Dusty in the wind

 

Dusty Springfield sounds about as Tennessean a name as Dolly Parton does. Yet, although the great Dolly indeed hails from Tennessee, the arguably equally great Dusty actually came from West Hampstead, London… England. Not exactly what you would picture when you listen to her anthemic 1968 single “Son of a Preacher Man”. Yet, Miss Springfield (real name: O’Brien, highlighting her unmistakable Irish ancestry) was, as it happens, a full-blooded British performer who started out as a Swinging Sixties Pop sensation, first with The Springfields, which she started with her brother, then eventually solo.

Her first mega-hit, “I Only Wanna Be With You”, came out in 1963 and established her as a musical powerhouse from the get-go. The voice was there, the style was right, the performing chops too… She was the real deal, and the audiences knew it right away. The 1964 follow-up “I Don’t Know What To Do With Myself”, a Burt Bacharach-penned Brill Building gem more recently covered by The White Stripes, had her battling for top UK vocalist with the likes of Petula Clark. Interestingly, though, the artist quickly seemed to develop a personal touch that took her away from straight Pop and instead towards the edgier sounds of her era. And towards America.

The 1968 album Dusty… definitely had the artist sing a lot of Soul-driven material, including “Take Another Little Piece Of My Heart”, whose other iconic version came from none other than the late great Janis Joplin (along with Big Brother and the Holding Company). But that wasn’t even the height of her Soul searching (if you’ll pardon the pun): 1969’s Dusty in Memphis, produced by Atlantic Record’s legendary Jerry Wexler himself (the man who coined the term “Rhythm and Blues” no less), had Miss Springfield recording in a studio also frequented by Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin, to name but a few. That’s how “Son of a Preacher Man” came about, as well as a host of perfectly cut pieces of classic blue-eyed Soul material. And that’s how Springfield came to sound more like a (US) Southerner than the then-Paris based Petula Clark…

That’s not the only thing that set this immense artist apart from her peers: at a time when homosexuality, especially amongst women, was simply not talked about out loud, the fact that she was never linked to any male romantic interest sparked endless discussions — and controversy. As early as 1970, the situation had her fairly straightforwardly implying to journalists that she was equally attracted to both sexes. Perhaps not a full admission of her seemingly clear inclinations, but still an incredibly bold statement for the era. Note: 1970 is also the year Queen’s flamboyant Freddie Mercury started officiating, although he was never quite able to say anything as candid as that — till the end of his life…

Sadly, Miss Springfield passed away in 1999, weeks before her 60th birthday. An untimely death for sure, but one that does not prevent generations from enjoying her music to this day, whether or not their parents are or ever have been preachers…