Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield |
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Mary Isabel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien, OBE (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was a British singer. Her career spanned from the late 1950s to the 1990s, though she is best known for her work during the 1960s when she released singles such as "I Only Want To Be With You", "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" and "Son of a Preacher Man", and the acclaimed album Dusty in Memphis. She was one of the most successful British female performers of the Swinging Sixties, with 18 singles in the Billboard Hot 100 from 1964 to 1970.[1] Owing to her distinctive sensual sound, she was one of the most notable white soul artists. Her image was supported by her peroxide blonde beehive hairstyle, evening gowns, and heavy make-up.[2]
Born to an Irish Roman Catholic family that loved music, Springfield learned to sing at home. She scored her first hits as a member of the pop-folk vocal trio The Springfields. Her solo career began in 1963 with the upbeat pop hit, "I Only Want To Be With You". Her following hits included "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself", "Wishin' and Hopin'" and "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me". Springfield was voted the "Top British Female Artist" in the New Musical Express reader's polls at the height of the British Invasion in 1964 and 1965, and again in 1968.
A fan of American pop music, she was the first public figure to bring little-known soul singers to a wider British audience by creating and hosting the first British performances of the top-selling Motown artists in 1965.[2] Her rendition of "The Look of Love", written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, was included on the soundtrack of the James Bond movie Casino Royale (1967) and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song. The marked changes of pop music in the mid-1960s left many female pop singers out of fashion. To boost her credibility as a soul artist, Springfield went to Memphis, Tennessee, to record an album of pop and soul music with the Atlantic Records main production team. Dusty in Memphis earned Springfield a nomination for a Grammy Award and it was awarded a spot in the Grammy Hall of Fame. International polls list the album among the greatest of all time. Its standout track "Son of a Preacher Man" was an international Top 10 hit in 1969. After this album, Springfield's success dipped for eighteen years. She returned to the Top 20 of the British and American charts in collaboration with the Pet Shop Boys on the songs "What Have I Done to Deserve This?", "Nothing Has Been Proved" and "In Private". In 1995, Springfield was diagnosed with breast cancer, which caused her death in 1999.
Interest in Springfield's early output was revived in 1994, due to the inclusion of "Son of a Preacher Man" on the soundtrack of the movie Pulp Fiction. She is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the U.K. Music Hall of Fame. International polls have named Springfield among the best female rock artists of all time. Her album, Dusty in Memphis, has been listed among the greatest albums of all time by Rolling Stone and VH1 artists, New Musical Express readers, and the Channel 4 viewers polls,[3] and in 2001, received the Grammy Hall of Fame award.
Early life (1939-1957)
Mary Isabel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien[4] (the alternative spelling of her second name is 'Isobel')[5] was born in West Hampstead, North London, England, to an Irish family.[6] She was raised in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire until the early 1950s and later lived in the West London borough of Ealing.[5]
Her father, Gerard O'Brien, had been raised in the British Raj, was neat and precise by character, and worked as a tax accountant and consultant.[4][5] Her mother Kay came from County Kerry, Ireland. Mary had a brother named Dion. Coming from a religious family, she received her education in a single-sex Catholic school. While Mary's childhood appeared to have been peaceful and comfortable, it was occasionally disturbed by the strangely frequent visits of the local priest and the tendency of the family gatherings around the dinner table to devolve into heavy drinking and food-throwing incidents. Springfield acquired both of these habits and resorted to them throughout the rest of her life.[5] She was something of a tomboy in her early years, and was given the nickname "Dusty" because she played football with the boys in the street.[7]
Mary was raised in a music-loving family. Her father would tap out rhythms on the back of her hand and encourage Dusty to guess the musical piece.[citation needed] She listened to a wide range of music including George Gershwin, Rogers and Hart, Rogers and Hammerstein, Cole Porter, Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Glenn Miller, among others.[citation needed] She was a fan of American jazz and the vocalists Peggy Lee and Jo Stafford, and wished to sound like them. She made a recording of herself singing the Irving Berlin song "When the Midnight Choo Choo Leaves for Alabam" at a local record shop in Ealing when she was twelve.[8][9][10]
Career
Early career (1958–66)
After finishing school in 1958, Mary O'Brien responded to an advertisement to join The Lana Sisters, an "established sister act". With this vocal group, she developed the art of harmonising, learned microphone technique, recorded, did some television performances, and played at live shows in the U.K. and at U.S. Air Force bases.[9]
