Gemma Arterton as Dusty Springfield?
Article from January. So they're finally getting a biopic off the ground? I don't know Gemma's work, but she kind of has the face (although the photoshop they did for the article is hideous). It says they're focusing on the making of Dusty in Memphis, probably not a bad idea. I gather Adele passed on this project finally, and who knows what Kristin Chenoweth's involvement is anymore.
From this article I learned a couple details about Dusty that I didn't know. Supposedly at her low point, she'd enter Dusty Springfield impersonation contests at drag clubs for a few bucks, and didn't always win. She didn't drink until she was 25, "when one of American soul group The Temptations gave her 88 per cent proof vodka to numb the pain of a sore throat before going on stage." Whoops! For a while she lived in LA with the mother of the Barbi Twins - wtf?! And despite being broke at one point, she sold her catalog in the late 90s and made millions. I really have to read the books about her, what a life.
Her lover of five years, Norma Tanega, comments in the article about how weird and hard but "amusing" it was to be with a celebrity. Norma was a talented singer and artist in her own right. Her story and perspective would be an interesting premise for a movie (maybe indie) about Dusty.
Thoughts, Dusty fans?
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 157 | September 24, 2021 11:59 PM
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[quote] She didn't drink until she was 25, "when one of American soul group The Temptations gave her 88 per cent proof vodka to numb the pain of a sore throat before going on stage."
Blame the black man.
by Anonymous | reply 1 | February 26, 2021 11:03 PM
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Is she the one married to Jim Halpert?
by Anonymous | reply 2 | February 27, 2021 3:57 AM
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I must have read at least three Springfield biographies. I don't recall reading the impersonator story.
From the books I've read, I think the most compelling story would follow Springfield's childhood/early adolescence up until she cut her first single, "I Only Want to Be With You." The Karen Bartlett book draws this period of her life quite vividly. Or they could end it slightly later, when Dusty had played with all the American acts at the Brooklyn Fox and then took Martha Reeves to Rio. It would actually be nice to end it with Dusty finding love, however non-happily ever after.
by Anonymous | reply 3 | February 27, 2021 10:26 PM
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I know her lipsynching to her own hits in WeHo was in one of the books.
I'm a huge Dusty fan but am really not hopeful on the movie. Some sort of treatment has been under development for over 15 years. Concentrating on Dusty in Memphis is a possible plus, as is the fact that the screenwriter who wrote "Carol" is at the helm.
Dusty fans are in two camps and they've been fighting about this for years. One camp wants her to be portrayed as a goddess who did no wrong, the other wants the warts and all of her life. The best story, of course, would land somewhere in between.
I know lots of people hated Judy the movie, but it would be great if the Dusty movie followed some of its cues - as in, make sure she becomes a living, breathing person and the music, while a key element, isn't every moment of the film. Also, for the love of goddess, let Dusty's voice be on the soundtrack. It's a unique thing that no one should try to duplicate.
I'd much rather they set the story either in her down period of 70s-early 80s or at the end of her life, and then have her look back, but that IS a little too cable TV/Iron Ladyish, I guess.
In my eyes, her life would make a great miniseries.
by Anonymous | reply 4 | February 27, 2021 10:33 PM
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Here is Timi Yuro singing over her old records at Greg's Blue Dot, a Los Angeles gay bar. Springfield may have done something similar.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 5 | February 27, 2021 10:43 PM
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more thoughts....
The narrative of many of the books and the BBC docu was that there were "two" of her, Dusty the star and then Mary O'Brien the shy Catholic girl....it's kind of lazy storytelling so hopefully they don't go down that road.
She very definitely had mental health issues in her life - I believe she was either bipolar or manic depressive at a time before such a diagnosis was common. Being in the closet - and then essentially not being in the closet was a hard thing. That's where I think the 70s period could be more interesting.
