On 14th November 2006 Dusty Springfield became the first British female solo artist to be inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame. In March 1999 she was honoured with the Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.) and this was followed by her induction into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April of the same year. Three major honours to an outstanding talent who’s career spanned four decades.
Born Mary Isabel Catherine O’Brien on 16th April 1939 in Hampstead, London, Dusty was exposed from a very early age to the eclectic musical tastes of her father: jazz, rhythm and blues, the classics and show tunes were all absorbed by the young Mary. In later years Dusty would say that as a youngster she developed a crush on the voice of Peggy Lee who became a major influence in those early years, as did the likes of Jelly Roll Morton, Ella Fitzgerald and indeed her own elder brother Dion (later Tom Springfield).
It has been suggested that an unhappy family background, combined with the strictures of an Irish Catholic upbringing, contributed in no small part to an underlying sense of insecurity that Dusty seemed to have experienced throughout significant parts of her life. There is an argument to say that such insecurity found expression in the way she perceived her own image, the lack of confidence in her singing abilities and an almost obsessive longing to achieve absolute perfection in her work. She also displayed an inherent shyness. Perhaps the ultimate irony is that these very traits of hers acted as the catalyst, enabling Mary O’Brien to develop into the persona who achieved international stardom as Dusty Springfield.
From a young age, Mary aspired to be a singer. She told the Nuns at the convent school she attended that she wanted to be a blues singer. Not exactly the response you might expect from a ten-year-old girl! When Mary left school, her day job was as a salesgirl. Although she performed folk and Latin American songs in the late 1950’s in small London venues her professional career didn’t start properly until she successfully answered a press advertisement in 1958 for the Lana Sisters, who were at the time an established ‘sister’ act needing a new member. Her time with the Lana Sisters afforded her invaluable ‘stage’ and TV skills. However, Dusty is quoted as having said that she never really fitted in and in 1960 she joined forces with her brother Dion (now Tom Springfield) and Tim Field (who was later to be replaced by Mike Hurst) to form the Springfields.
As a young woman, Mary identified herself negatively and very much disliked the way she looked. She hated the bespectacled chubbiness of her teenage years, and set about a radical transformation. The hairstyles she sported in The Springfields began the process which would ultimately result in the ‘Dusty Springfield look’, a look which epitomized so much of the 1960’s – blond beehive hairstyle and black ‘panda’ eyes. The O’Brien offspring adopted the surname ‘Springfield’ and Mary came to be known by the public as ‘Dusty’. Many stories abound as to the origins of the names but certainly Dusty herself is quoted as saying that hers was the nickname given her by school friends because she was such a tomboy and loved playing football out in the streets with the boys! The ‘explanation’ for the name ‘Springfields’ comes from the anecdote that they used to rehearse in fields during the spring.
Dusty characterised ‘The Springfields’ as ‘pseudo-everything’ although their commercial success on both sides of the Atlantic was largely premised on folk/country style songs. The songs most associated with The Springfields are Island of Dreams, Bambino and the song that was a huge hit in the States, Silver Threads and Golden Needles. ‘We didn’t sing very in tune but we sang quite loudly and there was a niche there for us at the time’, said Dusty.
A visit to Nashville with The Springfields in circa 1962 ignited a love affair with black soul music that had been smouldering within Dusty and which was to continue for the rest of her life. She is quoted as saying that it was ‘Only when I first went to the States and heard black pop music that I discovered…THAT was the music I wanted to hear’. The disparity between the types of songs The Springfields sang and those black sounds she was continually drawn towards hastened the inevitable break up of The Springfields, which occurred in 1963.
As a solo artist, Dusty attained phenomenal success during the sixties. The list of her achievements is staggering and includes the following. In the six-year period between 1963 and 1969 she had 17 UK chart entries of which 10 were top ten singles. You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me released in 1966 went to the number 1 slot in the UK (number 4 in America) and remained in the UK charts for an impressive 13 weeks! In the mid to late sixties in the UK she hosted and starred in three television variety series. She was voted Best Female Vocalist in the New Musical Express awards in 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967 and 1969. Alongside the likes of The Beatles and The Dave Clark Five, she was also cited in the early to mid-60 as spearheading the so-called ‘British Invasion’ of the American pop charts. Her ever-deepening involvement with the sounds of Motown held significance for the British pop scene and in 1965 she showcased a ‘Ready Steady Go’Motown Special on UK television.
