When she was born in London, England, in 1940 her parents named her Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O’Brien, but the world knows her as Dusty Springfield. The O’Brien family and its household brimmed with singing and at 19 Mary went professional under the stage name Dusty Lana. Her second group, the Springfields, a folk trio that included her brother Dion—the siblings and their performing partner adopted the name as a stage monicker—charted five times in the U.K. 1961-1963, leading to a U.S. hit covering “Silver Threads and Golden Needles.” While touring in America Dusty developed a yen to hear and perform R&B. In 1964, because she refused to perform for racially segregated audiences in South Africa, that country deported her. She successfully soloed stateside in 1962 with “I Only Want to Be With You,” the first of six pond-crossing top 40 hits. That run of radio-ready consistency included her signature numbers “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me” and “Son of a Preacher Man,” the latter from her immortal Atlantic Records LP Dusty in Memphis, which in 2020 was added by the Library of Congress to the U.S. National Recording Registry. During her peak years, Springfield became a fixture on British television, in 1966-69 often hosting music program Ready Steady Go! In both the U.S. and the U.K., she came to be associated with material by songwriters Burt Bachrach and Hal David, including “The Look of Love,” “Wishin’ and Hopin’,” and “I Just Don’t Know What to Do With Myself.” She also recorded a definitive version of Carole King’s folk-rock testimonial “Goin’ Back.” Starting in 1971 Springfield endured a years-long fallow period that ended with the smash release of a collaboration with the Pet Shop Boys, “What Have I Done to Deserve This?” Multiple music halls of fame have elevated her to membership, and the music press has honored her as a one-woman Venn diagram of superlative performances pop, R&B, blue-eyed soul, folk, and jazz. She passed away in 1999. — Michael Dolan

🔔 Subscribe to the Rhino Channel! https://Rhino.lnk.to/YouTubeSubID

💌 Let’s keep in touch! Join the Rhino mailing list to be the first to hear about our new music and merch https://Rhino.lnk.to/emailLY

Stay connected with RHINO on…

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/RHINO
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/rhino_records
TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@rhinorecords
X https://twitter.com/Rhino_Records

**********

RHINO is the ultimate destination for timeless music and unforgettable moments in pop culture! Since 1978, Rhino has been the world’s leading pop culture label specializing in curation of music from the ‘60s, ‘70s, ’80s and ’90s.

We upload classic music and videos from our vault every week so be sure to subscribe and ring the bell 🔔 ! If there’s something you want to see or hear, let us know in the comments 🗣️

Visit Rhino.com to shop our vast catalog of vinyl, CDs, boxed sets, and merchandise. We regularly announce exciting new releases. Join our mailing list via the link in our bio so you don’t miss a chance to expand your collection!