Dusty's training ground was as part of a female trio called The Lana Sisters. She responded to an advertisement for a third member to join an 'established sister act' and was accepted. Here she developed the art of harmonizing, learned microphone technique, recorded, did some television and played live both in the UK and at American air bases. Dusty was eventually approached by her brother Tom to join his band, The Springfields. As a Folk trio The Springfields had hits in the UK with "Say I Won't Be There" and "Island Of Dreams", as well as a #20 hit in 1962 in America with "Silver Threads And Golden Needles". By 1962 Dusty was becoming restless. After a trip to America she had heard The Exciters singing "Tell Him", and was gripped by what she described as "The most exciting thing I had ever heard, the attack in it!" The Springfields were becoming increasingly caught between the tensions of Pop and Folk and Dusty finally left the trio in 1963.
Dusty was now free to explore her love of American Black music and her first solo single at the end of 1963, "I Only Want To Be With You" attained Gold status in the UK, reached #12 in America, and began to reveal the link between Soul and Pop that Dusty was to make her own. Her first album, "A Girl Called Dusty", revealed the R&B love affair that she enjoyed, producing a raw sound that enabled deeper exploration that singles aimed at the commercial market could not provide. The follow up single, "Stay Awhile", peaked at #13 in the UK and #38 in the US, while the third single, "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself" hit #3 in England, with only The Rolling Stones and The Beatles beating her to the top spot.
Dusty was on a roller coaster of success, and from 1963 to 1969 she made the UK chart seventeen times, scoring ten Top Ten singles, including "Wishin' and Hopin'" (#6 in America), and her biggest hit, "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me", which hit the British number one spot in 1966, (#4 in the USA) and remained on the UK chart for thirteen weeks. Unfortunately, the heavy touring and publicity appearances necessary for this level of success were taking a toll on her health, producing bouts of laryngitis that followed Dusty throughout her career. She was a big fan of Motown-type songs and was one of only a few White singers who could successfully replicate such tunes. She paid close attention to which ones she would agree to record and which she would not, which set her apart from rivals such as Sandie Shaw and Cilla Black in the UK. This ability to choose the right songs contributed a great deal to her success in the recording industry. More hits followed throughout the mid-'60s like "All I See Is You" (US #20 in 1966), "I'll Try Anything" (US #40 in 1967) and "The Look Of Love" (US #22 in 1967). Until the late '60s, Dusty had recorded for the Phillips label, but in 1969 she collaborated with Jerry Wexler at Atlantic Records to record the album that many regard as her best, "Dusty in Memphis". It included still another America Top Ten song, "Son-Of-A Preacher Man". She followed that up with two more Billboard Top 40 hits that year with "The Windmills Of Your Mind" (#31) and "A Brand New Me" (#24).
In 1972 Dusty moved to Los Angeles. She recorded her album "Cameo" the following year, then stayed away from recording, save for some back-up work with Anne Murray. Her records were not selling as well as they had in the '60s and Dusty began to get involved in animal welfare causes. K-Tel compiled an album called "The Very Best Of Dusty Springfield" in the early '80s that was a good representation of her music. Her long-awaited return came in 1978 with "It Begins Again" and in 1982 with "Whiteheat", but neither album sold very well. Another attempt, backed by London nightclub owner Peter Stringfellow in 1986, met with similar results. But a song she did in 1987 with the British duo The Pet Shop Boys, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, "What Have I Done To Deserve This?", was a smashing success and brought her all the way to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. She sounded as good on this one as she did on anything she ever recorded. Dusty returned to England permanently in 1987.
1994 was the lead up to a new album recorded in Nashville. A new "Greatest Hits" compilation was issued which made the Top 5 in the UK, as well as a box set of both released and unreleased material. A documentary, Full Circle, was also screened and the inclusion of "Son Of A Preacher Man" in the hit movie Pulp Fiction put Dusty Springfield back in the spotlight. Oddly, a new album failed to materialize. It later became known that Dusty had been diagnosed as having breast cancer, and the new LP was postponed to allow her time to receive treatment. Once she was given the all clear, "A Very Fine Love" was released in 1995, but the momentum had been lost and the album was not a success, suffering from unfair comparisons to the classic "Dusty In Memphis" album.
She appeared to have beaten the cancer a year later, but there was a re-occurrence in 1996 and her health deteriorated. Dusty Springfield died on March 2nd, 1999 just eleven days before she was scheduled for induction into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame. A biography by Lucy O'Brien titled simply Dusty hit the book stores a month after she passed away. Later the same year she was awarded the Order Of The British Empire. Perhaps one the greatest compliments paid to Dusty Springfield came from her agent, Paul Fenn, shortly after her death. "She was one of the icons of the music industry," Fenn said. "She was one of the most talented female singers of this century." Dusty was placed among the Top 25 female Rock artists of all time by the readers of Mojo magazine in 1999 and by a panel of artists for VH1 TV in 2007. In 2008, Dusty was ranked at #35 on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. Various films and stage musicals continue to commemorate her. We have lost the singer, but the music will live forever.
On March 25th, 2020, the album "Dusty In Memphis" was inducted into the National Recording Registry by the United States Library Of Congress.