In 1960, Springfield left the band and formed a pop-folk trio with her brother Dion O'Brien and Reshad Feild (who was later replaced by Mike Hurst). They chose The Springfields as the trio's name while rehearsing in a field in Somerset in the springtime, and took the stage names of Dusty, Tom, and Tim Springfield.[11] Intending to make an authentic American album, the group travelled to Nashville, Tennessee, to record the album Folk Songs from the Hills. The American pop tunes that she heard during this visit helped turn Springfield's choice of music from folk and country towards pop music rooted in rhythm and blues.[citation needed] During the spring of 1963, the Springfields recorded their last British Top 5 hit, "Say I Won't Be There". Dusty Springfield left the band after their last concert in October 1963.[citation needed]
Dusty Springfield's first single, "I Only Want to Be with You", written and arranged by Ivor Raymonde,[12] was released in November 1963. It was produced by Johnny Franz in a manner similar to Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound",[13] and included rhythm and blues structures such as horn sections, backing singers and double-tracked vocals, along with pop music strings, in the style of girl bands that Springfield admired, such as The Shirelles.[14] The song rose to #4 on the British charts[15] and #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S.[16] It was a "sure shot" pick on the influential New York pop music station WMCA in December 1963, in advance of Beatlemania.[citation needed][clarification needed] The release reached the top 10 on WMCA's weekly top 25 countdown survey. It was record #48 on the Musicradio WABC Top 100 for 1964.[17] This song was the first record played on BBC-TV's Top of the Pops program.[18] It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc in the U.K.[19]
Springfield's debut album A Girl Called Dusty included mostly covers of her favourite songs.[20] Among the tracks were "Mama Said", "When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes", "You Don't Own Me" and "Twenty-Four Hours from Tulsa".[18] The album reached #6 in the U.K. in May 1964.[21] The chart hits "Stay Awhile", "All Cried Out" and "Losing You" followed the same year.[15] In 1964, Springfield recorded two Burt Bacharach songs: "Wishin' and Hopin'—an American Top 10 hit—[16] and the emotional "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself",[22] which reached #3 on the British chart.[15] The latter song set the standard for much of her later material.[22]
Springfield's tour of South Africa was interrupted in December 1964, and she was deported, after she performed before an integrated audience at a theatre near Cape Town, which was against the South African government's segregation policy.[18][23] In the same year, she was voted the Top Female British Artist of the year in the New Musical Express poll, topping Lulu, Sandie Shaw, and Cilla Black.[20] Springfield received the award again the following year.[18]
In 1965, Springfield took part in the Italian Song Festival in Sanremo, and failed to qualify for the final with two songs. During the competition, she heard the song "Io Che Non Vivo (Senza Te)".[24][25] Its English version, "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me", featured lyrics written by Springfield's friend, Vicki Wickham, and her future manager, Simon Napier-Bell.[25][26] It reached British #1[15] and American #4 on the weekly Billboard Hot 100[16] and was #35 on the Billboard Top 100 for 1966.[27] The song, which Springfield called "good old schmaltz",[26] was voted among the All Time Top 100 Songs by the listeners of BBC Radio 2 in 1999.
In 1965, Springfield released three more British Top 40 hits: "Your Hurtin' Kinda Love", "In the Middle of Nowhere", and Carole King's "Some of Your Lovin'".[15] These were not included on the album Ev'rything's Coming Up Dusty, which featured songs by Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley, Rod Argent and Randy Newman, and a cover of the traditional Mexican song, "La Bamba". This album peaked at #6 in the U.K.[28]
Springfield was instrumental in introducing Motown to a wider British audience with both her covers of Motown songs, and in facilitating the first British TV appearance for The Temptations, The Supremes, The Miracles, and Stevie Wonder on a special edition of the Ready Steady Go! show, called The Sound Of Motown.[29] The show was broadcast on April 28, 1965 by Rediffusion TV, with Springfield opening each half of the show accompanied by Martha Reeves and the Vandellas and Motown's in-house band The Funk Brothers.[30]
Springfield released three additional U.K. Top 20 hits in 1966: "Little By Little" and two dramatic ballads by Carole King: "Going Back" and "All I See Is You", which also reached the US Top 20.[15] In August and September 1966, she hosted Dusty, a series of six BBC TV music and talk shows.[31] A compilation of her singles, Golden Hits, released in November 1966, reached #2 in the U.K.[32]
Late 1960s (1967–69)
The Bacharach-David composition "The Look of Love" was designed as a centrepiece for the James Bond parody Casino Royale. For one of the slowest-tempo hits of the sixties, Bacharach created the sultry by minor-seventh and major-seventh chord changes, while Hal David's lyrics epitomised longing and lust.[33] This song was recorded in two versions at the Philips Studios of London. The soundtrack version was recorded on January 29 and the single release version was done in April.[34] This song is featured in the scene where Ursula Andress as Vesper Lynd is persuading Peter Sellers as Evelyn Tremble,[35] seen through a man-size aquarium.[36] "The Look of Love" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song of 1967.[37] The song was a Top 10 radio hit at the KGB and KHJ radio stations in the western United States. Springfield was not very popular in the United States in 1967,[38] so this song earned her highest place in the year's music charts at #22.