I could see the film being this: the Memphis recording ends up being a time where she feels some freedom from the press in America, has a flirtation, and then when she goes back to England decides to give her famous "I could be swayed" interview and then moves to America permanently, thinking it would hold promise.
by Anonymous | reply 6 | February 27, 2021 10:43 PM
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[Quote] Concentrating on Dusty in Memphis is a possible plus
Why? Springfield was ambivalent about the album. One of the most interesting aspects of Dusty Springfield's career was that she made her name while acting as her own music producer and A&R rolled into one. "Dusty In Memphis" is her best album but it was a turbulent though not especially dramatic time. She was fearful. I believe she spent more time at her hotel (she'd even brought a fling along). She recorded her vocals in New York. The songs she selected were all from writers she already admired. The major advancement of Dusty In Memphis was that she had music players behind her who had a similar feel for the music as Dusty.
I think a fuller portrait would be provided by her England years - the package tours where Dusty would break crockery as a stress reliever (apparently learnt from her mother), the childhood jaunts to the cinema with her mother where Dusty would get lost in Hollywood musicals, singing the blues for the nuns at the school talent show, coming out at bisexual in a newspaper interview in 1970. America drove Dusty's dreams but she realized them in her native country.
by Anonymous | reply 7 | February 27, 2021 10:53 PM
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Loved Dusty, she was my late mum's favourite and we played her songs at her funeral. I'm excited to see a film of her life.
by Anonymous | reply 8 | February 27, 2021 10:59 PM
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I'm not sure when Dusty had her first same sex relationship but she lived with Norma Tanega in the latter part of the 1960s. She had also lived with Madeline Bell but I've read contradictory accounts of their relationship and Bell is still alive, so...
I suspect Dusty's sexuality was already geared towards women by the time she began her solo career, if not earlier. She was already being strategically photographed with the likes of Eden Kane and Dave Clark very early in her solo career. She and her gay manager, Vic Billings, must have already been aware of rumours.
It would be nice if Pepe Borza, an American dancer (he was in the original London cast of FOLLIES!), were featured. He was not only a friend of Dusty's but he was reportedly her brother's partner.
by Anonymous | reply 9 | February 27, 2021 11:00 PM
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[Quote] She very definitely had mental health issues in her life - I believe she was either bipolar or manic depressive at a time before such a diagnosis was common. Being in the closet - and then essentially not being in the closet was a hard thing. That's where I think the 70s period could be more interesting.
Dusty had numerous hospitalisations due to "exhaustion" in the 1960s. It wasn't a simple "1960s success; 1970s struggle" story.
by Anonymous | reply 10 | February 27, 2021 11:02 PM
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The Boy George biopic "Worried About the Boy" isn't perfect but it jumps between periods quite well. It features George's heroin low from about 1986 but it ends with the first performance of "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" on Top of the Pops. The Blitz club era, living in squats is heavily featured. The pre fame era of biopics is always the most interesting and specific. Fame makes the person's world quite small and often boring. George's superstar druggie era is the least interesting part of "Take It like a Man."
by Anonymous | reply 11 | February 27, 2021 11:07 PM
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R7 I said "possible" plus. I don't disagree with your statements.
But for narrative purposes, the Memphis album could be interesting. After a long successful run she's repeating herself. She's making a decision to cut away from Johnny Franz - who isn't even producing her anyway - and Phillips, and coming to America - and it overwhelms her.
I just don't think they can do much to cover the period before she is a solo success in a movie that is 90-120 minutes. If it were a four hour movie or multiple episode series I would otherwise completely agree.
by Anonymous | reply 12 | February 27, 2021 11:43 PM
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What do we think of Gemma Arterton? I've never really seen her in anything.
Dusty's story is SO rich and multidimensional. There were so many Dustys over a time of great societal change: Catholic schoolgirl, folkie, Swinging London popstar, soul sister, flamboyant diva, troubled icon, comeback heroine, and of course all the turbulent affairs and crazy stories (breaking dishes, slugging Buddy Rich, etc). Her life touched on so many social issues of the 60s, 70s and beyond.
I'd like to see not a traditional Hollywood biopic but rather an arty, indie, impressionistic take, with heavy emphasis on the music and drawing contrasts between her different identities. Almost cinema verite. I think I remember liking "Greetings from Tim Buckley" in that regard, I'll have to revisit that one.
by Anonymous | reply 13 | February 27, 2021 11:44 PM
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She didn't exclusively date women of color but that's also a part of her story. Norma was a woman of color and so were several of her flings. I think she had that colonial British thing where white men/women almost fetishize people of color (yes, it happens today too, but there was a particular British flavor about it for this era(. I always suspected that's why Nina Simone threw a drink in her face....Dusty probably made a move and Nina was not receptive.
