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Dusty Springfield

 
Who2 Biography: Dusty Springfield, Singer
 
Dusty Springfield
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  • Born: 16 April 1939
  • Birthplace: London, England
  • Died: 2 March 1999 (Breast cancer)
  • Best Known As: Husky-voiced soul singer of the 1960s

Name at birth: Mary O'Brien

Mary O'Brien began singing with a group called The Lana Sisters, then formed the Springfields with her brother. They had a few hits in the U.K., but in 1963 she embarked on a solo career, using her stage name, Dusty Springfield. Over the next decade she had a string of hits, including "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" and "Son of a Preacher Man." She died in 1999.

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Artist: Dusty Springfield
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  • Born: April 16, 1939, Hampstead, London, England
  • Died: March 02, 1999, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, En
  • Active: '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s
  • Genres: Rock
  • Instrument: Vocals
  • Representative Albums: "The Very Best of Dusty Springfield," "Dusty in Memphis," "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me"
  • Representative Songs: "Son of a Preacher Man," "The Look of Love," "You Don't Have to Say You Lov"

Biography

Britain's greatest pop diva, Dusty Springfield was also the finest white soul singer of her era, a performer of remarkable emotional resonance whose body of work spans the decades and their attendant musical transformations with a consistency and purity unmatched by any of her contemporaries; though a camp icon of glamorous excess in her towering beehive hairdo and panda-eye black mascara, the sultry intimacy and heartbreaking urgency of Springfield's voice transcended image and fashion, embracing everything from lushly orchestrated pop to gritty R&B to disco with unparalleled sophistication and depth. She was born Mary O'Brien on April 16, 1939, and raised on an eclectic diet of classical music and jazz, coming to worship Peggy Lee; after completing her schooling she joined the Lana Sisters, a pop vocal trio which issued a few singles on Fontana before dissolving. In 1960, upon teaming with her brother Dion O' Brien and his friend Tim Feild in the folk trio the Springfields, O'Brien adopted the stage name Dusty Springfield; thanks to a series of hits including "Breakaway," "Bambino," and "Say I Won't Be There," the group was soon the U.K.'s best-selling act.

After the Springfields cracked the U.S. Top 20 in 1962 with "Silver Threads and Golden Needles," the group traveled stateside to record in Nashville, where exposure to the emerging American girl-group and Motown sounds impacted Dusty so profoundly that in 1963 she left the Springfields at the peak of their fame to pursue a solo career. Her first single, "I Only Want to Be With You," boasted a dramatic sound and soulful melody worthy of a Phil Spector hit, and it quickly reached the British Top Five; it also fell just shy of the Top Ten in the U.S., where it became the first major record from a U.K. act other than the Beatles since the Fab Four's launch of the British Invasion. Her biggest American Top Ten hit, "Wishin' and Hopin'," was the first in a series of Springfield smashes from the pen of songwriters Burt Bacharach and Hal David; she would subsequently cover Bacharach/David classics including "Anyone Who Had a Heart" and "I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself," surpassed only by Dionne Warwick as the finest interpreter of the duo's songs.

Additionally charting with hits including "Stay Awhile" and "All Cried Out," by the end of 1964 Springfield was arguably the biggest solo act in British pop, winning the first of four consecutive Best Female Vocalist honors in NME; that same year, she also created a political furor after she was deported from South Africa for refusing to play in front of racially segregated audiences. Returning to England, in 1965 Springfield hosted the television special The Sound of Motown, a show widely credited with introducing the Sound of Young America to the their British counterparts, and continued racking up smashes like "Losing You," "Your Hurtin' Kinda Love," and "In the Middle of Nowhere"; in 1966, she scored her biggest international hit with the devastating ballad "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me," which topped the U.K. charts and reached the Top Five in the U.S. The soundalike "All I See Is You," another heart-wrenching evocation of unrequited love, soon reached the British Top Ten as well; it was followed, however, by the Bacharach/David-penned "The Look of Love," a bossa nova-inflected classic positively radiating with dreamlike sensuousness.

By 1968, however, Springfield's commercial fortunes were on the decline -- in the wake of Sgt. Pepper and the Summer of Love, "girl singers" were now widely perceived as little more than fluff. In response, she signed to the American label Atlantic, traveling to Memphis to record with producers Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd, and Arif Mardin; the resulting album, issued in early 1969 as Dusty in Memphis, remains her masterpiece, a perfect marriage of pop and soul stunning in its emotional complexity and earthy beauty. Although the classic single "Son of a Preacher Man" cracked the Top Ten on both sides of the pond, the album itself was nevertheless a commercial failure, as was its fine 1970 follow-up, A Brand New Me, recorded in Philadelphia with the input of the songwriting/production team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. After completing 1972's See All Her Faces, Springfield relocated from London to New York City, eventually settling in Los Angeles; there she signed to ABC/Dunhill and recorded 1973's Cameo, another critical success which like its predecessors made virtually no impact on the charts.