The second season of the BBC's Dusty TV shows,[31] featuring performances of "Get Ready" and the U.K. #13 hit "I'll Try Anything", attracted a healthy audience but the show did not keep up with changes in the pop music market.[20] The comparatively progressive albumWhere Am I Going? attempted to redress this by containing songs such as a "jazzy", orchestrated version of "Sunny" and Jacques Brel's "If You Go Away". Though it was appreciated critically, it did not sell well.[20] In 1968, a similar fate befell Dusty... Definitely.[20] On this album, her choice of material ranged from the rolling "Ain't No Sun Since You've Been Gone" to the aching emotion of "I Think It's Gonna Rain Today".[20] In that same year, Springfield had a British #4 hit, "I Close My Eyes and Count to Ten",[15] written by Clive Westlake. Its flipside, "No Stranger am I", was written by Norma Tanega.[22]
Springfield's personal TV shows continued with the ITV series called It Must Be Dusty,[31] which featured a duet with Jimi Hendrix on the song "Mockingbird". In that same year, Roger Moore presented her with her third "Top British Female Artist" award, voted by the readers of New Musical Express.[39]
In 1968, Carole King, one of Springfield's songwriters, embarked on a singing career of her own, while the chart-peaking Bacharach-David partnership was foundering. Springfield's status in the music industry was further complicated by the progressive music revolution and the uncomfortable split between what was underground and "fashionable" and what was pop and "unfashionable".[20] In addition, her performing career was becoming limited to the British touring circuit, which at that time largely consisted of working men's clubs and the hotels and cabarets circuit.[20] Hoping to reinvigorate her career and boost her credibility, Springfield signed with Atlantic Records,[20] the record label of one of her idols, Aretha Franklin. The Memphis sessions at the American Sound Studio[4] were recorded by the A-team of Atlantic Records: producers Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd, and Arif Mardin;[40] the back-up vocal band Sweet Inspirations; and the instrumental band Memphis Cats,[41] led by guitarist Reggie Young and bass guitar player Tommy Cogbill.[40] The producers were the first to recognise that Springfield's natural soul voice should be placed at the forefront, rather than competing with full string arrangements. At first, Springfield felt anxious about being compared with the soul greats who had recorded in the same studios.[42] Springfield later stated that she had never before worked with just a rhythm track, and that it was the first time she had worked with outside producers, as she had self-produced her previous recordings (although she never took credit for it).[43] Due to what Wexler called a "gigantic inferiority complex" and Ms. Springfield's pursuit of perfection, her vocals were recorded later in New York.[18][44] During the Memphis sessions in November 1968, Dusty suggested that the heads of Atlantic Records should sign the newly-formed band Led Zeppelin. She knew the band's bass player, John Paul Jones, who had backed her in concerts. Without having ever seen them and largely on Dusty's advice,[45] the record company signed a $200,000 deal with them. That was the biggest contract of its kind for a new band up until that time.[46]
The album Dusty in Memphis received excellent reviews on its initial releases both in the U.S. and the U.K.[47] Greil Marcus of Rolling Stone magazine wrote:"... most of the songs... have a great deal of depth while presenting extremely direct and simple statements about love.... Dusty sings around her material, creating music that's evocative rather than overwhelming... Dusty is not searching—she just shows up, and she, and we, are better for it."[48] The sales numbers failed to match the critical success;[47] the album did not crack the British Top 15 and peaked at #99 on the American Billboard Top 200 with sales of 100,000 copies.[11][49] However, Dusty in Memphis earned Springfield a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1970,[50] and by 2001, the album had received the Grammy Hall of Fame award, and was listed among the greatest albums of all time by Rolling Stone and VH1 artists, New Musical Express readers, and the Channel 4 viewers polls.[3]
The main song on the album, "Son of a Preacher Man", was written by John Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins. It reached #10 on the British, American and international music charts. Its best results in continental Europe were #10 on the Austrian charts and #3 on the Swiss charts.[51] The song was the 96th most popular song of 1969 in the United States.[52] The writers of Rolling Stone magazine placed Springfield's release at #77 among The 100 Best Singles of the Last 25 Years in 1987. The record was placed at #43 of the Greatest Singles of All Time by the writers of New Musical Express in 2002. In 2004, the song made the Rolling Stone list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time[53] at #240. In 1994 the song was featured in a scene of the film Pulp Fiction, and the soundtrack reached No. 21 on the Billboard 200, and at the time, went platinum (1,000,000 units) in Canada alone.[54] "Son of a Preacher Man" helped the album sell over 2 million copies in the U.S.,[55] and it reached #6 on the charts.[56]
Years without commercial success (1969–86)