I've wondered about Madeline Bell, as well. It seems possible they were overs at one point.
by Anonymous | reply 14 | February 27, 2021 11:50 PM
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[Quote] I just don't think they can do much to cover the period before she is a solo success in a movie that is 90-120 minutes.
That's only if they try to hit all the "highs" (and lows) of her career.
The Atlantic period would prove to be Dusty's undoing. She gave up her power and control - not all at once, but bit by bit - until she was singing to backing tracks that weren't even, in her opinion, keyed for her voice. If the 1970s were to play a major part of a biopic, I think that loss of power should be strongly featured. Though, actually this undoing was a feature of her American career as far back as 1964 when she worked on tracks with Shelby Singleton. There were plans for an album but only the Dusty In New York EP materialised. Singleton's productions lack the spark and character of Dusty's own (just as they had when Singleton produced Lesley Gore after Quincy Jones) even if the musicians are better (Ellie Greenwich and Valerie Simpson are among the backing vocalists). And the material was mostly undistinguished. Substandard material would also prove to be a part of Dusty's work with Lee Hazlewood and Jerry Ragovoy (I quite like "What's It Gonna Be" but it's no "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," which Ashford & Simpson played for Dusty but they wouldn't give it to her as they knew it would help establish them at Motown). Brooks Arthur actually engineered those New York tracks. I believe Dusty liked him and he would prove to be a sympathetic producer on the abandoned "Longing" project from 1974. It's a great shame that album was left unfinished.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 15 | February 27, 2021 11:58 PM
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Yes R13, that would be fascinating.
by Anonymous | reply 16 | February 27, 2021 11:59 PM
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[Quote] She didn't exclusively date women of color but that's also a part of her story. Norma was a woman of color and so were several of her flings. I think she had that colonial British thing where white men/women almost fetishize people of color (yes, it happens today too, but there was a particular British flavor about it for this era(
Well... was the Barbi twins' mother caucasian? Carole Pope... Sue Cameron... I think it's a reach to say that Dusty fetishised her girlfriends because of their skin colour... It would be one thing if one or more of her exes stated that they felt fetishised.
by Anonymous | reply 17 | February 28, 2021 12:03 AM
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Didn't she and Carole Pope bush bang?
by Anonymous | reply 18 | February 28, 2021 12:03 AM
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She "married" Carole Pope. The odd thing is that Dusty announced the impending marriage on an Australian talk show but she pretended that there was a groom. The interview is on YouTube.
by Anonymous | reply 19 | February 28, 2021 12:05 AM
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Quite a variety to Dusty's lovers, all different types it seems. If Dusty was drawn to black women, it might have had something to do with how much she loved American soul and R&B music.
Who is "Beautiful Soul" about, do we know? It's very pretty.
I thought Teda Bracci (sp?) was the one she married.
by Anonymous | reply 20 | February 28, 2021 12:06 AM
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R17 it wasn't all of them, but I think she had a few black girl friends early on. Perhaps as she believed it was a "rebelion."
And yes, R18. Carole Pope talks about it every five fucking seconds so there's plenty of receipts out there about that!
[quote] Brooks Arthur actually engineered those New York tracks. I believe Dusty liked him and he would prove to be a sympathetic producer on the abandoned "Longing" project from 1974
That would be a fascinating period, too, though perhaps the most lurid as it's one of her rock bottom periods.
There's a story in there too about how frustrated she was despite success, about how she was pigeonholed into pop and then adult contemporary when she wanted to do more. Now artists can do various genres or subgenres and no one bats an eye, but then she was in a pretty limited box and she was frustrated.
by Anonymous | reply 21 | February 28, 2021 12:06 AM
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Dusty was never really a soul sister, though. She was never accepted like, say, Teena Marie. That's one of the interesting aspects of the Atlantic period. Dusty, like Lulu, did not find support in black radio or beyond. Their experiences were quite different from the Adele's of the world.
by Anonymous | reply 22 | February 28, 2021 12:06 AM
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[Quote] it wasn't all of them, but I think she had a few black girl friends early on. Perhaps as she believed it was a "rebelion."
