"Goin' Back"

Dusty Springfield

Remarkable. Immaculate. Flawless. Perfect. Captivating. Addictive. Wonderful. Pure Excellence.

Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien was born in 1939 into a family with a great appreciation for music. She officially started her singing career when she joined up with a "Sugar-time" like girl group called The Lana Sisters. The group was short lived but managed to spring out a decent hit called "Seven Little Girls Sitting on The Back Seat." She then left the group and joined with her brother Tom and a close friend to form a group called The Sprinfields.
This was a lot different from the mediocre works of The Lana Sisters, The Springfields proved to be a very successful group. The pushed out hits like "Say I Won’t Be There", "Island of Dreams", and their signature, "Silver Threads and Golden Needles." They found themselves being a hot item and were in ads, on TV and everywhere else you could think of. Sadly though, at the peak of their success, the group split up.

Mary wasn’t going to let this hold her back though. She walked off with her stage name, Dusty and decided to pursue a solo career. She knew exactly what she wanted to do when she heard "Tell Him" by The Exciters. She didn’t just leave her brother behind either. She often reunited with him to collaborate new songs and sometimes sang together in songs like "Morning Pleas Don’t Come."

The first Dusty Springfield single, "I Only Wanna Be With You", zoomed to the top 10 everywhere. This song made Dusty the first British female singer to chart in America from the modern pop era. Along with it was released an album, Stay Awhile/I Only Wanna Be With You. The album itself was a basket full of hits. It was filled with hit singles like "Stay Awhile," "I Only Wanna Be With You," "Mockingbird," "Wishin’ and Hopin’," "24 Hours From Tulsa", and other gems.

The future was even brighter for Dusty. She had numerous hits such as "Losing You", "Little by Little," "Middle of Nowhere" and Dusty’s favorite: "Some of Your Lovin’." Dusty was known for her packed concerts filled with singing, dancing and excitement. Her second album, Dusty, brought the hits "Guess Who?," "Nothing," "I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself," "Wish I Never Loved You," and "All Cried Out." Dusty also gained a reputation and success as a Burt Bacharach songstress with the great success of "Wishin’ and Hopin’," "24 Hours From Tulsa," "Anyone Who Had A Heart," "I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself," "The Look of Love," and their landmark duet of "A House Is Not A Home."

Everything just escalated. In 1966 dusty found her self with her biggest international hit on her hands. "You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me" was an instant success. The song was popular with all ages. From Adults who love a good ballad to the generation of "Free Love" the song became a sixties anthem. And with success like that Dusty had no choice but to keep the songs coming and that’s what she did with songs like "All I See Is You," "Goin’ Back," "I’ll Try Anything," and "I Close My Eyes and Count To Ten" (Which was also made a hit in the early eighties by Tracy Ullman).

In1968 Dusty would record her masterpiece: "Dusty In Memphis." The album, to this day, is still considered to be standing side by side with Ike and Tina Turners’ "River Deep, Mountain High" as the most perfect albums to ever be recorded. "Memphis" brought forth, among songs, two hit singles. "Son of a Preacher Man" and "Windmills of Your Mind." Though you can’t just pick one song to be "THE" Dusty song, "Preacher Man" comes close. It has been used everywhere from single to commercial jingle, Them song to featured in movies like Pulp Fiction. There’s not a soul on this earth who doesn’t know it by heart. "Windmills of Your Mind" had also become a great success and even became an Academy Award Winner for Best song due to it being featured in "The Thomas Crown Affair."

The time had come for Dusty to take a break. She took awhile off and reclined into making TV appearances, special appearances with fellow singers like Tom Jones, and hosting her own TV show. Then in 1972 she moved to Los Angeles and lived in semi-retirement.

Though Dusty had success with songs like "Time and Time Again," her official comeback to the recording industry cam in 1987 with a duet with The Pet Shop Boys and the classic song "What Have I done To Deserve This." The song flew up into the top 5 and opened the world of Dusty Springfield to a whole new generation. Well, what can you do….when your HOT your HOT! Dusty found her self back on the charts and started to push out more songs.

"Nothing Has Been Proved" from Scandal, "In Private," and "As Long as We Got Each Other" (with B.J. Thomas) the theme from Growing Pains were all huge hits for Dusty. Her most recent hits include "Wherever Would I Be" (from While You were Sleeping), "Go Easy On Me," "Roll Away," and "Where Is A Women To Go."

Lately Dusty seems to spend her time excepting awards that honor her extraordinary life. She has won them all, from "Top Female Singer" to her most recent "Hall of Fame Nominee."