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A lot of people say I’m bent and I’ve heard it so many times I’ve almost learned to accept it … I couldn’t stand to be thought of as a big butch lady. But I know I’m as perfectly capable of being swayed by a girl as by a boy. More and more people feel that way and I don’t see why I shouldn’t.
~ Dusty Springfield (from AZQuotes)

Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O’Brien OBE(b.4/16/39 – d. 3/2/99,) better known by her stage name Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, pop and dramatic ballads, with French chanson, country, and jazz in her repertoire. During her 1960s peak, she ranked among the most successful British female performers on both sides of the Atlantic. Her image – marked by a peroxide blonde bouffant/beehive hairstyle, heavy makeup (thick black eyeliner and eye shadow) and evening gowns, as well as stylised, gestural performances – made her an icon of the Swinging Sixties.

Early Life:

Dusty was born in West Hampstead, the second child of Gerard Anthony ‘OB’ O’Brien (1904–1979) and Catherine Anne ‘Kay’ O’Brien (née Ryle; 1900–1974), both Irish immigrants. Dusty’s elder brother, Dionysius Patrick O’Brien (b. 7/2/34 – d. 7/27/22) was later known as Tom Springfield. Her father, who had been raised in British India, worked as a tax accountant and consultant. Her mother came from an Irish family originally from Tralee, County Kerry, that included a number of journalists.

Springfield was brought up in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, until the early 1950s and later lived in Ealing in west London. She attended St Anne’s Convent School, Northfields, a traditional all-girl school. The comfortable middle-class upbringing was disturbed by dysfunctional tendencies in the family: her father’s perfectionism and her mother’s frustrations sometimes resulted in food-throwing incidents. Springfield and her brother were both prone to food-throwing as adults. She was given the nickname “Dusty” for playing football with boys in the street and was described as a tomboy.

Musical Beginnings:

Springfield was raised in a music-loving family. Her father tapped out rhythms on the back of her hand and encouraged her to guess the musical piece. She listened to a wide range of music, including George Gershwin, Rodgers and Hart, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Cole Porter, Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Glenn Miller. A fan of American jazz and the vocalists Peggy Lee and Jo Stafford, she wished to sound like them. At age 12 she recorded herself performing the Irving Berlin song “When the Midnight Choo-Choo Leaves for Alabam” at a record shop in Ealing.

After leaving school, Springfield sang with Tom in local folk clubs. In 1957, the pair worked together at holiday camps. The next year, Springfield responded to an advertisement in The Stage to join The Lana Sisters, an “established sister act”, with Iris ‘Riss’ Long and Lynne Abrams (a.k.a. Lynne Lana), who were not actually sisters. Springfield adopted the stage name “Shann Lana” and “cut her hair, lost the glasses, experimented with makeup, fashion” to become one of the ‘sisters’. As a member of the pop vocal trio, Springfield developed skills in harmonizing and microphone technique and recorded, performed on TV, and played at live shows in the United Kingdom and at United States Air Force bases in continental Europe.

In 1960, Springfield left the Lana Sisters and formed a folk-pop trio, The Springfields, with Tom and Reshad Feild (both ex-The Kensington Squares), the latter of whom Mike Hurst replaced in 1962. The trio chose their name while rehearsing in a field in Somerset in the springtime and took the stage names Dusty, Tom, and Tim Springfield. Intending to make an authentic US album, the group travelled to Nashville, Tennessee, to record Folk Songs from the Hills.

Dusty left The Springfields in October 1963 and released her first solo single, “I Only Want to Be with You,” a month later.

Discography:

Studio albums	21
Live albums	1
Compilation albums	35
EPs	4
Singles	69

Filmography:
Presenter or Host of TV musical series: 4 (including ones listed below)
Dusty Season 1
Dusty Season 2
It Must Be Dusty Season 1
Show of the Week: Dusty at the Talk of the Town
Christmas Special
Decidedly Dusty Season 1
TV Specials: 5

Some things to share:

Quentin Tarantino caused a revival of interest in her music in 1994 by including “Son of a Preacher Man” on the Pulp Fiction soundtrack, which sold over three million copies.

Dusty had a great love for animals, particularly cats, and became an advocate for animal protection groups.

She enjoyed reading maps and would intentionally get lost to navigate her way out.

Dusty was never reported to be in a heterosexual relationship and this meant the issue of her sexual orientation was raised frequently during her life.

Dusty passed away of breast cancer in 1999, a month before her 60^th birthday.

She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame two weeks after her death.

Official website: none known

Source: wikipedia