In September and October 1969, Dusty Springfield hosted eight episodes of the BBC TV show Decidedly Dusty.[31] She began 1970 by appearing on the BBC's highly rated review of the sixties music scene Pop Go The Sixties, where she performed You Don't Have To Say You Love Me. The show was broadcast live on BBC1 and across Europe on December 31, 1969. In 1970, Springfield released her second album for Atlantic Records, A Brand New Me, which featured songs written and produced by Gamble and Huff. The title song became a Billboard Top 25 single. In 2007, its British counterpart, From Dusty With Love, was listed among the 1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die by the Guardian newspaper. A third album for the Atlantic label, titled Faithful and produced by Jeff Barry, was abandoned because of poor sales of singles slated for the album. Most of the material recorded for the aborted album was released on the 1999 reissue of Dusty in Memphis on Rhino Records. Her next album, See All Her Faces, was released only in Britain, and had none of the cohesion of her previous two albums. In 1972, Springfield signed a contract with ABC Dunhill Records and the resulting album, Cameo, was released in 1973 with little publicity.
In 1974, Springfield recorded the theme song for the TV series The Six Million Dollar Man. Her second ABC Dunhill album was given the working title Elements and scheduled for release as Longing. The sessions were soon abandoned. Part of the material, including tentative and incomplete vocals, was released on the 2001 compilation Beautiful Soul. She put her career on hold in 1974 and lived reclusively in the United States to avoid scrutiny by British tabloids.[18] During this time she sang background vocals for Anne Murray's album Together[57] and Elton John's album Caribou, and was heard on the single "The Bitch is Back". Springfield released two albums on United Artists Records in the late 1970s. The first was 1978's It Begins Again, produced by Roy Thomas Baker. The album charted only briefly in the U.K., though it was well received by critics. The 1979 album, Living Without Your Love, did even worse, not charting at all.[57] In autumn 1979, Springfield played club dates in New York City.[57] In London, she recorded two singles with David Mackay for her British label, Mercury Records (formerly Philips Records). The first was the disco-influenced "Baby Blue", which reached #61 in Britain. The second, "Your Love Still Brings Me to My Knees" (released in January 1980), was Springfield's final single for Mercury Records; she had been with them for nearly 20 years. On December 3, 1979, she performed a charity concert for a full house at the Royal Albert Hall, in the presence of Princess Margaret. In 1980 Springfield sang "Bits and Pieces", the theme song from the movie The Stunt Man. She signed an American deal with 20th Century Records that year, which resulted in the single "It Goes Like It Goes". Springfield was uncharacteristically proud of her 1982 album White Heat, which was influenced by New Wave music.[18] She tried to revive her career in 1985 by returning to the United Kingdom and signing to Peter Stringfellow's Hippodrome Records label. This resulted in the single "Sometimes Like Butterflies" and an appearance on Terry Wogan's live television show. None of Springfield's recordings from 1971 to 1986 charted on the British or American Top 40s.
Comeback, illness, and death (1987–99)
In 1987, she accepted an invitation from the Pet Shop Boys to sing with Neil Tennant on the single "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" and appeared on the promotional video. This record rose to #2 on both the British and American charts. The song appeared on the "Pet Shop Boys" album Actually and both of their greatest hits collections. Springfield sang lead vocals on the Richard Carpenter song "Something in Your Eyes", recorded for Carpenter's album Time. Released as a single, it became a #12 adult contemporary hit in the United States. Springfield recorded a duet with B.J. Thomas, "As Long as We Got Each Other", which was used as the theme song for the American sitcom Growing Pains.
A new compilation of Springfield's greatest hits, The Silver Collection, was issued in 1988. Springfield returned to the studio with the Pet Shop Boys, who produced her recording of their song "Nothing Has Been Proved", commissioned for the soundtrack of the film Scandal. Released as a single in early 1989, the song gave Springfield a U.K. Top 20 hit. So did its follow-up, the upbeat "In Private", written and produced by the Pet Shop Boys. She capitalised on this by recording the 1990 album Reputation, another U.K. Top 20 success. The writing and production credits for half the album, which included the two recent hit singles, went to the Pet Shop Boys, while the album's other producers included Dan Hartman. Sometime before recording the Reputation album, Springfield decided to leave California for good, and by 1988 she had returned to Britain. In 1993, she was invited to record a duet with her former 1960s professional rival and friend, Cilla Black. The song "Heart and Soul" was released as a single and appeared on Black's Through the Years album.[58] In 1994, Springfield started recording the album A Very Fine Love for Sony Records. Some of the songs were written by well-known Nashville songwriters and were produced with a country feel.
