Remembering Dusty Springfield
 Mary Isabel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien April 16, 1939 - March 2, 1999 |
I would watch her on television programs and sing along with her from time to time. My lack of sophistication made me totally disinterested in her personal life and all I knew was that public persona with which I was enamoured and pursued during the evolution of my musical tastes.
Mary Isabel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien grew into the performer Dusty Springfield and became a singer, musician, presenter on television, and record producer. She worked in the genres of R&B, Pop, and the so-called "blue eyed soul" musical styles and to hear her soft and melodious voice turn powerful belting out various riffs was something to behold.
Hers was a world of vocals, playing the guitar and piano as well as percussion instruments and her multiple talents were not wasted on her venues, nor was her beautiful singing voice. She worked with the likes of the Pet Shop Boys, The Springfields, Sweet Inspirations, and Burt Bacharach creating a niche which was that television performance which brought her to the fore of popularity before her tragic premature death from cancer.
She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame two weeks posthumously.