Episode 294. Dusty Springfield Revisited
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Armed with happy memories of our sojourn to London, which just ended yesterday, I decided to pay tribute today to another favorite British singer of mine, this time in the pop realm, the indescribably gifted Dusty Springfield. This is a bonus episode that I first published three and a half years ago which explores my favorite period of Dusty’s output: her recordings and performances from the late 60s through the late 70s. This was a rocky time in Dusty’s life and yet her vocal gift, when she used it, was at its absolute peak, and her musical curiosity and eclecticism during that time also revealed hitherto unexplored aspects of her artistry. I feature songs by, among others, Burt Bacharach, Jimmy Webb, Charles Aznavour, Barry Manilow, and Randy Newman. I also focus on Dusty’s studio collaborations with Angela Morley (known at the time as Wally Stott), one of the primary British arrangers, conductors and composers of the era. Three highlights include Dusty’s surprising (and over-the-top) performance of a refashioned Richard Wagner tune, a duet with Jimi Hendrix from her 1968 television series with and 1994’s transcendent “Roll Away,” an excerpt from her final album.
RECORDINGS HEARD IN THIS EPISODE
All tracks feature Dusty Springfield.
Alexander Ryan, Jim Stratton: See All Her Faces [recorded 1970]
Jimmy Webb: Mixed Up Girl [recorded 1970]
Clint Ballard, Jr.: You’re No Good [from Saturday Club 29 February 1964]
Burt Bacharach, Hal David: Twenty Four Hours from Tulsa. [from Dusty 01 September 1966]
Burt Bacharach, Hal David: A House Is Not a Home. Dusty Springfield, Burt Bacharach [from Another Evening with Burt Bacharach 12 September 1970]
Silvana Simoni, Mario Coppola, Umberto Bindi: Di fronte all’amore [recorded 1965]
Silvana Simoni, Mario Coppola, Umberto Bindi, English lyrics unknown (possibly by Dusty Springfield): I Will Always Want You. Orchestra conducted by Angela Morley [recorded 1966]
Richard Wagner, adapted by Simon Napier-Bell, Vicki Wickham: Don’t Speak of Love. Orchestra conducted by Angela Morley [recorded 1968]
Basil Kirchin, Jack Nathan, James Coleman, Patrick Ryan: I Start Counting. Orchestra conducted by Angela Morley [recorded 1970]
Luiz Bonfá, Antônio Maria: Manhã de Carnaval (Orfeu Negro). [from It Must Be Dusty 12 June 1968]
Alex Harvey: Someone Who Cares [recorded 1971]
Jerry Ragovoy, Bert Burns: (Take Another Little) Piece of My Heart. [recorded 1968]
Pat Vegas, Lolly Vegas, Henry Ford: Niki Hokey [from It Must Be Dusty 15 May 1968]
Charlie Foxx, Inez Foxx: Mockingbird. Dusty Springfield, Jimi Hendrix [from It Must Be Dusty 12 June 1968]
Gilbert Slavin, Neil Brian Goldberg: Natchez Trace [recorded 1971]
Mary Unobsky, Daniel Ironstone, Thomas Faragher, Dusty Springfield: Blind Sheep [recorded 1982]
Gaille Heidemann: Hollywood Movie Girls [recorded 1978]
Barry Manilow, Enoch Anderson: Sandra [recorded 1978]
Randy Newman: I Think It’s Gonna Rain Today [from Music My Way 18 July 1973]
Charles Aznavour, Herbert Kretzmer: Yesterday When I Was Young [recorded 1970]
Norman Gimbel, Dominic Frontiere: Bits and Pieces (The Stunt Man). [recorded 1979]
Gilbert Slavin, Michael F. Soles: I Have Found My Way through the Darkness [recorded 1971]
Will Jennings, Martee Lebow: Roll Away [recorded 1994]
