Dusty Springfield could sing ANYTHING and EVERYTHING

She was indeed very versatile. She wasn't great at down and dirty, though. There were times where she tried too hard to emulate the harder end of R&B/Rock and she didn't soar (e.g. "Don't You Know" on her debut album, or "Natchez Trez" on the third Atlantic album).

Dusty was a goddess of popular music.

I wish the biopic projects that have been kicking around for 20+ years had happened. Of course there's the risk that they will fuck it up (like the plan to have Kristen Chenoweth play her, of all people), but Dusty deserves a bigger audience.

Dusty has been much anthologized (though her masters remain a mess). I don't see what a biopic would do for her. Every UK British female singers gets compared to Dusty. Her legacy is secure.

If they make a biopic, it should end with Dusty's solo debut, "I Only Want to Be With You." The pre- and early fame stuff is always more interesting that the excesses of fame crap.

R2 There was an update to the movie that was supposed to be made within the last year or so.

They seem to be changing it from a movie with a narrow focus (it was to be the Memphis recording sessions) to a three or four part series.

Which is great, but for some reason I'm thinking that was already done in the UK?

The real challenge with Dusty is there are a few camps of Dusty fans/friends at odds with one another. Some did not like the more lurid details shared in one of her bios, others think those details make her more human.

[Quote] I'm thinking that was already done in the UK?

No. There has never been a movie or miniseries of Dusty Springfield's life.

There was a musical based on Dusty in the last couple of years. It played outside London. Jonathan Harvey of "Beautiful Thing" fame did the book.

There's a story in the Karen Bartlett book that Dusty would hold on to a burning hot radiator as a child - a similar relief to cutting, apparently. I don't recall how that was corroborated but it's an evocative image. I don't think it's absolutely necessary to show the domestic violence stuff of the 1970s/early 1980s. I'd be interested to know when Dusty began exploring her sexuality.

Dusty was a cutter, too, in the 70s when she had a breakdown.

I mean, no one wants three hours of her breakdown, either. I get it. Agree R7 that we don't need to see extremes of the DV stuff (maybe a scene showing her in an argument - showing how she was still afraid to speak up or be a confident person).

But I at least want them to touch on some of her issues, because it informed her work as a person and as an artist.

This was the original announcement re the film.

I can't find the update but I think it was on Instagram on something. Gemma said she's still attached and that they are rethinking from a film to a multi episode TV thing.

[Quote] maybe a scene showing her in an argument - showing how she was still afraid to speak up or be a confident person

I've never got the impression that Dusty could be described as someone who was afraid of speaking up.

Only a white person would think this.

Well, some people think Aretha killed it singing an aria...

Well, some people think Aretha killed it singing an aria...

R10 My comment was made in the context of R7's comment, and the late 70s/early 80s relationship she had where she was allegedly abused by her partner. R7 was saying we didn't need to see the violence happening (I agreed) but perhaps an argument or dramatic scene showing the dynamics....where she might be afraid of THAT person.....would imply the domestic violence without spelling it out.

She certainly spoke her mind for most other things in her life, for sure.

Love Dusty. So often forgotten. But really should be as much a gay legend as Diana or Judy or Barbara.

[Quote] perhaps an argument or dramatic scene showing the dynamics....where she might be afraid of THAT person...

My understanding is that Dusty grew up with a mismatched set of parents. Communication amounted to throwing things - hence her habit of smashing dishes. I've always thought the domestic violence was an extension of all that - alongside the cutting. Was Dusty fearful of her partners? Perhaps she was. I think it may be more that she felt at home with extremes.

[Quote] So often forgotten.

Where?

Dusty's career was very spotty post early 70's, which might be why she's not up there with the legends. The Pet Shop Boys song gave her a minor comeback in the states, but she was never a consistent top 40 maker in the US to begin with.

Nothing has been proved is a fantastic song, BTW.

Yeah, her lengthy absence is the reason why she's been maybe not as high profile as some of the others.

Also, more than many other artists, her style got a bit lost in translation post Dusty in Memphis and the Philadelphia Sound album. She didn't sing anything in the classic Motown style, and what she was singing by the late 70s was the generic adult contemporary stuff she'd tried to avoid most of the 60s. She was at the mercy of songwriters and between a weird mix of music and bad timing it took her until the PSB single to have a real comeback.

The strange thing is that Dusty was such a fine record producer herself yet she seemed to lose that ability when she moved to the US. She talked about how Hall & Oates' sound was a direction that would suit her yet the late 1970s albums are much too MOR. She gives a killer vocal on "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" but she's let down by a backing track that verges on cheesy. It's a real shame that the Brooks Arthur sessions were aborted, as "Longing"/"Elements" would have been her best album of the 1970s. Of that, I have no doubt (compare the 1974 "Turn Me Around" to the version that was actually released several years later).

Her voice is just so natural.

so fabulous it has been mined by drag queens for decades

R20 Yes, the tracks that ended up on that Beautiful Soul collection broke my heart because they were SO good. It was exactly what she needed to do but for whatever reason she didn't go there.

Fabulous!

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Bump. I watched a documentary on Dusty last night. The music was so enjoyable, what a unique talent.

I learned Dusty sang background on "The Bitch is Back." Wonder how that came about? Wish there was video, or that we could hear isolated vocals.

Speaking of Elton, I also did not know Dusty was originally supposed to duet on "Don't Go Breaking My Heart." You could certainly hear her voice doing it. Kiki Dee had to step in because Dusty was too "ill." Nice break for Kiki, I hope she made some nice money from that.

Hold my beer.

I've been on a (pardon the expression) Dusty deep dive, listening to some of her old live stuff and watching her 1960s BBC show on YouTube. Oh my dear sweet lord, she was incredible. She could indeed sing EVERYTHING: pop, soul, latin, jazz, power ballads, Irish folk songs, English music hall, novelties....all with such feeling, complexity and joy. What a natural. Sorry R27, you were great but Dusty was way more versatile.

Connie sings Dusty!

Get out of here r29. Yuck.