Whilst the string of hit singles such as I Only Want To Be With You, Stay Awhile, I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself, Losing You and You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me demonstrated to a great degree Dusty’s vocal versatility, her album releases throughout the sixties afforded the further opportunity for her to showcase very different approaches. A Girl Called Dusty (1964), Ev’rything’s Coming Up Dusty (1965), Where Am I Going (1967) and Dusty Definitely (1968) were all indicative of an artist continually trying different things, never vocally remaining in one place.
By the late 60’s it seemed as if Dusty could no longer take her fans with her and sales of her recordings dipped. Later she would say that she ‘saw the writing on the wall, and I didn’t like it’. Also, the excruciating work schedule began to take its toll on her, not least in the recurring bouts of laryngitis she suffered. Commenting on the fact that she had pushed her voice to the limit and had risked permanently damaging it, and of course her singing career along the way, she has been quoted as saying ‘It was anything for effect, whatever the cost’. At around this time Dusty was also increasingly concerned about the cabaret-type route that her career was edging its way toward.
In 1969 the now critically acclaimed ‘Dusty in Memphis’ album was released. This album signalled a number of crucial changes in direction for her. As a solo artist Dusty had been signed to Phillips record label and whilst there was clearly diversity in the type of song recorded, the period could be identified essentially by either the big ballads and/or the tendency to aspire to the all-consuming Phil Spector wall of sound effect. ‘Dusty in Memphis’ was her first album recorded under the Atlantic label and produced by Wexler, Dowd and Mardin. It was also the first album where she acknowledged there was ‘no need to sing in a style other than my natural one’.
Much has been written about the problems encountered during the production process. One of Dusty’s significant attributes throughout her career was the ability to select songs for recording, which gave expression to the quality of her vocals. However, her indecision regarding track selection, her seeming reluctance to want to lay down the tracks in the Memphis studio (her vocals were actually done in New York), her ‘tantrums,’ all added credence to the reputation she had already gained for being a difficult artist to work with. Time has shown however that much of her ‘difficult’ reputation can be attributed to almost paranoid insecurity, the feelings of intimidation at the prospect of recording in the same studio as Aretha Franklin and other ‘greats’, coupled with the paralysing effects of continually striving for absolute perfection. Whatever the difficulties however, what was produced was an album that is still receiving plaudits to this very day. It resulted in the one and only platinum album received by Dusty (for Son of a Preacher man as featured on the Pulp Fiction soundtrack) and allowed her to wallow in the songs of some of her favourite composers: Goffin and King, Bacharach and David, and Randy Newman. At the time the album sales were disappointingly poor.
The draw of America became all the more strong because of these poor record sales in the UK, and in the early seventies Dusty relocated and would not return ‘home’ to stay for some fifteen years. At no point did Dusty write her own biography so much of what was written about those years cannot always be substantiated. However, what seems to be the case is that she lapsed into periods of depression and suffered from alcohol and substance addiction. One can only surmise as to why things reached the point they did and certainly a full discussion is outside the scope of this particular biography. Suffice to say though, that in terms of her career, she was not enamoured of the direction in which her American management team were taking her – the tried and tested cabaret/night club route. In addition she was unfortunate with record labels, with one buy out after another adding to the instability of the contracts.
Between 1970 and 1973 three further albums were released in the UK: From Dusty With Love (1970), See All Her Faces (1972) and Cameo (1973). Again, sales were disappointing and after laying down most of the tracks for a fourth album ‘Elements’ (later renamed ‘Longing’) Dusty disappeared from the music scene for a while. The ‘Longing’ album was not released at the time and did not see the light of day until all but one of the tracks was combined with the Cameo tracks and released in the States as the ABC Dunhill Collection ‘Beautiful Soul’ (2001). The incredible irony is that this period has more recently been heralded as a time when Dusty’s voice was at its peak. The aching vulnerability of her vocals is, of course, all the more poignant because we are now aware of what was happening in her personal life.
