Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZSPRINGFIELD, Dusty(b Mary Isabel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien, 16 April 1939, Hampstead, London; d 2 March 1999) UK pop singer, still reckoned one of the best of her generation. Sang with the Lana Sisters, then in the early '60s joined her brother Tom '60 in folk trio the Springfields. Her solo career began well with 'I Only Want To Be With You' (no. 4 UK, 12 USA '63; later a hit for the pre-Eurythmics Tourists '79); 'Wishin' And Hopin' ' was a US no. 6 '64; her biggest was 'You Don't Have To Say You Love Me' '66 (no. 1 UK, 4 USA); 'Son Of A Preacher Man' was top ten in both countries '68; her original version of Goffin and King's 'Goin' Back' was top ten UK '66, the song later covered by the Byrds, Nils Lofgren, Bruce Springsteen. She was a keen advocate of Motown and one of the few white singers who could sound convincingly black; she exercised immaculate choice of material while UK competitors Cilla Black and Sandie Shaw were content with production-line pop songs. Albums A Girl Called Dusty, Everything Is Coming Up Dusty '64-5 were representative; she switched from Philips to Atlantic for Dusty In Memphis '69, perhaps her best, produced by Jerry Wexler including 'Preacher Man'. She was regarded as difficult because she was serious about her work, yet she lacked confidence; when Wexler said to her in the studio, 'That's where Aretha Franklin stood, right there', he did not mean to make a comparison, but it caused her stress: she herself was never satisfied with her voice. A Brand New Me '70 on Atlantic was named after her hit with a Jerry Butler song, her last album to chart in the USA. Cameo '73 included a strong cover of Van Morrison's 'Tupelo Honey'; Longings '74 was an unreleased album; Dusty Sings Burt Bacharach And Carole King was released '75; by this time she had got suspicious of the record industry, but a new deal resulted in It Begins Again '78, which was probably overproduced. |