Dan Penn at Treehouse Records

I saw Dan Penn, legendary songwriter of classics like "Dark End of the Street," perform at an in-store at Treehouse Records on Saturday. He played with Bobby Emmons. It was amazing.

Penn grew up in rural Alabama on a "one-mule farm." 

Penn told Rick Mason at the Star Tribune last year: 


"I was a farm boy," he said, "but at night I'd listen to R&B. I listened to my little green radio. I had my own little room. After everybody'd go to sleep, I'd listen to WLAC in Nashville. That was my education."

Here's a rough recording of Penn's performance of "Dark End of the Street." It was recorded on an iPhone in my pocket.