While recording her final album, A Very Fine Love, in January 1994 in Nashville, Tennessee, Springfield felt ill. When she returned to England a few months later, her physicians diagnosed her with breast cancer. She received months of radiation treatment and for a time, the cancer was in remission.[16] In 1995, in apparent good health, Springfield set about promoting the album. She gave a live performance of "Where Is a Woman to Go?" on the BBC-TV music show Later With Jools Holland, backed up by Alison Moyet and Sinéad O'Connor. The last song Springfield recorded in studio was the George and Ira Gershwin song "Someone To Watch Over Me". The song was recorded in London in 1995 for an insurance company television advertisement. It was included on Simply Dusty (2000), the extensive anthology that Springfield had helped plan, but did not live to see released. Her final live performance was in The Christmas with Michael Ball in December 1995.[59] Cancer was detected again during the summer of 1996. In spite of vigorous treatments, she succumbed on March 2, 1999. She died in Henley-on-Thames on the day she had been scheduled to go to Buckingham Palace to receive her award of Officer, Order of the British Empire. Before her death, officials of the Queen had given permission for the medal to be collected by Springfield's manager, Vicki Wickham, and it was presented to the singer in the hospital in the company of a small party of friends and relatives. Her induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, had been scheduled for 10 days after her death. Her friend Sir Elton John helped induct her into the Hall of Fame, stating:[60]
I think she is the greatest white singer that there ever has been.
Springfield's funeral service was attended by hundreds of fans and people from the music business, including Elvis Costello, Lulu and the Pet Shop Boys. It took place in Oxfordshire, at the ancient parish church of St Mary the Virgin, in Henley-on-Thames, the town where Springfield had lived during her last years. A marker dedicated to her memory was placed in the church graveyard.[61] Some of Springfield's ashes were buried at Henley, while the rest were scattered by her brother, Tom Springfield, at the Cliffs of Moher, County Clare, Ireland. In what was considered a rare departure from royal protocol, Queen Elizabeth announced that she was "saddened" to learn of Springfield's death.[citation needed]
Personal life
Springfield's biographers and journalists have suggested she had two personalities: shy, quiet, Mary O'Brien—and the public face she created in Dusty Springfield. In the 1970s and early 1980s, during a time when her career had slowed down, she succumbed to alcoholism and drug dependency (which she later battled successfully). She was hospitalised several times for self-harming (by cutting herself) and was diagnosed as suffering from manic depression.[11] During this period of psychological and professional instability, Springfield's involvement in some intimate relationships influenced by addiction resulted in episodes of personal injury. An incident in early 1983 led to her brief hospitalisation at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, where she was admitted under her real name and received medical attention from hospital staff who were unaware of who she was. In her early career, much of her odd behaviour was carried out more or less in fun and was treated as such (as, for example, her noted food fights and hurling a box of crockery down a flight of stairs). Springfield had a "wicked" sense of humour and a great love for animals (particularly cats). She was an advocate for several animal-protection groups.[62] She enjoyed maps, and would intentionally get lost and navigate her way out.[10]
The fact that Springfield was never reported to be in a relationship recognised by the public meant that the issue of her being "bisexual" was raised continually throughout her life.[63] In 1970, Springfield told the Evening Standard:[63]
A lot of people say I'm bent, and I've heard it so many times that I've almost learned to accept it....I know I'm perfectly as capable of being swayed by a girl as by a boy. More and more people feel that way and I don't see why I shouldn't.