I understand that it's tempting to put that reading on her love life but how was it rebellious when only her close friends knew? This wasn't Madonna trawling for Puerto Rican dick in her limo.
by Anonymous | reply 23 | February 28, 2021 12:09 AM
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"Beautiful Soul" was written by Margey Adam, who I believe was openly lesbian. I don't know the song's inspiration.
by Anonymous | reply 24 | February 28, 2021 12:12 AM
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"I Wish That Love Would Last" was also written by two gay songwriters, Allee Willis and David Lasley. I can't quite believe that this was chosen to be the b-side. The Norma Rae Theme hadn't a hope in hell of taking off on radio.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 25 | February 28, 2021 12:13 AM
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R22 She was accepted as a legitimate soul singer in England, and not a Pat Boone singing Tutti Frutti kind of thing. Cliff Richard calling her the "white Negress" notwithstanding, she sang with soul and also had support for things like her stand against apartheid (another moment that would be a great focus for a movie).
But you're right, she was never accepted on black radio to that level in the States. To be fair, her output in that area predated the disco era and the 80s, where the lines of those formats on US radio started to be a litte flexible.
R23 It's not my own reading or thought, please understand. I've read an article that suggested it (ages ago, doesn't seem to be online) and had a long conversation about her (and many others) with a few British DJ's about 20 years ago. That was their read of it, The Simone incident is kind of the strongest thing that, in my mind, points to that as a possibiity.
by Anonymous | reply 26 | February 28, 2021 12:15 AM
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It's such a story of identity, transformation, self-invention. And of course artistry. All very interesting to me.
by Anonymous | reply 27 | February 28, 2021 12:15 AM
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This is probably the last record where Dusty's head voice was still in its prime.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 28 | February 28, 2021 12:15 AM
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I know it's very much of its own time but I loved this
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 29 | February 28, 2021 12:16 AM
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I'm ambivalent about the "different Dustys" idea, especially as it's so open to be misrepresented in light of her mental health struggles. She wasn't Sybil.
by Anonymous | reply 30 | February 28, 2021 12:17 AM
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and i fucking LOVE New Wave Dusty. This album has a few gems on it.
The minute I heard it I pictured it being a great drag song. LOL
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 31 | February 28, 2021 12:18 AM
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It's a shame that Dusty couldn't get radio play in the 70s because she did some great work in that decade.
by Anonymous | reply 32 | February 28, 2021 12:18 AM
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R30 good point. A poor director could focus on that in a lurid way.
More that family ties and her goals clashed and pulled her into different directions.
by Anonymous | reply 33 | February 28, 2021 12:18 AM
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R30 I get that. I'm mostly talking about her outward iterations.
by Anonymous | reply 34 | February 28, 2021 12:19 AM
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Dusty lipsyncs "Sandra" at about 11:55. I doubt it sold one album. Perhaps she saw it as a semi audition to be an actress, an idea she toyed with while in Hollywood.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 35 | February 28, 2021 12:19 AM
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I like that Norma Rae song.
by Anonymous | reply 36 | February 28, 2021 12:20 AM
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It's atmospheric but it hadn't a hope in hell of becoming a hit. The label obviously thought it was in with a chance because of the Oscar nomination.
by Anonymous | reply 37 | February 28, 2021 12:21 AM
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Yeah, it wasn't radio-friendly but it was still a good song. I could never see that song played on the radio alongside "Bad Girls" and "My Sharona."
by Anonymous | reply 38 | February 28, 2021 12:23 AM
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[Quote] I'm mostly talking about her outward iterations.