A projected follow-up, Longings, was abandoned prior to its completion, and apart from singing backup on Anne Murray's Together album, Springfield spent the mid-'70s outside of music while battling substance abuse problems. She finally resurfaced in 1978 with the Roy Thomas Baker-produced It Begins Again, followed a year later by Living Without Your Love; both attracted little notice, although the non-album single "Baby Blue" was a minor British hit in 1979. Apart from a handful of soundtrack contributions, Springfield was silent until returning to London in 1982 to record White Heat, an album firmly grounded in the prevailing synth-pop sound of its times; again, despite good critical notices, a comeback failed to materialize. She would release just a handful of singles over the next few years, including the 1984 Spencer Davis duet "Private Number," the 1985 ballad "Sometimes Like Butterflies," and a 1987 collaboration with Richard Carpenter, "Something in Your Eyes," which became a minor success in the U.S.

Upon returning to California in 1987, Springfield was contacted to collaborate with techno-pop innovators the Pet Shop Boys on a duet titled "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" The single was a global blockbuster, peaking at number two in both the U.S. and the U.K., and it introduced her to a new generation of listeners; Pet Shop Boys Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe also agreed to produce a handful of tracks for 1990's Reputation, which became Springfield's best-selling new album since her '60s-era peak. The follow-up, 1995's country-influenced A Very Fine Love, was recorded in Nashville; during sessions for the album, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and after months of radiation therapy the illness was believed to be in remission. By the summer of 1996, however, the cancer had returned, and on March 2, 1999, Springfield died at the age of 59; just ten days later, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
 
Discography: Dusty Springfield
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Anthology

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Dusty Sings Classic Soul

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Simply Dusty [Earbook]

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Her Very Best

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Her Very Best

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Live at the Royal Albert Hall

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Dusty in Memphis [UK Bonus Tracks]

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Dusty in Memphis [UK Bonus Tracks]

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Dusty... Definitely [Bonus Tracks]

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From Dusty with Love [Bonus Tracks]

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Silver Collection [Spectrum]

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Simply Dusty

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Star Club

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Live at the Royal Albert Hall [DVD]

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Live at the BBC

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Ev'rything's Coming Up Dusty [Germany Bonus Tracks]

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Ultimate Silver Collection

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Gold

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Gold

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Best 1200

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At Her Very Best

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Very Best of Dusty Springfield [Universal]

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Son of a Preacher Man and Other Hits

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Colour Collection

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Complete BBC Sessions

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Complete A and B Sides 1963-1970

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Singles+

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Best of Dusty Springfield

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20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Dusty Springfield

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Dusty: The Original Pop Diva

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Another Little Piece of My Heart: The Love Songs

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Blue for You [Spectrum]

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Love Songs

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Best Selection

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Lounge Legends

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Hits Collection

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Dusty in London

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Sings Classic Soul

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Beautiful Soul: The ABC/Dunhill Collection

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It Begins Again [UK Bonus Track]

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Spooky: Very Best Of

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Am I the Same Girl

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Dusty [DVD]

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Classics & Collectibles

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For Café Après-Midi

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Ultimate Collection

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Very Best of Dusty Springfield [Mercury]

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Best [Japan]

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Gold [2008]

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Look of Love [Compilation]

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Look of Love [Compilation]

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Dusty Springfield Story

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Blue for You

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I Close My Eyes and Count to Ten [DVD]

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Ultimate Collection [Universal]

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Heart and Soul

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Classic

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Son of a Preacher Man [Rotation]

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Songbooks

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Stay Awhile-I Only Want to Be with You/Dusty

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Reputation & Rarities

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Reputation & Rarities

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Something Special

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Very Fine Love

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Very Best of Dusty Springfield [Philips]

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Goin' Back: The Very Best of Dusty Springfield

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Silver Collection [Philips]

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White Heat

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Living Without Your Love

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Cameo

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See All Her Faces

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Brand New Me

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Dusty in Memphis

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Dusty in Memphis [Deluxe Edition]

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Dusty... Definitely

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Look of Love

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Where Am I Going

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You Don't Have to Say You Love Me

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Ev'rything's Coming Up Dusty

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Ooooooweeee!!!

