEGEND DAN PENN IS ‘LIVING ON MERCY. ’

- BILL KOPP

Sixty plus years into his career, Alabama-born songwriter and musician Dan Penn returns with a new album. Released this year, Living on Mercy showcases Penn’s brand of music, a style that can be labeled as anything from pop to country to soul to rhythm and blues. That genre-spanning character has been a hallmark of Penn’s work since his earliest recording session, 1960’s “Crazy Over You.”

Dan Penn’s hit songwriting credits make for a long list. A composer of songs with a trademark Southern pop-soul flavor, he’s written or co-written songs made famous by the likes of Aretha Franklin (1967’s “Do Right Woman, Do Right Man,” No. 9 pop, No. 37 R&B), James and Bobby Purify (“I’m Your Puppet,” No. 6 pop, No. 5 R&B that same year), The Box Tops (“Cry Like a Baby,” No. 2 pop in 1968), James Carr (1967’s “The Dark End of the Street,” No. 10 R&B) and many others. His songs have also been covered by artists as varied as the Detroit Cobras, Nick Lowe, Merrilee Rush, Faron Young, Jerry Garcia, Albert King and Hank Williams, Jr.

As a producer and/or engineer, Penn has been involved in the creation of many classics as well: The Box Tops’ “The Letter” and recordings by Irma Thomas, Solomon Burke, Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles, Ronnie Millsap, Frank Black, Steve Cropper, Yo Yo Ma and many others. Penn’s creative outpouring has enhanced the worlds of rock, soul, country, R&B and beyond.