By the standards of 1970, that was a very bold statement.[63] Three years later, she explained to the Los Angeles Free Press:
I mean, people say that I'm gay, gay, gay, gay, gay, gay, gay, gay. I'm not anything. I'm just ... People are people.... I basically want to be straight.... The catchphrase is: I can't love a man. Now, that's my hang-up. To love, to go to bed, fantastic; but to love a man is my prime ambition.... They frighten me.[10]
In the 1970s and 1980s, Springfield became involved in several romantic relationships with women in the U.S. and in Canada that were not kept secret from the gay and lesbian community. Her love affair with singer-musician Carole Pope[11] of the rock band Rough Trade was known within the homosexual community and by music industry insiders.[citation needed]
Artistry
Influenced by American pop music,[57] Dusty Springfield created a distinctive white soul sound.[6][48] Most responses to her voice emphasise her breathy sensuality.[4][64] Another powerful feature was the sense of longing, in songs such as "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" and "Goin' Back".[64][65] The uniqueness of Springfield's voice[65] was described by Burt Bacharach when he said: "You could hear just three notes and you knew it was Dusty."[66] Greil Marcus of Rolling Stone captured Springfield's technique as "a soft, sensual box (voice) that allowed her to combine syllables until they turned into pure cream."[48] She had a finely tuned musical ear and extraordinary control of tone.[65] She sang in a variety of styles, mostly pop, soul, folk, Latin and rock'n'roll.[18] Being able to wrap her voice around difficult material,[65] her repertoire included songs that their writers ordinarily would have offered to black vocalists.[48] She performed as the only white singer on all-black bills on several occasions in the 1960s.[18] Her soul orientation was so convincing that early in her solo career, U.S. listeners who had only heard her music on radio or records sometimes assumed that Springfield was African American.[64][67] Later, a considerable number of observers have either thought she sounded black and American or made a point of saying she did not.[68] Springfield constantly used her voice to upend commonly held beliefs on the expression of social identity through music. She did this by referencing a number of styles and singers, including Martha Reeves, Carole King, Aretha Franklin, Peggy Lee, Astrud Gilberto, Mina, and many others.[2]
Springfield implored her white British backup musicians to capture the spirit of the black American musicians and copy their instrumental playing styles.[18][67] In the studio, she was a perfectionist.[69] The fact that she could neither read nor write music made it hard for her to communicate with her session musicians.[70] During her extensive vocal sessions, she repeatedly recorded short phrases and single words.[62][67] She often produced her songs, but did not take credit for doing so.[43] On stage, as the opposite of the character she was in the studio,[69] Springfield developed a joyful image supported by her peroxide blonde beehive hairstyle, evening gowns, and heavy makeup that included her much-copied "panda eye" mascara.[4][67][68][71] Springfield borrowed elements of her look from blonde glamour queens of the 1950s—Brigitte Bardot, Kim Novak, Monica Vitti, Catherine Deneuve—and pasted them together according to her own taste.[72][73] Her ultra-glamorous look made her a camp icon and this, combined with her emotive vocal performances, won her a powerful and enduring following in the gay community.[65][74] Besides the prototypical female drag queen, she presented herself in the roles of the 'Great White Lady' of pop and soul and the 'Queen of Mods'.[75][68]
Legacy
Dusty Springfield was one of the best-selling British singers of the 1960s.[57] She was voted the Top British Female Artist by the readers of the New Musical Express in 1964, 1965,[18] and 1968.[39] Of the female singers of the British Invasion, Springfield made one of the biggest impressions on the American market,[1] scoring 18 singles in the Billboard Hot 100 from 1964 to 1970. The music press considers her as an iconic figure of the Swinging Sixties.[76] Quentin Tarantino caused a revival of interest in her music in 1994 by including "Son of a Preacher Man" in the Pulp Fiction soundtrack, which sold over three million copies.[77][78][79] In that same year, in the documentary Dusty Springfield. Full Circle, guests of her 1965 Sound of Motown show credited Springfield's efforts with popularising American soul music in the UK.[80] She was known all over Europe, and performed at the Sanremo Music Festival. She released a number of singles in French, German and Italian.
Dusty Springfield was a camp icon.[4] She is an inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the UK Music Hall of Fame. She was placed among the 25 female rock artists of all time by the readers of Mojo magazine (1999),[81] editors of Q magazine (2002),[82] and a panel of artists by VH1 TV channel (2007).[83] In 2008, Dusty appeared at #35 on the Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Singers of All Time". Various films and stage musicals continue to commemorate her. Universal Pictures has scheduled a biographical film to be released in 2011 with Kristin Chenoweth playing Springfield.[84]
Discography
- 1964: A Girl Called Dusty
- 1965: Ev'rything's Coming Up Dusty
- 1967: Where Am I Going?
- 1968: Dusty... Definitely
- 1969: Dusty in Memphis
- 1970: A Brand New Me
- 1971: Faithful (Unreleased)
- 1972: See All Her Faces
- 1973: Cameo
- 1974: Longing (Unreleased)
- 1978: It Begins Again
- 1979: Living Without Your Love
- 1982: White Heat
- 1990: Reputation
- 1995: A Very Fine Love
References
- ^ a b The Harmony Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, Sixth Edition. Harmony Books. 1988. p. 162.
