<Commemorative Page 13>

REMEMBERING DUSTY . . .

[241] What Dusty communicated was uniquely personal and very beautiful, as are the moving tributes to her art by people from all over the world. One did not need to know her personally to feel a unique kind of love for her and a deep sense of loss at her passing. She will live forever in her music. Thank you Simon for caring for her so much.

Kevin Christian
London and Barcelona

[242] Love you Dusty. Will miss you.

Jerry
North Carolina, USA

[243] My sympathy to Dusty's/Mary's family and friends. I have just finished watching the Rock and Roll Hall of SHAME induction for Dusty. How insulting! The only thing that saved it was Vicki Wickham's presence adding some sincerity and reverence. What the hell is wrong with this industry? That they could let her go in life and now unfortunately, in her death. It was a half-hearted tribute, and a lady like Dusty deserves more!!! Thank God we have this wonderful site to come to and share our thoughts and grief at this time because again, there has been little media coverage. I remember having to fight to air one of her records at a station here in New York. I went head to head with my boss/program director at the time. He never heard of it! I showed him the chart position (top ten) and he still fought me. I played that one and many more for the time I was with that station. He was fired eventually. I'm sure you'll join me in asking someone to do a movie or biography about Dusty's life, and hopefully when I'm program/music director of another radio station, you can count on me for giving her all the airplay she deserves. An immeasurable loss.

Kathy
New York, USA

[244] I thought the induction was just fine. Elton's comments were heart-felt. Unfortunately, many people are not truly valued until they're gone. Dusty may not have gotten much airplay in the last years of her life, but the people who knew her gift truly appreciated it. Let's be grateful for whatever tribute the music industry can give. I'm just glad to see her inducted!

Sylvia
Portland, Oregon, USA

[245] We few, we unhappy few . . . If only we had said these things to Dusty while she was alive.

Jim
Montgomery, Alabama, USA

[246] Dusty is certainly a lady of song. A great lady has left but her music will definitely live on in her fans. What a sad thing to happen.

Linda
Adelaide, Australia

[247] First off, I want to tell the creator of this website that you have a really beautiful website. I have been a Chicago (the legendary rock band) fan since 1972. I know Dusty Springfield was around at this time, too. A couple of the songs she did I remember, but other than that, I have just discovered her and her music. My only regret is that I didn't discover her work sooner, while she was still alive. I saw a report on the latest inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on CNN the day after the ceremony, and when they showed some black and white footage of Dusty, something just grabbed a hold of me. As I said, I am a long-time Chicago fan who has just found out how great Dusty Springfield really was. It was at the encouragement of former Chicago guitar player Dawayne Bailey (Chicago member 1986-1994) that I explored further my interest in Dusty's music. She may be gone, but she left behind a great musical legacy. I am open to any suggestions about acquiring Dusty's music, and am looking for a way to learn what most of you have known all along about the greatness Dusty Springfield represented. So, I am officially taking suggestions about albums, CDs and other Dusty Springfield material, as well as discussion forums and chats. I can be contacted at cpc@shianet.org Thank all of you for your time.

Larry Launstein, Jr.
Flushing, Michigan, USA
The Dusty Springfield Forum and Chat

[248] Sing with the Angels.

Abracatt
Troutdale

[249] Great sounds that will live on forever.

Dave Owens
Dayton, Ohio, USA

[250] I would not have known of Dusty, had it not been for a reference to her Dusty in Memphis album in Barry Manilow's autobiography. I bought that album a year or two ago and have loved it, but I didn't know anything else about her or her career. So when I learned that she had died, I was totally surprised by my emotions. I have not been able to stop crying. I purchased as many of her albums as I could find, and the three discs in her Anthology are the only discs I can tolerate (the 20th song on disc 2 is called "Goodbye", and I still can't get past it without dissolving to tears). I have always believed in God, but never so much as when I listen to Dusty's voice, and know that it was He who created Dusty and gave her such talent. I am also grateful that He gave me the gift of being able to appreciate it. As distraught as I have been over her passing, I am also thankful that she is no longer suffering. I only wish I had been more aware of her while she was here. I am sickened when I realize what a gift she had and that she never got the fullness of recognition she deserved. So now that she has gone, I have made it my mission to educate and to share with others the incredible beauty that was Dusty. In tribute, I also want to name my first daughter Dusty. I will miss her, and it feels like a light went out in the world. But I envy the angels who get to sing along side her and hear her beautiful voice, and I know the brightest star in Heaven is the one that belongs to Dusty. Thank you.