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Dusty

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Stay Awhile/I Only Want to Be with You

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Girl Called Dusty

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Wikipedia: Dusty Springfield
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Dusty Springfield

Background information
Birth name Mary Isabel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien
Born April 16, 1939(1939-04-16)
Origin London, England
Died March 2, 1999 (aged 59)
Henley-on-Thames
Genre(s) Traditional pop, soul music
Occupation(s) Singer
Instrument(s) Guitar
Years active 1958–1995
Label(s) Philips Records, Atlantic Records
Associated acts Lana Sisters, Springfields, Sweet Inspirations

Mary Isabel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien, OBE (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known as Dusty Springfield, was a leading pop singer and entertainer. Of all the female British pop artists of the 1960s, she made one of the biggest impressions on the U.S. market. Owing to her distinctive sensual sound, she was one of the most notable white soul artists.

Born to an Irish Roman Catholic family that loved music, Mary O'Brien learned to sing at home. Dusty Springfield began her solo career in 1963 with the upbeat pop hit "I Only Want To Be With You". Her following singles charted on both sides of the Atlantic: "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself", "Wishin' and Hopin'", and "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" . A fan of American pop music, she campaigned to bring the little-known soul singers to a wider U.K. audience by devising and hosting the first British performances of the top-selling Motown Records artists in 1965. Her song "The Look of Love", written for Dusty Springfield by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, was featured in the film Casino Royale and nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song in 1967.

The sudden changes of pop music in the mid-1960s left girl singers out of fashion. To boost her credibility as a soul artist, Dusty Springfield went to Memphis, Tennessee to record an album of pop and soul music with the Atlantic Records' main production team. The LP Dusty in Memphis earned Springfield a nomination for a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1970 and received the Grammy Hall of Fame award in 2001. International readers and viewers polls list the record among the one hundred greatest albums of all time. The LP's standout track "Son of a Preacher Man" was an international Top 10 hit in 1969. Springfield's low period after the album ended in 1987, when collaborations with the Pet Shop Boys returned her to the Top 20 of the U.K. and U.S. charts with the singles "What Have I Done to Deserve This?", "Nothing Has Been Proved", and "In Private". In 1995, Dusty Springfield was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Dusty Springfield scored 18 singles in the Billboard Hot 100 in 1964–1970. She was voted the Top British Female Artist in the New Musical Express reader's poll in 1964, 1965, and 1968. Interest in her early output was revived in 1994, due to the inclusion of "Son of a Preacher Man" on the soundtrack of the Quentin Tarantino movie, Pulp Fiction. She is an inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the UK Music Hall of Fame. Dusty Springfield has been named among the best 25 female rock artists of all time in several international readers and artists polls.

Contents

Biography

Mary Isabel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien[1] was born in West Hampstead, England to an Irish family,[2] and was raised in the West London borough of Ealing. The name "Dusty" was given to her when she was a child, as she had been a tomboy in her early years. Dusty was brought up listening to a wide range of music, George Gershwin, Rogers and Hart, Rogers and Hammerstein, Cole Porter, Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Glenn Miller, among others. She was a fan of American Jazz and the music of Peggy Lee, with a desire to sound like her. Her tax consultant father[1] used to tap out rhythms on the back of her hand, encouraging young Dusty to guess the musical piece. At age 11, Dusty went into a local record shop in Ealing and made her first record, the Irving Berlin song "When The Midnight Choo Choo Leaves For Alabam".[3]

First bands (1958–63)

After finishing school in 1958, Mary O'Brien responded to the advertisement to join an "established sister act", The Lana Sisters.[4] With the vocal group, she developed the art of harmonising, learned microphone technique, recorded, did some television and played live both in the U.K. and at American Air Bases.

In 1960 she 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). The new trio changed their names to Dusty, Tom, and Tim Springfield and chose The Springfields as their name during a rehearsal in a field in Somerset in spring. [5] Intending to make an authentic American album, the Springfields travelled to Nashville to record the album Folk Songs from the Hills. The American pop tunes she heard during her stay helped to turn Springfield's career from the folk and country sounds of the Springfields towards pop music rooted in rhythm and blues. In the spring of 1963, the Springfields recorded their last U.K. Top 5 hit, "Say I Won't Be There", before disbanding. They played their last concert in October 1963.

A Girl Called Dusty (1963–64)

Dusty Springfield's first single, the soul-tinged "I Only Want to Be with You", was released in November 1963. The song, Springfield's first flirtation with American soul,[6] was arranged by Ivor Raymonde and paid homage to Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound" production style.[7] The single rose to #4 in the British charts[8] and #12 on Billboard Hot 100.[9] The song was actually a "sure shot" pick on influential New York pop music station WMCA in December 1963, even before the station started playing the Beatles. The release eventually charted into the top 10 on WMCA's weekly top 25 countdown survey. It was #48 of the year 1964 of the Musicradio WABC Top.[10] The song was also the first record played on the BBC's Top of the Pops.[11]