- ^ a b c Annie Janeiro Randall, Dusty!: Queen of the Postmods, page 51. Oxford University Press US, 2009, ISBN 0195329430. Retrieved 2010-07-19.
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at position 39 (help) Cite error: The named reference "queen" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page). - ^ a b "Dusty in Memphis by Dusty Springfield". BestEverAlbums.com.
- ^ a b c d e f "Dusty Springfield". Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
- ^ a b c d Bob Gulla (2008). Icons of R&B and Soul: An Encyclopedia of the Artists Who Revolutionized Rhythm. Greenwood Icons. p. 357.
- ^ a b "Flashback: Dusty Springfield". Observer Music Monthly.
- ^ Edward Leeson, Dusty Springfield: a life in music, page 14. Robson Books, 2001, ISBN 1861053436. Retrieved 2010-07-14.
- ^ Warren Zanes (2004). Dusty in Memphis. The Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 80.
- ^ a b Bob Gulla (2008). Icons of R&B and Soul: An Encyclopedia of the Artists Who Revolutionized Rhythm. Greenwood Icons. p. 358.
- ^ a b c Michele Kort. "The Secret Life of Dusty Springfield". The Advocate.
- ^ a b c d Dancing with Demons: The Authorised Biography of Dusty Springfield. Hodder & Stoughton Ltd. 2000.
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ignored (help) - ^ Anthony Reynolds. The Impossible Dream: The Story of Scott Walker and the Walker Brothers, p 81. Jawbone Publishing Corp., 2009, ISBN 1906002258. Retrieved 2010-08-10.
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at position 37 (help) - ^ Chin, Brian (1999). The Best of Dusty Springfield (The Millennium Collection) (Media notes). USA: Mercury Records.
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ignored (help) - ^ Bob Gulla. Icons of R&B and soul, pp 363-364. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2008, ISBN 0313340463. Retrieved 2010-08-10.
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at position 39 (help) - ^ a b c d e f g "UK Top 40 Hit Database".
- ^ a b c d "Dusty Springfield". Allmusic.
- ^ "The Musicradio WABC Top 100 of 1964".
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Dusty Springfield Biography. musicianguide.com site".
- ^ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 166. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Springfield, Dusty". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Muze UK. 1998.
- ^ Sharon Mawer. Album chart history. 1964 The official U.K. charts company site
- ^ a b c Dusty Springfield. Ready steady girls website at www.readysteadygirls.eu/#/dusty-springfield/4524350811
- ^ Bob Gulla (2008). Icons of R&B and Soul: An Encyclopedia of the Artists Who Revolutionized Rhythm. Greenwood Icons. p. 368.
- ^ Sanremo 1965 (15a Edizione) hitparadeitalia.it
- ^ a b Bob Gulla (2008). Icons of R&B and Soul: An Encyclopedia of the Artists Who Revolutionized Rhythm. Greenwood Icons. p. 365.
- ^ a b "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me. Rolling Stone site".
- ^ Chareborneranger presents the Billboard Top 100 for 1966
- ^ Sharon Mawer. Album chart history. 1965 The official U.K. charts company site
- ^ "Dusty Springfield and the Motown Invasion". Institute for Studies In American Music. Retrieved 2010-08-10.
- ^ Ready, Steady, Go! Mersey Beat Rock and Pop Memorabilia
- ^ a b c d "Filmography by TV series for Dusty Springfield. IMDB site".
- ^ Sharon Mawer. Album chart history. 1966 The official U.K. charts company site
- ^ The Look of Love Allmusic
- ^ "Dusty Springfield The 1960's". wonderboymi.com.
- ^ "Casino Royale. Turner Classic Movies site".
- ^ Synopsis for Casino Royale (1967)
- ^ "1967 Academy Awards". Infoplease.
- ^ "Biography for Dusty Springfield. IMDB site".
- ^ a b "The History of The NME Awards.1968. nme.com site".
- ^ a b "Dusty In Memphis. Rolling Stone magazine".
- ^ "Dusty in Memphis. The treble site".
- ^ Bob Gulla (2008). Icons of R&B and Soul: An Encyclopedia of the Artists Who Revolutionized Rhythm. Greenwood Icons. p. 369.
- ^ a b Feldman, Jim (1992). Dusty In Memphis (Media notes). USA: Rhino Entertainment.
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ignored (help) - ^ "89) Dusty in Memphis". Rolling Stone.
- ^ Welch, Chris (1994) Led Zeppelin, London: Orion Books. ISBN 0-85797-930-3, p. 31.
- ^ Mick Wall (2005). "No Way Out". p. 83.
{{cite magazine}}
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(help) - ^ a b Bob Gulla (2008). Icons of R&B and Soul: An Encyclopedia of the Artists Who Revolutionized Rhythm. Greenwood Icons. p. 370.