Kristen Lee Knight
Utah/Nevada, USA

[251] I loved Dusty from her days with the Springfields right through to the Pet Shop Boys music. Her music meant a lot to me during my adolescence. I used to have a friend, Christine Bull, who also loved her. Should Chris read this message, why not get in touch? Was there a more haunting melody/lyric than "Goin' Back"?

Peter swingler
Frodsham, Cheshire, UK

[252] A little known fact about Dusty was that early in the '60s she became the "Waiter's Saint". How? Well, she became upset one day at the treatment a junior waiter was receiving at the hands of the Maitre D'Hotel. She tore him off a strip, then up and tipped a bowl of soup over him. Those of us in "the trade" in the UK loved her for it and we made sure she received the best treatment we could give her when she stayed in UK hotels. I loved her then, and love her now. My favourite song? "Goin' Back", I think, closely followed by "Island of Dreams."

Chris Lewis
Sydney, Australia

[253] Do a duet with Buddy for me!

Pete
Astley, Manchester, UK

[254] I discovered Dusty through the Pet Shop Boys, my idols. I will never forget her voice. Never.

Karl
Paris, France

[255] When I was a child, growing up in the sixties, Dusty Springfield was, I think, the first famous woman that I was aware of as being a lesbian. It seemed amazing to me that someone so extraordinary - with a matchless voice and a sensational hairdo - could be gay. It felt like a marvellous secret. I "rediscovered" her during my twenties, and her music has felt like a highly dramatic backdrop to the lives of all my friends! Her voice, such an amazing blend of vulnerability and strength, and her songs - the full emotional range from the belters to the heartbreakers, spoke volumes. They will be around for an age, I hope. Thanks for everything Dusty.

Alison Darren
London, UK

[256] Dearest Dusty, as a very small boy I heard "All I See Is You" and fell in love. You were never far from my heart and never out of my life. Now that you have been sadly taken, it remains the same. Never will you be far from me. Now as a Dad myself, my little infant daughter recognizes your brilliant voice and in a moment of true poignancy, can say the word "Dut'ty". You live on, Dusty. We will continue to love you and remember you because "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me" but you did and now "All I See Is You". Love always, Marc.

Marc North
Australia (ex-New Zealand)

[257] The strange thing is that about two weeks before her passing I had this real strong feeling to listen to Dusty again after so many years of thinking she'd just disappeared (these pages obviously show otherwise). I'd been the one that disappeared . . . marriage, children, work, etc. So I went to Amazon and ordered up The Very Best of Dusty Springfield. It arrived two days before her passing. I started listening to it incessantly (my family members thought that I was somehow nuts), only to hear in literally two days that she'd passed on. I found these pages and others that reminded me just how important to my emotional being this Lady's singing has been. Choking back tears . . . this all from a 47-year-old "regular guy" who grew up with Dusty being that first real female in his life back in the early '60s. I guess in some ways there's really been no other since. Rest in peace, Dusty. I will always love you and will teach my grandchildren about you someday.

Michael Gardener
Sacramento, California, USA

[258] Dusty was fantastic. I was born about the time she started her career but love hitmakers of the past. I have Dusty's Anthology and listen to it regularly. She will NOT be forgotten.

Greg McFarland
West Lawn, Pa., USA

[259] We were captivated at the first note we heard you sing in 1963 and thought you would always be with us. There is no going back but for you, Dusty. Your summer is not over but just begun forever. Thank you for being such a central figure of our youth, our dreams, our pain and our joy. We remember you, grieve for your family and believe you are not lost to us but closer than ever before. With love and gratitude for your irreplaceable magic and style.

Tony James
New Norcia Abbey, West Australia

[260] Thanks for the great site in honor of a fabulous person! Like so many others in this book, I had only began to listen to Dusty again weeks before she died. Dusty in Memphis was on the CD player the day I heard the news. I hadn't known she was sick, I was just trying to get that sound back. Dusty's the only one that can give me both "Willie & Laura Mae Jones" and "The Windmills Of Your Mind". Gone but not forgotten.

Sam Stephenson
Las Vegas, USA

A WOMAN OF REPUTE'S

COMMEMORATIVE SITE

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