Dusty Springfield

Dusty Springfield, OBE (April 16, 1939 – March 2, 1999) was an English singer, regarded by many as one of the finest white soul singers of all time. She was born in Hampstead, London as Mary Isabel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien, and was a fan of Peggy Lee from an early age.

Related Topics:
April 16 - 1939 - March 2 - 1999 - English - Soul - Hampstead - London - Peggy Lee

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Her first professional musical experiences was with the group Lana Sisters, a British vocal group she joined in 1958 and recorded several singles with over the next two years. In 1960, she and her brother, Dion, and Tim Field formed The Springfields, a folk trio. O'Brien took the name Dusty Springfield after forming the group, which soon became a popular act in Britain with singles such as "Breakaway", "Bambino" and their biggest hit "Island of Dreams". By 1962, the Springfields had some success in the United States with "Silver Threads and Golden Needles". During a tour of the United States, The Springfields travelled to Nashville, Tennessee. Dusty became so enamoured of the Motown sound she heard in the States, particularly the girl groups, that she left the Springfields to pursue a solo career in soul music.

Related Topics:
Lana Sisters - Folk - 1962 - United States - Nashville - Tennessee - Motown - Girl groups

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Her first single was "I Only Want to Be With You", which was a success in both Britain and the United States. This was followed by a series of classic and successful singles, including "Wishin' and Hopin'", "Anyone Who Had a Heart"', "I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself", "Stay Awhile" and "All Cried Out". Springfield recorded a number of Bacharach-David compositions, including "The Look of Love" (from the 1967 movie Casino Royale, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Original Song in 1967.) She also released such classic singles as "Losing You", "Your Hurtin' Kinda Love" and "In the Middle of Nowhere", culminating in her biggest hit, "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me".

Related Topics:
Bacharach - David - 1967 - Casino Royale - Academy Award

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By 1964, Springfield was one of the biggest solo artists of her day. She created a controversy when she refused to play in front of a segregated crowd in South Africa. She was often a featured artist on the British music show Ready! Steady! Go!, produced by Vicki Wickham, who would later become her manager. Because of her interest in Motown music, Springfield was selected in 1965 to host The Sound of Motown, a special which introduced Motown and American soul music to British audiences. (In the 1997 video biography, "Dusty - Full Circle", several of the musicians that participated, most notably Martha Reeves, credited the media exposure, and Springfield's advocacy of the music, with helping them to break into the British pop charts.)

Related Topics:
1964 - South Africa - Ready! Steady! Go! - Vicki Wickham - 1965 - The Sound of Motown

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With the rise of psychedelic music in the late 1960s, Springfield was rapidly becoming unhip at a time when hipness was crucial for musical success. She signed with Atlantic Records and recorded an album in Memphis, Tennessee with producers Jerry Wexler, Arif Mardin and Tom Dowd. The album, Dusty in Memphis, is her magnum opus and is still regarded as one of the best soul albums of all time; it has landed on several "best of all time" lists, including lists complied by Rolling Stone magazine in the United States, and Q music magazine in Britain. The album is best known for "Son of a Preacher Man", which was a hit in both the United Kingdom and the United States, though the album itself was a flop.

Related Topics:
Psychedelic music - 1960s - Atlantic Records - Memphis, Tennessee - Jerry Wexler - Arif Mardin - Tom Dowd - Dusty in Memphis - Rolling Stone - Q - Son of a Preacher Man

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A Brand New Me (1970) was just as unsuccessful commercially, though also a critical darling. It was one of the first works produced by the Gamble and Huff production team, who would go on to great success in the R&B genre. A third album for the Atlantic label, produced by Jeff Barry, was abandoned due to unsuccessful single releases. Similarly, her next album, See All Her Faces (1972), released in Britain, followed the same pattern. In 1973 Springfield signed to the ABC Dunhill Records label which resulted in the album Cameo in (1973). Still unafraid of controversy, Springfield also began speaking openly in interviews of her bisexuality in the early 1970s.

Related Topics:
A Brand New Me - 1970 - Jeff Barry - See All Her Faces - 1972 - 1973 - ABC Dunhill Records - Cameo

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The following year she began to record another album for the label titled Longing, to be produced by Brooks Arthur, who had produced several hit records by singer-songwriters like Janis Ian; however, the project had to be abandoned due to the vocalist's failing mental health. (Much of the material from "Longing" was released on the compilation "Beautiful Soul".) Springfield put her career on hold during the mid-1970s, though she did sporadic work with fellow artists like her friend Anne Murray, and focused on solving her mental health and substance abuse issues.

Related Topics:
Brooks Arthur - Janis Ian - 1970s - Anne Murray

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She continued to release critically lauded but commercially unsuccessful albums and singles throughout the late 1970s for the United Artists Records label, resulting in the albums It Begins Again (1978) and Living Without Your Love (1979). During this time Springfield rarely charted and soon drifted from popular view. She ended this period by releasing two final singles for her British label Mercury Records. She was virtually forced to do so due to the lack of success of her previous albums. The singles were "Baby Blue", a disco number that charted in the top 70, and "Your Love Still Brings Me to My Knees", the singer's swan song for a company she had been with in various forms for 20 years.

Related Topics:
1970s - United Artists Records - 1978 - 1979 - Mercury Records

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In the 1980s, Springfield wanted to forget the 1970s and start afresh. She signed a deal with 20th Century Records, which resulted in a flop of a single, It Goes Like It Goes, which was featured on the soundtrack to the movie Norma Rae. She then began to record an album for US record label Casablanca entitled White Heat (1982). The album was a departure from Springfield's sound, and featured music and lyrics that were similar in style and substance to the New Wave genre. The album was critically acclaimed; however, the LP was put on limited release in the USA and Canada only. (Not long after its release, the Casablanca label also folded.) Springfield tried again in 1985 by signing to Peter Stringfellow's Hippodrome Records label, which resulted in a single called "Sometimes Like Butterflies". The song was released against Springfield's wishes with a practice vocal recorded while she had laryngitis. The singer left the label in response.

Related Topics:
1980s - 20th Century Records - Norma Rae - 1982 - 1985 - Peter Stringfellow - Hippodrome Records - Laryngitis

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Springfield's fortunes changed in 1987, when the Pet Shop Boys, who were fans of hers, asked her to add a vocal to a song they were recording. The resulting track, a duet called "What Have I Done to Deserve This?", was a smash hit. The song charted all over the world and renewed interest in her music. She capitalised on this success by releasing a new album, Reputation, which was a best-selling album. The album was partially written and produced by the Pet Shop Boys as well as other contributors like Dan Hartman. She was also asked, in conjunction with the Pet Shop Boys, to contribute a track to the soundtrack of the film Scandal, about the British political scandal known as the Profumo Affair. That track, "Nothing Has Been Proved", was also a modest hit.

Related Topics:
1987 - Pet Shop Boys - Reputation - Dan Hartman - Scandal - Profumo Affair

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She was diagnosed with breast cancer shortly after releasing A Very Fine Love in 1994. The cancer was in remission for a time, but reappeared a few years later, and Springfield lost her battle with cancer in March 1999 at the age of 59, just ten days before she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Prior to her death, she also received an OBE, Order of the British Empire, for her contributions to music.

Related Topics:
Breast cancer - A Very Fine Love - Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - Order of the British Empire

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