Her debut album A Girl Called Dusty included mostly covers of her favorite songs by other performers.[12] 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".[11] The album reached #6 in the U.K. in May 1964.[13] The chart hits "Stay Awhile", "All Cried Out", and "Losing You" followed the same year.[8] In 1964, Springfield recorded two Burt Bacharach songs: "Wishin' and Hopin'", a U.S. Top 10 hit,[9] and "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself", which reached U.K. #3.[8]

Springfield's tour of South Africa was interrupted in December 1964, after she performed before an integrated audience at a theater near Cape Town. Her flouting of government segregation policy resulted in her deportation from the country.[11] The same year, she was voted Top Female British Artist in the New Musical Express poll of the year, beating Lulu, Sandie Shaw, and Cilla Black.[12] Springfield received the award again the following year.[11]

1965 releases

In 1965 Springfield took part in the Italian Song Festival in Sanremo, failing to qualify to the final with two songs. In the competition, she heard the song "Io Che Non Vivo (Senza Te)".[14] The English version of the song, "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me", featured lyrics written by Springfield's friend and future manager, Vicki Wickham, and Simon Napier-Bell.[15] It reached U.K. #1[8] and U.S. #4 on the weekly Billboard Hot 100[9], and was #35 on the Billboard Top for 1966.[16] The song, which Springfield called "good old schmaltz",[15] was voted among the All Time Top 100 Songs by the listeners of BBC Radio 2 in 1999.

In 1965, she released three more U.K. Top 40 hits: "Your Hurtin' Kinda Love", "In the Middle of Nowhere" and Carole King's "Some of Your Lovin'".[8] These were not included on the album Ev'rything's Coming Up Dusty, featuring songs by Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley, Rod Argent, and Randy Newman, and a cover of the traditional Mexican song, "La Bamba". The LP peaked at #6 in the U.K.[17]

The Sound of Motown (1965–66)

Because of her enthusiasm for Motown music, Springfield campaigned to get the little known American soul singers a better audience in the UK.[18] She hosted The Sound Of Motown, a Ready Steady Go! special edition, on April 28, 1965. The show was broadcast by Rediffusion TV from their Wembley Studios. Springfield opened the two parts of the show, performing "Wishin' and Hopin'" and "Can't Hear You No More", accompanied by Martha Reeves and the Vandellas and Motown's in-house band The Funk Brothers. Other guests included The Temptations, The Supremes, The Miracles, Stevie Wonder.[19] In 1994, guests of the 1965 show credited Dusty's championing of their music for popularizing American soul music in the U.K. in the documentary, Dusty Springfield. Full Circle.[20] Springfield released three additional U.K. Top 20 hits in 1966: "Little By Little", Carole King's "Going Back" and "All I See Is You".[8] In fall 1966, she hosted Dusty, a series of 6 BBC TV music and talk shows.[21] A compilation of her singles, Golden Hits, released in November 1966, reached #2 in the U.K.[22]

The Look of Love (1967)

The Bacharach-David composition "The Look of Love" was designed as a centerpiece for the spoof Bond movie 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 epitomized longing and lust.[23] The track was recorded in two versions at the Philips Studios of London. The soundtrack version was recorded on January, 29, and the single release version on April 14.[24] The song is featured in the scene of Ursula Andress as Vesper Lynd persuading Peter Sellers as Evelyn Tremble,[25] seen through a man-size aquarium.[26] "The Look of Love" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song of 1967. The song was a Top 10 radio hit at the KGB and KHJ radio stations. As in 1967 Dusty had trouble with charting hits in the United States,[18] the song earned her highest place in the year's charts, #22.

Where Am I Going? (1967–68)

By the end of 1967, Dusty was becoming disillusioned with the show-business carousel on which she found herself trapped.[12] She appeared out of step with the Summer of Love and its attendant psychedelic music.[12] The second season of the BBC Dusty TV shows,[21] featuring performances of "Get Ready" and "I'll Try Anything", attracted a healthy audience, but was anathema to the sudden changes in pop music.[12] The comparatively progressive and prophetically titled Where Am I Going? attempted to redress this. Containing a jazzy, orchestrated version of "Sunny", and Jacques Brel's "If You Go Away", it was an artistic success, but flopped commercially.[12] In 1968 a similar fate awaited Dusty... Definitely.[12] On this her choice of material ranged from the rolling "Ain't No Sunshine" to the aching emotion of "I Think It's Gonna Rain Today".[12] In the same year Dusty had a U.K. Top 5 hit "I Close My Eyes and Count to Ten".[8] Her personal TV shows continued with the ITV series of It Must Be Dusty,[21] including a duet with Jimi Hendrix on the song "Mockingbird". In the same year, Roger Moore presented her third Top British Female Artist award, voted by the readers of New Musical Express.