A quiet period in terms of recording then ensued until ‘It Begins Again’ was released in early 1978 on the United Artists label and was followed by a second album in mid 1979, Living Without Your Love. Both albums failed to reinvigorate the enthusiasm of the record buying public and Dusty is on record as saying that she was ‘hurt’ and ‘confused’, whilst at the same time acknowledging that the second album was ‘unstunning’. Dusty’s instincts were normally uncannily spot-on in terms of song selection, but all too often it appeared the record companies were inclined to set her in a different direction. It was certainly a depressing time career-wise, as scheduled UK regional concerts failed to achieve sufficient ticket sales and were cancelled. The London dates however, were sell-outs.
In 1982, Dusty recorded the album ‘White Heat’ which was not issued in the UK but rather only in the States and Canada. Yet again, legal wrangles with the record company impacted on sales. However, notwithstanding disappointing returns this album emphasised for any who remained in doubt - Dusty Springfield could sing all genres of music! White Heat was pure 1980’s.
A collaboration with Peter Stringfellow in 1985 ended for a short time Dusty’s absence. However, the single ‘Sometimes Like Butterflies’ on Stringfellow’s Hippodrome label failed to achieve chart success. Distribution problems were blamed as playing a part in this failure. Whatever the success or failure of this project however, there was a suggestion that Dusty was simply not up to par and the quality of her performance reflected this fact.
A recording of Richard Carpenter’s ‘Something In Your Eyes’ in 1986 was followed by another collaboration in 1987 this time with the Pet Shop Boys. Dusty’s career was relaunched and she was introduced to a whole new generation. She had said on a number of occasions that she was unsure whether she ever wanted to make another record again. However, not only did she record the highly successful single ‘What Have I Done To Deserve This’ with the Pet Shop Boys, she went on to make the 1990 album ‘Reputation’ from which more singles success was to come (In Private, Nothing Has Been Proved, Reputation). During this period Dusty decided to return to the UK to live. She first lived in Holland for a while in order to allow her beloved cats to escape the strict British quarantine rules. However, a UK base soon became a necessity and so Dusty and cats relocated.
1993 saw the release of the ‘Heart and Soul’ single with Cilla Black to celebrate the latter’s 30 years in the music business and this was followed by what turned out to be Dusty’s last album, ‘A Very Fine Love’. She had for a long time nurtured the desire to return to Nashville. As part of the Springfields all those years previous, she had been asked to stay – it was almost like returning home for her. Nearing the completion of the recording, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to undergo chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment. The album was released in 1995 after Dusty had been given the all clear. The last live television appearance that Dusty made was on the show ‘Later With Jools Holland’ where, accompanied by Alison Moyet and Sinead O’Connor amongst others, she sang the track ‘Where Is A Woman To Go
Dusty’s cancer returned and was diagnosed as terminal. She moved to Henley-on-Thames and was able to spend some peaceful times looking out over the garden at the ‘pretty things’ which she always aspired to do.
Dusty Springfield died on the 2 March 1999, the very day she had been due to go to Buckingham Palace to be honoured with the Order of the British Empire. (She had however received the award in hospital, presented to her by her manager who had collected the award earlier). A private funeral for her was held on the 12 March 1999 at St. Mary’s Church, Henley on Thames, attended by three hundred mourners. Many, many more were in the street and parts of Henley were almost brought to a standstill as the centre was closed to traffic. Dusty was cremated and some of her ashes were scattered into the Atlantic off the Irish coast and the rest are laid at a memorial in the grounds of St Mary’s where the marker reads ‘Dusty Springfield OBE 1939-1999’
The Queen of Mods, The Queen of White Soul, The Blue Eyed Soul Singer, a pop diva, a 60’s icon, a singing legend…there can be no single description which captures the enigmatic quality of this woman. Whilst her music is undoubtedly a huge part of her legacy, time has already shown her to have represented so much more: her stand against the South African authorities in 1964 when she refused to play to segregated audiences brought to the fore the issue of apartheid and led to a level of awareness that might not otherwise have existed for many at that time; her influence on the UK music industry through her involvement with the introduction of black soul sounds and artists; the significance of the promotion of the bee-hive hairstyle which epitomised the 60’s; and although a very private person in terms of her own sexuality, her status as a lesbian and gay icon which has provided a source of strength and support to those communities, all point to a social significance which can so easily be overlooked but should never be underestimated nor forgotten.
