Induction Year: 2024
Birth Name: Wallace Daniel Pennington
Birth Date: 11-16-1941
Place of Birth: Vernon, Alabama
Dan Penn was born in Vernon, AL. As a teenager in high school, he wrote his first hit, “Is A Bluebird Blue” by Conway Twitty.
In 1962, he moved to Muscle Shoals, where he became FAME Studio’s first staff songwriter. In 1966, he relocated to Memphis, where his co-writes with Chips Moman yielded “Do Right Woman, Do Right Man” — a #37 R&B hit for Aretha Franklin; later a #17 Country hit for Barbara Mandrell — and “The Dark End Of The Street” – a #10 R&B hit for James Carr (whose recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2016); later a #24 Country hit for Archie Campbell & Lorene Mann.
Dan’s co-writes with Spooner Oldham created hits such as “I’m Your Puppet” by James & Bobby Purify (#5 R&B/#6 Pop), “It Tears Me Up” by Percy Sledge (#7 R&B), “Cry Like A Baby” by The Box Tops (#2 Pop), “Sweet Inspiration” by The Sweet Inspirations (#5 R&B) and “Take Me (Just As I Am)” by Solomon Burke (#11 R&B).
In the early ’70s, Dan moved to Nashville, where he wrote the Country hits “Hillbilly Heart” by Johnny Rodriguez (#5) and “Another Woman” by T.G. Sheppard (#14). Dan’s songs have also been recorded by Mickey Gilley, Porter Wagoner & Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Charlie Rich, John Prine and Kris Kristofferson.
"A Woman Left Lonely"
(written with Spooner Oldham)
| Charlie Rich | 1971 | #72 Country |
| Janis Joplin | 1971 |
| Jody Miller | 1971 |
| Patti Page | 1971 | #38 Country |
| Rita Coolidge | 1972 |
| Maggie Bell | 1974 |
| Sammi Smith | 1977 |
| Irma Thomas | 1981 |
| Dan Penn | 1999 |
| Kris Kristofferson | 2013 |
"Always David"
(written with Eddie Hinton, Wayne Jackson)
| Ruby Winters | 1969 | #23 R&B |
| The Sweet Inspirations | 1969 |
"Another Woman"
(written with Buzz Cason)
| T.G. Sheppard | 1975 | #14 Country |
| Billy "Crash" Craddock | 1978 | #92 Country |
"Cry Like A Baby"
(written with Spooner Oldham)
| Betty Wright | 1968 |
| Jimmy James & The Vagabonds | 1968 |
| The Box Tops | 1968 | #2 Pop |
| The Ventures | 1968 |
| Arthur Alexander | 1969 |
| Cher | 1969 |
| The Four Freshman | 1969 |
| Lulu | 1970 |
| The Memphis Horns | 1970 |
| Petula Clark | 1971 |
| Joe Stampley | 1975 | #70 Country |
| Kim Carnes | 1980 | #44 Pop |
| Fish Heads & Rice | 1994 |
| Kiki Dee | 2008 |
"Do Right Woman, Do Right Man"
(written with Chips Moman)
| Aretha Franklin | 1967 | #37 Pop |
| Martha & The Vandellas | 1967 |
| The Sweet Inspirations | 1967 |
| Joe Tex | 1968 |
| Cher | 1969 |
| Dionne Warwick | 1969 |
| The Flying Burrito Brothers | 1969 |
| Brenda Lee | 1970 |
| Barbara Mandrell | 1971 | #17 Country |
| Joan Baez | 1971 |
| Joe Cocker | 1973 |
| Gram Parsons | 1974 |
| Kitty Wells | 1974 |
| Billie Jo Spears | 1976 |
| Phoebe Snow | 1978 |
| Willie Nelson | 1982 |
| Etta James | 1993 |
| Dan Penn | 1994 |
| Sinéad O'Connor | 2003 |
| Martina McBride | 2014 |
| Jennifer Hudson | 2021 |
"Hillbilly Heart"
(written with Johnny Christopher)
| Johnny Rodriguez | 1976 | #5 Country |
"I Hate You"
(written with Leroy Daniels)
| Dan Penn | 1973 |
| Ronnie Milsap | 1973 | #10 Country |
| Jerry Lee Lewis | 1978 |
"I Worship The Ground You Walk On"
(written with Spooner Oldham)
| Jimmy Hughes | 1966 | #25 R&B |
| Etta James | 1967 |
| Jackie Montre El | 1968 | #34 R&B |
"I'm Your Puppet"
(written with Spooner Oldham)
| James & Bobby Purify | 1966 | #5 R&B, #6 Pop |
| Peter & Gordon | 1967 |
| Sam & Dave | 1967 |
| Sandy Posey | 1967 |
| The Box Tops | 1967 |
| Dionne Warwick | 1969 |
| Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell | 1969 |
| Donny Osmond | 1971 |
| James & Bobby Purify | 1976 | #12 UK |
| Mickey Gilley | 1988 | #49 Country |
| Paul Young & Elton John | 1993 |
| Dan Penn | 1994 |
| Bobby Womack | 2000 |
| Irma Thomas | 2000 |
| Randy Newman | 2000 |
| John Legend w/ Samuel L. Jackson & Bernie Mac | 2008 |
| Cliff Richard & Percy Sledge | 2011 |
| The Raconteurs | 2019 |
"Is A Blue Bird Blue?"