Memphis sessions (1968–69)

In 1968, Carole King, one of Springfield's songwriters, embarked on a singing career of her own, while the chart-busting 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.[12] In addition, her performing career was becoming bogged down on the U.K. touring circuit, which at that time largely consisted of working men's clubs and the hotel and cabaret circuit.[12] Hoping to reinvigorate her career and boost her credibility, Springfield signed with Atlantic Records,[12] home label of an idol of hers, Aretha Franklin. The Memphis sessions at the American Sound Studios[1] were recorded by the A team of Atlantic Records: producers Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd, Arif Mardin,[27] the back-up vocal band Sweet Inspirations and the instrumental band Memphis Cats,[28] led by guitarist Reggie Young and bass player Tommy Cogbill.[27] The producers were the first to recognize that Springfield's natural soul voice should be placed at the fore, rather than competing with full string arrangements. Due to Springfield's pursuit of perfection and what Jerry Wexler called, a 'gigantic inferiority complex', her vocals were recorded later in New York.[11][29]

The LP Dusty in Memphis received a positive review from Greil Marcus of Rolling Stone magazine saying:"...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."[30] The LP fell short of the U.K. Top 15 and peaked at #99 on the Billboard Top 200, selling a dissappointing 100,000 copies in the U.S.[5][31] However in 1970, the album earned Springfield a nomination for a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.[32] In 2001, Dusty in Memphis received the Grammy Hall of Fame award. The album was listed among the 100 Greatest Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone and VH1 artists, New Musical Express readers, and Channel 4 viewers polls. The standout track of the album, "Son of a Preacher Man", reached #10 on the U.K., U.S. and international charts. Its continental success peaked at #10 on the Austrian charts and at #3 on the Swiss charts.[33] The song was the 96th most popular song of 1969 in the United States.[34]

Decline (1969–86)

In September and October 1969, Dusty Springfield hosted eight episodes of the BBC TV show Decidedly Dusty.[21] In 1970, Springfield released her second album for Atlantic Records, A Brand New Me, featuring songs written and produced by Gamble and Huff. The album yielded a Billboard Top 25 single, "A Brand New Me". 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 LP. 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, having 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. A 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, living reclusively in the United States to avoid scrutiny by British tabloids.[11] During this time she provided background vocals for Anne Murray's LP Together[6] and Elton John's LP Caribou, including the single "The Bitch is Back". Springfield released two albums on United Artists Records in the late '70s. The first was 1978's It Begins Again, produced by Roy Thomas Baker. The LP charted on both sides of the Atlantic and was well received by critics, but was not a commercial success. The 1979 album Living Without Your Love did slightly better.[6] In London, she recorded two singles with David Mackay for her British label, Mercury Records. The first was the disco-influenced "Baby Blue", which reached #61 in Britain. The second, "Your Love Still Brings Me to My Knees", was Springfield's final single for Philips Records. In autumn 1979, Springfield played club dates in New York.[6] On 3 December 1979, she performed a charity concert for a full house at the Royal Albert Hall, in the presence of Princess Margaret. She signed a U.S. deal with 20th Century Records, which resulted in the single "It Goes Like It Goes". Springfield was uncharacteristically proud of her 1982 album White Heat, influenced by the New Wave genre.[11] She tried to revive her career again 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 Stringfellow's live television show. None of Dusty Springfield's recordings from 1971 to 1986 charted on the U.K. or U.S. Top 40.

Comeback (1987–94)

In 1987, she accepted an invitation from the Pet Shop Boys to sing with the duo's Neil Tennant on their single "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" and appear on the promotional video. The record rose to #2 on both the U.K. and U.S. charts. The song subsequently appeared on the Pet Shop Boys' album Actually, and both of their greatest hits collections. Springfield sang lead vocals on the Richard Carpenter track "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 U.S. 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. 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 also appeared on Black's Through the Years album.[35]. 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 produced with a typical country feel.

Illness and death (1994–99)

While recording her final album, A Very Fine Love, in January 1994 in Nashville, Springfield felt unwell. Upon returning to England a few months later, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She received months of radiation treatment and, for a time, the cancer was in remission.[9] In 1995, in apparent good health again, Springfield set about promoting the album and gave a live performance of "Where Is a Woman to Go?" on the BBC television music show Later With Jools Holland, backed by Alison Moyet and Sinéad O'Connor. The last song Springfield recorded was the George and Ira Gershwin standard "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 the singer had helped plan but did not live to see released. Cancer was detected again in the summer of 1996. After a fight, she was defeated by the illness in 1999. She died in Henley-on-Thames on the day she had been due to go to Buckingham Palace to receive her Order of the British Empire insignia. Before her death, officials of St James's Palace gave permission for the medal to be collected by Springfield's manager, Vicki Wickham. She duly presented it to the singer in hospital, where they had been joined by a small party of friends and relatives. Her induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame had been scheduled for 10 days after her death. Elton John helped induct Springfield into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, stating:[36]

I think she is the greatest white singer that there ever has been.

