Rock World
magazine lists her as one of the twelve
First Women of Rock;
All such labels inevitably fail to capture
From her own "Anglicised Wall of Sound"
to the
Toward the end of her life,
Dusty's country and her peers
Yet more than these accolades, it will be Dusty's
Rolling Stone
declares her "Britain's
best ever pop-singer."
In the '60s, Cliff Richard dubbed her
"the white negress,"
while Max Bygraves called her "a
trouble-maker."
the unique essence of British singer Dusty Springfield,
who for nearly forty years, reigned as
one of the world's finest female vocalists.
As one critic has noted:
"What can you say about a vocalist
who could master
the rawness of rhythm and blues,
the smooth, tricky sophistication of Bacharach
and David,
the false bravado of the Broadway standards,
and the cunning simplicity of classic
pop?
Like Elvis, there was nothing that Dusty
couldn't sing."
spartan soul
of Jerry Wexler and the Memphis Cats,
from pre-Beatnix folk-pop to the Pet Shop
Boys' techno-pop,
Dusty Springfield navigated more than
thirty years of popular music's
unpredictable, tidal-like shifts and trends.
Throughout, Dusty maintained
an artistic credibility
unparalleled in the sphere of contemporary music.
Dusty Springfield died of cancer on March 2, 1999,
at her home in Henley-on-Thames. She was aged 59.
in the music world bestowed long overdue honours upon her.
In the United Kingdom, Dusty was awarded an
Order of the British Empire (OBE),
while in the United States, she was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
-- though sadly the actual induction ceremony occurred thirteen days after her death.
music and life which will ensure for generations to come that
the legend of Dusty Springfield,
Woman of Repute, will live on. . .