I understand but "shy Mary" was still part of her public persona as Dusty. Sometimes people portray it as if "Dusty" exemplified supreme confidence, a benevolent take on Jekyll and Hyde or something.
by Anonymous | reply 39 | February 28, 2021 12:24 AM
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Another Dusty oddity from that period is "Closet Man." The song is exactly what you think it's about.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 40 | February 28, 2021 12:24 AM
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"Bits and Pieces" is another of those stray songs from that period.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 41 | February 28, 2021 12:25 AM
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There's an interview with Gay Times on Youtube where Dusty bursts into tears at the prospect of talking about her sexuality. And yet she released "Closet Man" in the same period.
by Anonymous | reply 42 | February 28, 2021 12:27 AM
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Dusty re-recorded the vocal for a b-side release in 1977 but this is the original vocal form 1974. I don't know how Dusty thought the re-record was better.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 43 | February 28, 2021 12:29 AM
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What's so sad is that in the final decade of her life Dusty finally seemed to get it together. She'd stopped drinking and drugging, her mental illness was more manageable, she had a big career resurgence and was in a much more calm and happier place, and then the damn cancer happened. It wasn't fair after all she went through.
by Anonymous | reply 44 | February 28, 2021 12:33 AM
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I just love, love, love Dusty's version of "Windmills Of Your Mind"....the very definition of sultry and haunting.
I recently read that Dusty was the original choice to do "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" with Elton. Does anyone know if that is true? After thinking about it, I can totally hear that working.
by Anonymous | reply 45 | February 28, 2021 12:33 AM
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R13, interesting approach. Sounds like I'm Not There.
by Anonymous | reply 46 | February 28, 2021 12:35 AM
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I’m so happy all you knowledgeable Dusty admirers found this thread I created. Last night it was looking like it would sink into oblivion with just two disinterested replies.
by Anonymous | reply 47 | February 28, 2021 12:35 AM
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She is one of the all-time greats. To this day every female British singer gets compared to her.
by Anonymous | reply 48 | February 28, 2021 12:37 AM
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It has also been stated that Dusty turned down "Nobody Does It Better." It seems a little unlikely. Her stock was pretty low by 1977. And as for "Don't Go Breaking My Heart," Elton signed Kiki Dee to his record label. I'm not sure that Dusty even had a record contract at the time. I always listen to Kiki Dee's 1970s albums as a sort of alternate universe 1970s Dusty. Kiki was a much more low key vocal presence than Dusty (and Kiki was more of a songwriter than Dusty ever really was) but they had quite a lot in common.
by Anonymous | reply 49 | February 28, 2021 12:40 AM
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It's a shame Dusty didn't hook up with Clive Davis in the 1970s. He likely would have brought her some hits.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 50 | February 28, 2021 12:48 AM
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So, Gemma Arterton. The face works - square jaw, pointed nose, mischievous smile.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 51 | February 28, 2021 12:50 AM
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True, r50. Clive Davis could've done for Dusty what he did for Dionne Warwick. Dionne's career really slumped for years but Clive brought her back.
by Anonymous | reply 52 | February 28, 2021 12:51 AM
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God, Jennifer Warnes had zero stage presence or charisma. Nice voice, though.
by Anonymous | reply 53 | February 28, 2021 12:52 AM
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Arterton's face is actually a very good match, I agree. Arterton is quite tall, though but that's not a dealbreaker. I only really know her from her Graham Norton appearance where Miriam Margolyes recounted "creaming [her] panties" at the sight of Laurence Olivier. Margolyes asked Arterton if she knew what Miriam meant. Without hesitation, Arterton replied "I know exactly what you mean." She went up in my estimation for that reply. A Hollywood starlet would have acted all demure.
by Anonymous | reply 54 | February 28, 2021 1:00 AM
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R39 I see “Dusty” as the professional, the consummate artist and performer. And then like every other entertainer, there was an offstage, private persona. I’m always interested in how the two play out, sync up and differ, in any performer.
by Anonymous | reply 55 | February 28, 2021 1:03 AM
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Dusty filmed tall, thanks to the hair, heels, and commanding presence. I was surprised to learn she was only 5 foot two.
by Anonymous | reply 56 | February 28, 2021 1:05 AM
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She had a great take on Closet Man but like so many songs she did in the 70s she wasn't first to get to it, Jaye P Morgan among others also did an earlier version. Very similar arrangement.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 57 | February 28, 2021 1:10 AM
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But Dusty wasn't a consummate performer. She'd blow out her voice at the soundcheck and sometimes wouldn't even be able to perform properly by the time of the show. She wasn't a trained singer. I believe that's why she loved the 1980s era of recording. Neil Tennant says that she'd try to record syllable by syllable and piece a "perfect" vocal together. She couldn't do that back in the 1960s. I think "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" is Take 40 or something.
by Anonymous | reply 58 | February 28, 2021 1:11 AM
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As with Love Me By Name.