The singer'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, where Springfield had lived during her last years. A marker dedicated to her memory was placed in the church graveyard. 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 very rare departure from royal protocol, Queen Elizabeth said she was 'saddened' to learn of Springfield's death.

Selected quotes from the British obituaries:

"....the carefully shaded emotions she brought to the music of her prime....... she was the only white woman singer worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as the great divas of 1960's soul music" Richard Williams, The Guardian

"The Queen of Pop is dead" The Daily Express

".....few would deny that Dusty Springfield was the finest female pop singer that Britain has ever produced" Mick Brown, The Daily Telegraph

"The finest female voice we ever had" The Independent

"....as much a part of 1960's Britain as the mini skirt...." The Times

"Dusty ended life as the Queen of Britpop" The Daily Mirror

"...the voice that haunted a generation" The Daily Mail

"The day the music died" The Guardian

Dusty Springfield's will provided care for her cat, Nicholas, including a marriage to the five-year-old female cat of a friend in a private ceremony later that spring.[37]

Personality

The conflict between Dusty Springfield's Roman Catholic faith and her life affected her deeply.[38] Springfield's biographers and journalists have suggested she had two personas: shy, quiet, Mary O'Brien, and the persona she created in Dusty Springfield. While her career was on hold in the 1970s and early 1980s, she succumbed to and then successfully battled alcohol and drug dependencies. She was hospitalised several times for self-harming, and was diagnosed as suffering from manic-depression.[5]

In her early career, much of her odd behaviour was carried out more or less in fun and was treated as such; like her famous food fights and hurling a box of crockery down a flight of stairs.

Dusty Springfield had great love for animals, particularly cats. She was an advocate for several animal-protection groups.[39] She also enjoyed maps, getting lost, and navigating her way out.[3]

Sexuality

The fact that Dusty Springfield was never in a publicly-known relationship meant that the issue of her being bisexual continued to be raised throughout her life.[40] In 1970, Dusty told the Evening Standard:[40]

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.

In the standards of 1970, that was a very bold statement.[40] Three years later, she explained to the Los Angeles Free Press:[3]

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.

An occasional comment in the presence of her fans and Princess Margaret at the performance at the Royal Albert Hall in 1979:[41]

I am glad to see that royalty isn't confined to the box.

In 1970s and early 1980s, Dusty had a number of romantic relationships with women in U.S. and Canada. She briefly dated Rough Trade's Carole Pope. [5]

Artistry

Voice

Influenced by American pop music,[6] Dusty Springfield created a distinctive white soul sound.[2][30] Most responses to her voice emphasize her breathy sensuality.[1][42] Another powerful feature was the sense of loss and heartbreak (e.g., "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" and "Goin' Back").[42] The uniqueness of Dusty Springfield's voice was described by Burt Bacharach as:"You could hear just three notes and you knew it was Dusty."[43] Greil Marcus, a Rolling Stone journalist captured Dusty Springfield's way with her lyrics as:"a soft, sensual box (voice) that allowed her to combine syllables until they turned into pure cream."[30] Springfield had a finely tuned musical ear.[44] She sang in a variety of styles, mostly pop, soul, folk, latin and rock'n'roll.[11] Her repertoire included songs that their writers ordinarily would have offered to black vocalists.[30] She also performed as the only white singer on all-black bills in the 1960s.[11] The soul orientation of her voice was expressed by some African American listeners hearing her for the first time on the radio or on record assuming she was black.[42]

Studio and stage performance

Springfield implored her white British backup musicians to capture the spirit and copy the instrumental playing styles of the black American musicians.[11][45] In the studio, Dusty Springfield was a perfectionist.[46] Her male colleagues who were unused to women taking control in the studio labelled her difficult to work with.[38] She often produced her songs, but could not take credit for doing so, as it was seen as bad form.[42][47] The fact that she could neither read nor write music made it hard for her to communicate with her session musicians.[44] During her extensive vocal sessions, she repeatedly recorded short phrases and single words.[39][45] On stage, as the perfect opposite of the character she was in the studio,[46] Dusty Springfield developed a joyful dashing image supported by trademark peroxided blonde beehive hairstyle and luscious evening gowns.[1][45][48]

