Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 - 2 March 1999), professionally known as Dusty Springfield, was an English pop and soul singer and record producer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s.
Born in Weat Hampstead to a family that enjoyed music, Springfield learned to sing at home. In 1958 she joined her first professional group, The Lana Sisters, and two years later formed a pop-folk vocal trio, The Springfields, with her brother Tom Springfield and Tim Field. The trio chose their name while rehearsing in a field in Somerset in
the springtime and took the stage names of Dusty, Tom, and Tim
Springfield. Intending to make an authentic US album, the group traveled to Nashville, Tennessee, to record Folk Songs from the Hills. The local music that Springfield heard during this visit, in particular "Tell Him," helped turn her style from folk and country towards pop music rooted in Rhythm and Blues. The band was voted the "Top British Vocal Group" by the New Musical Express poll in 1961 and 1962.
During early 1963, The Springfields recorded their last UK Top 5 hit,
"Say I Won't Be There". The group appeared on ITV Associated
Rediffusion's popular music TV series Ready Steady Go!. Springfield left the band after their final concert in October 1963.
In November 1963 Springfield released her first solo single, "I Only Want To Be with You," which was produced in a manner similar to Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound", and included rhythm and blues features such as horn sections, backing singers, and double-tracked vocals, along with pop music strings, all in the style of girl groups that Springfield admired, such as The Exciters and The Shirelles. It rose to No. 4 on the UK charts, it remained on the Billboard Hot 100 for 10 weeks, peaking at No. 12. The B-side , "Once Upon a Time", was written by Springfield. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc in the UK.
On 17 April 1964 Springfield issued her debut album A Girl Called Dusty which included mostly remakes of her favorite songs. The album reached No. 6 in the UK in May 1964. The chart hits "Stay Awhile," "All Cried Out," and "Losing You" followed the same year. In December 1964, Springfield's tour of South Africa with her group The Echoes was controversially terminated, and she was deported, after they performed for an integrated audience at a theatre near Cape Town, which was against the then government's segregation policy. Her contract specifically excluded segregated performances, making her one of the first British artists to do so.
Springfield introduced the Motown sound to a wider UK audience, both with her covers of Motown songs, and by facilitating the first UK TV appearance for The Temptations, The Supremes, The Miracles and Stevie Wonder on a special edition of the Ready Steady Go! show.
By 1968 her performing career was limited to the UK touring circuit of working men's clubs, hotels and cabarets. Hoping to reinvigorate her career and boost her credibility, Springfield signed with Atlantic Records, the label of her idol, Aretha Franklin. The producers recognized that Springfield's natural soul voice should be placed at the forefront, rather than competing with full string arrangements. The album Dusty in Memphis received excellent reviews on its initial releases both in the UK and US. In November 1968 the lead single from the album, "Son of a Preacher Man" reached No. 10 on the UK, US and international singles charts.
By 1968 her performing career was limited to the UK touring circuit of working men's clubs, hotels and cabarets. Hoping to reinvigorate her career and boost her credibility, Springfield signed with Atlantic Records, the label of her idol, Aretha Franklin. The producers recognized that Springfield's natural soul voice should be placed at the forefront, rather than competing with full string arrangements. The album Dusty in Memphis received excellent reviews on its initial releases both in the UK and US. In November 1968 the lead single from the album, "Son of a Preacher Man" reached No. 10 on the UK, US and international singles charts.
In January 1970 her second and final album on Atlantic Records, A Brand New Me (re-titled as From Dusty... With Love in the UK), was released, it only sold moderately, and Springfield was unhappy with both her management and record company. In the late 1970s Springfield released two albums on United Artists Records. She experienced a career slump for several years. However, in collaboration with Pet Shop Boys, she returned to the Top 10 of the UK and US charts in 1987 with "What Have I Done To Deserve This?"
She dies of cancer in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire on 2 March 1999.