- ^ a b c d "Greil Marcus. Dusty in Memphis. The Rolling Stone magazine site".
- ^ "The Dusty Springfield Story". ForgottenHits.com.
- ^ 1970 Grammy Awards Metrolyrics.com
- ^ Dusty Springfield – Son of a Preacher Man Swiss Charts
- ^ Chareborneranger presents the Billboard Top 100 for 1969
- ^ "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". RollingStone.com. Retrieved 2008-11-05.
- ^ Billboard; 1/28/95, Vol. 107 Issue 4, p62, 1/2p
- ^ Billboard, 00062510, 4/20/96, Vol. 108, Issue 16
- ^ Christian Science Monitor, 08827729, 9/8/97, Vol. 89, Issue 198
- ^ a b c d e "Dusty Springfield". The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll. Rolling Stone Press. 2001.
- ^ "Cilla Black Discography: Heart and Soul (duet with Dusty Springfield) – Single". Retrieved 21 May 2009.
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(help) - ^ Biography Michael Ball Official Website
- ^ Elton John Rock On The Net
- ^ "Dusty Springfield (1939 - 1999) - Find A Grave Memorial". www.findagrave.com. Retrieved 2010-08-10.
- ^ a b "Dusty Springfield. activemusician site".
- ^ a b c "The Invention of Dusty Springfield. Woman of Repute site".
- ^ a b c Mitchell, Tony (2001). "Memorializing Dusty Springfield: Millennia, Mourning, Whiteness, Fandom, and the Seductive Voice". Topia. Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies. 6: 83–97.
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at position 65 (help) - ^ a b c d e Bob Gulla (2008). Icons of R&B and Soul: An Encyclopedia of the Artists Who Revolutionized Rhythm. Greenwood Icons. p. 356.
- ^ Entertainment Fans' farewell to Dusty BBC News site
- ^ a b c d Annie J. Randall (2005). "Dusty Springfield and the Motown Invasion". Institute for Studies in American Music Newsletter. 35.
- ^ a b c Laurense Cole (2008). Dusty Springfield: in the middle of nowhere. Middlesex University Press. p. 13.
- ^ a b Charles Taylor (1997). "Mission Impossible: The perfectionist rock and soul of Dusty Springfield". Boston Phoenix.
- ^ Michele Kort (1999). "Fyne Times". pp. Issue 16.
{{cite magazine}}
: Cite magazine requires|magazine=
(help) - ^ Patricia Juliana Smith, "Springfield, Dusty (1939–1999)"
- ^ Annie Janeiro Randall. Dusty!: Queen of the Postmods, page 16. Oxford University Press US, 2009, ISBN 0195329430. Retrieved 2010-07-19.
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at position 39 (help) - ^ Bob Gulla (2008). Icons of R&B and Soul: An Encyclopedia of the Artists Who Revolutionized Rhythm. Greenwood Icons. p. 361.
- ^ Springfield, Dusty (1939-1999) QLBTQ arts
- ^ Patrice Juliana Smith (1999). ""You Don't Have to Say You Love Me": The Camp Masquerades of Dusty Springfield". The Queer Sixties. London: Routledge. pp. 105–126.
- ^ Annie Janeiro Randall, Dusty!: Queen of the Postmods, page 3. Oxford University Press US, 2009, ISBN 0195329430. Retrieved 2010-07-19.
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at position 39 (help) - ^ "Pulp Fiction: 10th Anniversary 2-Disc Collector's Edition (1994). Rob Giles, 2005".
- ^ Martin Kelner (21 November 2001). "Dusty Springfield". MartinKelner.com.
- ^ Matt Everitt. "Pulp Fiction Soundtrack Expanded".
- ^ Dusty Springfield. Full Circle Documentary film. Vision Records, 1994
- ^ "Mojo". Rocklist.net.
- ^ "The lists of the Q magazine".
- ^ "100 Women of Rock & Roll. vh1.com site".
- ^ Wicked's Kristin Chenoweth to Play Dusty Springfield in New Biopic Playbill
- Bibliography
- Penny Valentine and Vicki Wickham. Dancing with Demons: The Authorised Biography of Dusty Springfield. Hodder & Stoughton Ltd, August 2000, ISBN 0340766735
- Annie J. Randall, associate professor of musicology at Bucknell University. Dusty! Queen of the Postmods. Oxford University Press 17 November 2008 p. 240 ISBN 9780195329438
External links
- Dusty Springfield at Curlie
- The legacy of Dusty Springfield By Bob Stanley for The Times 3 April 2009
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