From Tomboy to Soul Icon: Dusty Springfield’s Early Years
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O’Brien took on the stage name Dusty Springfield by combining her childhood nickname, Dusty, with the name of her second band, The Springfields.
“Dusty” came from playing football with the boys in the streets of London — a nod to her tomboyish nature.
Growing up in the ’50s, she listened to the radio and records by George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Glenn Miller, as well as singers like Peggy Lee. This rich musical background set the stage for her to embrace the R&B sound emerging from America in the ’60s.
This shift was clearly on her mind when she left The Springfields, a band rooted more in folk. By 1963, Dusty had her sights set on a more American sound, inspired by artists on Atlantic, Chess, and Motown, along with Phil Spector’s production techniques.
Her debut single, I Only Want To Be With You, was produced by Johnny Franz, who aimed to recreate Spector’s iconic “Wall of Sound.” The single peaked at No. 4 on the U.K. charts and sold over a million copies.
Dusty Springfield’s Soul Legacy: From Covers to Classics
The following year, Dusty released her debut album A Girl Called Dusty, which mainly featured cover songs.
She had a particular talent for interpreting other people’s tunes, and later that same year, she released Burt Bacharach’s I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself. The single peaked at No. 3 and set the tone for what was to come.
In 1966, Dusty scored her first No. 1 hit with You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me, a song she originally heard in Italian. The English lyrics were rewritten by her friend Vicky Wickham and future manager Simon Napier-Bell.
Around this time, she also hosted The Sound of Motown on British television, introducing artists like Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, and Mary Wells to a wider U.K. audience.
In 1968, Dusty released Dusty in Memphis, featuring the iconic Son of a Preacher Man. In 1970, the album earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
As a white, middle-class girl from London, Dusty both promoted and drew heavily from the American R&B and soul scenes of the 1960s. In doing so, she became one of the pioneers of what came to be known as Blue-Eyed Soul, alongside artists like the Righteous Brothers and Van Morrison.
Dusty Springfield Tunes | Related Pages
The Look Of Love | Chords + TAB
You can learn how to play The Look Of Love by Dusty Springfield using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recording.
| C#m7 | C#7sus4 | G#m7 | G#m7 |
The look of love is in your eyes…
Check out the full TAB lesson here: The Look Of Love (Dusty Springfield) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Son Of A Preacher Man | Chords + TAB
Learn how to play Son Of A Preacher Man by Dusty Springfield using chords, lyrics, a backing track, a chord chart, and Spytunes video guitar lessons.
| E E6 | A E E6 |
Billy Ray was a preacher’s son and when his daddy would visit he’d come along…
Start learning with the full lesson series: Son Of A Preacher Man – Guitar Lessons with TAB.
Spooky | Chords + TAB
You can learn how to play Spooky by Dusty Springfield using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recording.
| Am7 | D6/9 | Am7 | D6/9 |
In the cool of the evening when everything is getting kind of groovy…
Check out the full TAB lesson here: Spooky (Dusty Springfield) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Take Another Little Piece Of My Heart | Chords + Lyrics
Learn how to play Take Another Little Piece Of My Heart by Dusty Springfield using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recordings.
| D G | A G | D G | A G |
Didn’t I make you feel, like you were the only man…
Dusty Springfield on the web
