

“I think that she was very, very judgmental of herself, and not necessarily right in doing that,” says Burt Bacharach, one of the A-list songwriters who contributed to the album, in the documentary Just Dusty. It's hard to imagine this, though, listening to the silky delivery of “Just a Little Lovin’” or “Breakfast in Bed.” She drove Wexler mad doing Dusty in Memphis, recording songs one line or phrase at a time to get them just right. It brought out the perfectionist in Springfield. Off they went to Memphis.Ītlantic's house band of studio musicians, led by guitarist Reggie Young and bassist Tommy Cogbill (Elvis Presley, Wilson Pickett), made for an intimidating setting. They were the ones who broke her soul music idol, Aretha Franklin. The late ’60s weren't so kind to “girl singers” - so in a bold example of her musical instincts, she flew to New York and signed with Atlantic Records, to team up with Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd, and Arif Mardin.

It was a transitional time in music and culture, and while Springfield was a genuine star, her young blue-eyed soul leaned old-fashioned during the rise of Van Morrison and Steve Winwood. With the help of her brother, she reinvented herself as a teen into a beehived, dark-eyed icon of the "Swinging Sixties." Her clear voice, tinged with wistful heartbreak, hit British radio in '63 and '64 with pop hits like “I Only Want to Be with You” and “Wishin' and Hopin’,” heard alongside the smooth croon of Tom Jones and the Merseybeat pop of The Searchers. Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien was a London tomboy from an emotionally stormy home who earned her nickname playing football with boys in the street. So how did it end up regarded as one of the most important records of the ’60s? It’s a dramatic story.
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Sales-wise, it barely cracked the Billboard 100. Above, listen to a conversation with Alisa Ali and Delphine Blue about Dusty Springfield's 1969 release, Dusty in Memphis, and below, Laura Fedele's overview.ĭusty in Memphis was not a hit. Album ReCue, a part of FUV's EQFM initiative, takes an on-air and online look back at influential releases by women that altered our perspective not only of the artist, but her invaluable impact on music history.
