Dusty
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Dusty Springfield (real name Mary O'Brien) is unquestionably the best ever White British Soul Artist. In this biography Lucy O'Brien (no relation) does a fantastic job. The book is well written and very logically constructed. It is more or less presented in chronological order but compartmentalised into very distinct sections. From the Irish middle class schoolgirl to the R&B chart-topper the book looks at her contribution to Motown and soul generally. It also considers her anti-apartheid stance in South Africa, her ambivalent sexuality, her demise into drugs and drink and her role as an icon for the gay movement. Dusty's life was so complex that it could be looked at from any of these perspectives, but thankfully Lucy chooses to focus on her achievements as a soul artist. She rightly draws attention to Dusty's role in bringing Motown to Britain, her attempts at Southern Soul with her legendary 'Dusty in Memphis' album and even shows awareness of her records that became hits on the cult 'Northern' scene. The author rightly draws attention to the fact Dusty was much more comfortable with raw, black sounding songs than she was with MOR and supper club numbers. If I have any criticism of the book it is that the author does not really acknowledge how reliant Dusty was on black artists for her material. On page 207 she says, "Dusty neatly circumvented this problem (Offending Mods by releasing black soul classics) by releasing only original material as singles". Strictly speaking this statement is not true, she released William Bell and Judy Clay's 'Private Number' as a duet with Spencer Davies, Tommy Hunt's 'I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself'' and The Rascal's 'How Can I be Sure' as a solo's. There is also the question as to whether she released 'What's It Gonna Be' before Susan Barratt as both versions came out at the end of 1967. In principle however I accept that most of her singles were original. The does not however acknowledge the debt she owes to black America for her album tracks. I would like to thank members of the 'Advancednorthernsoul' internet group for providing me with just some of Black American Soul Songs she covered:- 'Don't Let Me Lose This Dream' - Aretha Franklin, 'Am I The Same Girl' - Barbara Acklin, 'Don't Forget About Me' - Barbara Lewis, 'Oh No Not My Baby' - Maxine Brown, 'Brand New Me' - Jerry Butler, 'Long After Tonight Is All Over' - Jimmy Radcliffe, 'Mockingbird' - Inez and Charlie Foxx, 'Will You Love Me Tomorrow' - The Shirelles, 'I Can't Wait Until I See My Baby's Face' - Baby Washington, 'Every Day I Have To Cry' - Steve Alamaio, 'I Had A Talk With My Man' - Mitty Collier, 'Can I Get A Witness' - Marvin Gaye, 'I Can't Give Back The Love I Feel For You' - Rita Wright, 'Take Another Little Piece Of My Heart' - Big Brother & Holding Company/Erma Franklin, 'Bring Him Back' - Cissie Houston, 'Sunny' - Bobby Hebb, 'Crumbs Off The Table' - Laura Lee/Glass House, 'Girls It Ain't Easy' - Honey Cone, 'Sweet Inspiration' - Johnny Johnson & The Bandwagon, 'Another Night' - Dionne Warwick, 'Ain't No Sun Since You've Been Gone' - Gladys Knight and the Pips/The Temptations, 'So Much Love' - Steve Alaimo, 'Take Me For A Little While' - Evie Sands/Jackie Ross, 'That's How Heartaches Are Made' - Baby Washington, She may not have released many black soul songs as singles, but her albums are choc-block full of them. If I disagree with the author's assessment of the debt Dusty owes Black America I am wholly in harmony with her view expressed on page 249, "She didn't actually sound black, but a white girl with a helluva lot of black friends. And that's not a criticism, she wasn't indulging herself in sub-Al Jolson routines like other sixties wannabes. She understood that soul was more than putting on a rasp and sounding like LaVerne Baker'. These two sentences hit the nail bang on the head. Dusty wanted to sing soulfully, but not artificially and it gave rise to a unique brand of authentic blue-eyed soul. All round this is a very worthwhile and thought provoking publication and an excellent read. Factual and well researched it duly acknowledges Dusty's contribution to blue-eyed soul. Was it not Cliff Richard who dubbed her 'The White Negress' |
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Why Not visit the Authors other Website, 'The Alternative Blackpool Website' at http://www.localdial.com/users/jsyedu133/bpool This Site Last Updated 18/05/05
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