Dusty Springfield

Born Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien in 1939, Dusty Springfield was best known for her 1960s' hits Son of A Preacher Man, I Only Want To Be With You and You Don't Have To Say You Love Me. Her early music career included a folk trio (The Springfields) which she formed with her brother Tom Field, but it was her decision to go solo which really put her on the music map.

Her beehive hairdo and panda eye make-up gave her an instantly recognisable image on both sides of the Atlantic where she had a string of top ten hits. Her first single success came in 1964 with I Only Want To Be With You which, with bands like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, led the British Invasion of the US pop charts in the 1960's.

Dusty decamped to Memphis in 1968, filled with the desire to make adult soul music in the image of her heroes at Motown and Stax. Her soulful voice, at once strident and vulnerable, set her apart from contemporaries Sandie Shaw and Cilla Black, and earned her the title "White Queen of Soul".

In 1987 she enjoyed renewed success with the Pet Shop Boys' What Have I Done To Deserve This? The single was a worldwide hit and brought Dusty to a whole new generation of fans. Bisexual herself, she was adored by the gay community. In 1998 she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and she was awarded an OBE in the 1999 New Year's Honours list. 

Few singers could match the versatility of her voice. Powerful, husky and evocative, it defied one to not to listen and earned Dusty Springfield a well deserved place in rock history. Dusty Springfield died on March 2, 1999 from breast cancer first detected in 1994. She was 59.