Legacy

Dusty Springfield was one of the best-selling British singers in the 1960s.[6] She was voted the Top British Female Artist by the readers of the New Musical Express in 1964, 1965,[11] and 1968.[49] Of the female singers of the 1960s British Invasion, Springfield made one of the biggest impressions on the U.S. market,[50] scoring 18 singles in the Billboard Hot 100 from 1964 to 1970. Quentin Tarantino caused a revival of interest towards Dusty Springfield by including her song "Son of a Preacher Man" in the Pulp Fiction soundtrack which sold over three million copies.[51][52][53] By the time, she had turned into a camp icon.[1] She is an inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the UK Music Hall of Fame.[18] She was placed among the 25 female rock artists of all time by the readers of Mojo magazine (1999),[54] editors of Q magazine (2002),[55] and a panel of artists by VH1 TV channel (2007).[56] In 2008, Dusty appeared on the Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Singers of All Time".

Discography

Original studio albums and maximum positions on U.K. albums chart:[8]

Greatest Hits albums:

  • 1966: Golden Hits #2
  • 1979: Greatest Hits
  • 1988: Dusty - The Silver Collection #14
  • 1994: Goin' Back - The Very Best Of Dusty Springfield #5
  • 1998: The Best Of Dusty Springfield #19
  • 2004: The Look Of Love #25
  • 2006: At Her Very Best #31

The singles listed below reached the Top 25 of the Billboard Hot 100:[9]

The following singles reached the Top 20 of the U.K. Singles Chart:[57]

  • 1963: "I Only Want To Be With You" #4
  • 1964: "Stay Awhile" #13
  • 1964: "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" #3
  • 1965: "Losing You" #9
  • 1965: "In The Middle of Nowhere" #8
  • 1965: "Some Of Your Lovin'" #8
  • 1966: "Little By Little" #17
  • 1966: "Goin' Back" #10
  • 1966: "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me" #1
  • 1967: "I'll Try Anything" #13
  • 1968: "I Close My Eyes and Count to Ten" #4
  • 1969: "Son Of A Preacher Man" #9
  • 1987: "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" #2 (duet with Pet Shop Boys)
  • 1989: "Nothing Has Been Proved" #16
  • 1989: "In Private" #14