| Conway Twitty | 1960 | Country, #35 Pop |
"It Tears Me Up"
(written with Spooner Oldham)
| Percy Sledge | 1966 | #7 R&B, #20 Pop |
| Jerry Reed | 1982 |
| Elvis Costello | 1986 |
| Dan Penn | 1994 |
| Johnny Adams | 1998 |
| The Box Tops | 1998 |
| Soul Summit | 2007 |
| Lucinda Williams | 2021 |
"Memphis Women And Chicken"
(written with Donnie Fritts, Gary Nicholson)
| Dan Penn | 1994 |
| T. Graham Brown | 1999 | #73 Country |
| The Dynatones | 1999 |
| Gary Nicholson | 2004 |
| Whitey Johnson [aka Gary Nicholson] | 2008 |
| Donnie Fritts | 2015 |
"Nine Pound Steel"
(written with Wayne Carson)
| Joe Simon | 1967 | #19 R&B, #70 Pop |
| Little Milton | 1976 |
"Oughta Be A Law"
(written with Gary Nicholson)
| Lee Roy Parnell | 1990 | #54 Country |
| Bruce Channel | 1995 |
| Capricorn Rhythm Section | 2006 |
"Out Of Left Field"
(written with Spooner Oldham)
| John Fred & His Playboy Band | 1967 |
| Percy Sledge | 1967 | #25 R&B, #59 Pop |
| Al Kooper | 1976 |
| Hank Williams, Jr. | 1993 |
| Dan Penn | 1999 |
| The Boogie Kings | 2007 |
| Donnie Fritts | 2016 |
| Gregg Allman | 2017 |
"Rainbow Road"
(written with Donnie Fritts)
| Dan Penn | 1964 |
| Joe Simon | 1969 |
| Steve Goodman | 1971 |
| Arthur Alexander | 1972 |
| Joan Baez | 1972 |
| Percy Sledge | 1972 |
| Donnie Fritts | 1975 |
| Donnie Fritts | 1975 |
"Sweet Inspiration"
(written with Spooner Oldham)
| Diana Ross & The Supremes and The Temptations | 1968 |
| King Curtis | 1968 |
| The Sweet Inspirations | 1968 | #5 R&B, #18 Pop |
| Wilson Pickett | 1970 |
| Ike & Tina Turner | 1971 |
| Barbra Streisand | 1972 | #15 Adult Contemporary, #37 Pop |
| Rita Coolidge | 1978 |
| The Platters | 1995 |
| Dan Penn | 1999 |
| Vonda Shepard | 1999 |
| Delaney Bramlett | 2003 |
| Jackie DeShannon | 2006 |
| The Derek Trucks Band | 2009 |
"Take Me (Just As I Am)"
(written with Spooner Oldham)
| Arthur Conley | 1966 |
| Spencer Wiggins | 1966 |
| Charles Chalmers | 1967 |
| Solomon Burke | 1967 | #11 R&B, #49 Pop |
| Z.Z. Hill | 1986 |
"The Dark End Of The Street"
(written with Chips Moman)
Recording is a 2016 Inductee into the Grammy Hall of Fame
| James Carr | 1967 | #10 R&B, #77 Pop |
| Percy Sledge | 1967 |
| Archie Campbell & Lorene Mann | 1968 | #24 Country |
| Joe Tex | 1968 |
| Porter Wagoner & Dolly Parton | 1968 |
| Ann-Margret & Lee Hazlewood | 1969 |
| Gram Parsons | 1969 |
| The Flying Burrito Brothers | 1969 |
| Aretha Franklin | 1970 |
| Ry Cooder | 1972 |
| Linda Ronstadt | 1974 |
| The Kendalls | 1983 |
| Gary Stewart | 1993 |
| Gregg Allman | 1997 |
| John Cowan | 1997 |
| Jennifer Weatherly | 2001 |
| Elvis Costello | 2004 |
| Clarence Carter [as “Making Love (At The Dark End Of The Street)”] | 1969 |
"Up Tight, Good Woman"
(written with Jimmy Johnson, Spooner Oldham)
| Dan Penn | 1965 |
| Wilson Pickett | 1966 |
| Spencer Wiggins | 1967 |
| Solomon Burke | 1969 | #47 R&B |
| Laura Lee [as "Up Tight, Good Man"] | 1967 | #16 R&B, #93 Pop |
"You Left The Water Running"
(written with Oscar Frank, Rick Hall)
| Dan Penn | 1964 |
| Barbara Lynn | 1966 | #42 R&B |
| Wilson Pickett | 1966 |
| James & Bobby Purify | 1967 |
| The Flying Burrito Brothers | 1975 |
| Otis Redding | 1976 |
| The Amazing Rhythm Aces | 1980 |
| The Dynatones | 1985 |
| T. Graham Brown | 1988 |
| Sam & Dave | 1993 |
| Huey Lewis & The News | 1994 |
| Booker T. & The MGs | 1995 |
| Jimmy Hall w/ Steve Cropper | 2016 |
| The Blues Brothers Band | 2017 |
Induction Year: 2024