Bibliography

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Dusty Springfield". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9118215/Dusty-Springfield. 
  2. ^ a b "Flashback: Dusty Springfield". Observer Music Monthly. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/omm/story/0,,1062873,00.html. 
  3. ^ a b c Michele Kort (1999). "The Secret Life of Dusty Springfield" ([dead link]). The Advocate. http://www.thefreelibrary.com/The+secret+life+of+Dusty+Springfield-a054492600. 
  4. ^ The Lana Sisters]
  5. ^ a b c d Dancing with Demons: The Authorised Biography of Dusty Springfield. Hodder & Stoughton Ltd. 2000. 
  6. ^ a b c d e f "Son of the Preacher Man. The Rolling Stone magazine". http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/dustyspringfield/articles/story/6596085/son_of_a_preacher_man. 
  7. ^ Chin, Brian (1999). Album notes for The Best of Dusty Springfield (The Millennium Collection) by Dusty Springfield [Inset]. USA: Mercury Records (314 538 851-2).
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h "UK Top 40 Hit Database". http://www.everyhit.co.uk. 
  9. ^ a b c d e "Dusty Springfield". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:gifpxqr5ldae~T1. 
  10. ^ "The Musicradio WABC Top 100 of 1964". http://www.musicradio77.com/Top1964.html. 
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Dusty Springfield Biography. musicianguide.com site". http://www.musicianguide.com/biographies/1608000465/Dusty-Springfield.html. 
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Springfield, Dusty". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Muze UK. 1998. 
  13. ^ Sharon Mawer. Album chart history. 1964 The official U.K. charts company site
  14. ^ Sanremo 1965 (15a Edizione) hitparadeitalia.it
  15. ^ a b "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me. Rolling Stone site". http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/dustyspringfield/articles/story/6596336/you_dont_have_to_say_you_love_me. 
  16. ^ Chareborneranger presents the Billboard Top 100 for 1966
  17. ^ Sharon Mawer. Album chart history. 1965 The official U.K. charts company site
  18. ^ a b c "Biography for Dusty Springfield. IMDB site". http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0819778/bio. 
  19. ^ ""Ready, Steady, Go!" The Sound of Motown (1965). IMDB site". http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0193681/. 
  20. ^ Dusty Springfield. Full Circle Documentary film. Vision Records, 1994
  21. ^ a b c d "Filmography by TV series for Dusty Springfield. IMDB site". http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0819778/filmoseries#tt0298624. 
  22. ^ Sharon Mawer. Album chart history. 1966 The official U.K. charts company site
  23. ^ The Look of Love Allmusic
  24. ^ "Dusty Springfield The 1960's". http://www.wonderboymi.com/Discographies/ds60s.html. 
  25. ^ "Casino Royale. Turner Classic Movies site". http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article/?cid=21301&rss=mrqe. 
  26. ^ Synopsis for Casino Royale (1967)
  27. ^ a b "Dusty In Memphis. Rolling Stone magazine". http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/230620/review/5944299/dustyinmemphis?rating=11. 
  28. ^ "Dusty in Memphis. The treble site". http://www.treblezine.com/reviews/294.html. 
  29. ^ "89) Dusty in Memphis". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6598132/89_dusty_in_memphis. 
  30. ^ a b c d "Greil Marcus. Dusty in Memphis. The Rolling Stone magazine site". http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/dustyspringfield/albums/album/230620/review/5945017/dusty_in_memphis. 
  31. ^ "The Dusty Springfield Story". ForgottenHits.com. http://www.forgottenhits.com/dusty_springfield. 
  32. ^ 1970 Grammy Awards Metrolyrics.com
  33. ^ Dusty Springfield - Son of a Preacher Man Swiss Charts
  34. ^ Chareborneranger presents the Billboard Top 100 for 1969
  35. ^ "Cilla Black Discography: Heart and Soul (duet with Dusty Springfield) - Single". http://www.cillablack.com/music-heartandsoul-single.htm. Retrieved on 21 May 2009 (2009-05-21). 
  36. ^ Elton John Rock On The Net
  37. ^ Pavement, Dusty Springfield and Supergrass in the Week in Weird The Rolling Stone magazine
  38. ^ a b "Dusty Springfield (Mary O'Brien). VelvetClub.com site". http://www.velvet-club.com/gallery/lesbian_history_icons_dusty_springfield.php. 
  39. ^ a b "Dusty Springfield. activemusician site". http://www.activemusician.com/Dusty-Springfield-Biography--t8i936. 
  40. ^ a b c "The Invention of Dusty Springfield. Woman of Repute site". http://www.cpinternet.com/mbayly/article38.htm. 
  41. ^ Dusty Springfield Live at the Royal Albert Hall. DVD Video. Eagle Rock Entertainment, 2005
  42. ^ a b c d Mitchell, Tony (2001). "[https://pi.library.yorku.ca/ojs/index.php/topia/article/viewFile/113/105 Memorializing Dusty Springfield: Millennia, Mourning, Whiteness, Fandom, and the Seductive Voice]". Topia. Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies 6: 83–97. https://pi.library.yorku.ca/ojs/index.php/topia/article/viewFile/113/105. 
  43. ^ Entertainment Fans' farewell to Dusty BBC News site
  44. ^ a b Michele Kort (1999). Fyne Times. pp. Issue 16. 
  45. ^ a b c Annie J. Randall (2005). "Dusty Springfield and the Motown Invasion". Institute for Studies in American Music Newsletter 35. http://depthome.brooklyn.cuny.edu/isam/NewsletF05/RandallF05.htm. 
  46. ^ a b Charles Taylor (1997). "Mission Impossible: The perfectionist rock and soul of Dusty Springfield.". Boston Phoenix. 
  47. ^ The Wild, the Beautiful and the Rebellious Lesbian News site
  48. ^ "Dusty Springfield - Live at the Royal Albert Hall (1979). Yahoo! Movies site". http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1808726780/details. 
  49. ^ "The History of The NME Awards.1968. nme.com site". http://www.nme.com/awardshistory/1968. 
  50. ^ The Harmony Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, Sixth Edition, Harmony Books, 1988, p. 162.
  51. ^ "Pulp Fiction-10th Anniversary 2-Disc Collector's Edition (1994). Rob Giles, 2005". http://www.michaeldvd.com.au/Reviews/Reviews.asp?ID=6223. 
  52. ^ Martin Kelner (21 November 2001). "Dusty Springfield". Martin Kelner. http://www.martinkelner.com/accidental_heroes/Dusty_Springfield_31.shtml. 
  53. ^ Matt Everitt. "Pulp Fiction Soundtrack Expanded". http://www.xfm.co.uk/article.asp?id=4799. 
  54. ^ Mojo http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/mojo_p3.htm#May Rocklist.net
  55. ^ "The lists of the Q magazine". http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/qlistspage2.html#Women. 
  56. ^ "100 Women of Rock & Roll. vh1.com site". http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/the_greatest/62165/episode_wildcard.jhtml?wildcard=/shows/dynamic/includes/wildcards/the_greatest/women_list_full.jhtml&event_id=862764&start=61. 
  57. ^ Guinness British Hit Singles & Albums (19 ed.). 2006. p. 521. 
  58. ^ Review of Dancing with Demons, "You don't have to say you love me", The Observer, September 3, 2000, Barbara Ellen

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