Dusty did a great version, but Patti Austin's captured a sense of invisibility and despair that I thought Dusty might have had within her reach (as she did so superbly on In The Winter).
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 59 | February 28, 2021 1:11 AM
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But damn, she owned every second of In The Winter.
Owned it. Decimated the Janis Ian version. Definitive.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 60 | February 28, 2021 1:12 AM
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I've heard "Love Me By Name" multiple times but I can never remember how it goes. Sorry, Lesley.
by Anonymous | reply 61 | February 28, 2021 1:12 AM
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Dusty's take on "Send It to Me" was more appropriate than Gladys Knight's original. Dusty's is so breezily carnal. Gladys seems to be singing about the love of her life, whereas Dusty wants to get off.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 62 | February 28, 2021 1:14 AM
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I still tear up every time I see this.
Not her finest song but she sung the hell out of it. One of her last performances.
Oh, and her backing singers were Alison Moyet and Sinead!
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 63 | February 28, 2021 1:18 AM
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R47 I am happy this thread has blossomed too. And thus far a few differing opinions have been shared without anyone calling any one else a cunt or losing their minds. A miracle!
by Anonymous | reply 64 | February 28, 2021 1:20 AM
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Yes, that live performance is so much better than the overly slick album version.
by Anonymous | reply 65 | February 28, 2021 1:20 AM
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R58 I'm just reacting to the several seasons of the "Dusty" TV show I watched on Youtube the other night. She owned the stage and sounded great.
by Anonymous | reply 66 | February 28, 2021 1:21 AM
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I'm surprised that Dusty never had even minor success on black radio since both Dusty in Memphis and A Brand New Me are so soulful. Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff produced A Brand New Me, just shortly before Philadephia Soul took off. She always seemed ahead of her time.
A few years ago I bought a pink box set of Dusty's music career. It was big and campy and did a nice job of covering her career. Although sadly it did not have the song from The Stunt Man to go with her other soundtrack songs.
by Anonymous | reply 67 | February 28, 2021 1:34 AM
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Dusty was a natural on camera and she could perform very well live. But there was a diffident quality there. She was always Mary. What I'm getting at is that the mousey schoolgirl trope the media, and even Dusty herself would cite, is reductive. Dusty could rave on an uptempo Motown number but her greatest skill was her ability to draw her audience in to her.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 68 | February 28, 2021 1:34 AM
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Most of the Philadelphia sessions are actually credited to staff producers (chiefly Eugene Dozier). Gamble speaks as if he was quite involved but I wonder how much exactly. One would think he wouldn't want another's name on the record as a producer.
by Anonymous | reply 69 | February 28, 2021 1:36 AM
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She was cool and warm at the same time. Very appealing.
by Anonymous | reply 70 | February 28, 2021 1:37 AM
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One of the oddest Dusty events of which I've read is when she knocked down an old woman with her car. The comments Dusty gave the press made her sound... an impossible princess. It would be interesting to include that in a biopic.
by Anonymous | reply 71 | February 28, 2021 1:39 AM
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The lyrics for that song were also written by a gay pair: Vicki Wickham and Simon Napier-Bell.
by Anonymous | reply 73 | February 28, 2021 2:27 AM
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I love her version of Sunny.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 74 | February 28, 2021 2:34 AM
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Her version of I Am Woman is the best.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 75 | February 28, 2021 2:34 AM
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"Who Gets Your Love" is an underappreciated gem.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 76 | February 28, 2021 2:37 AM
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Dusty actually recorded "You've Got a Friend" before James Taylor but it remained unreleased until 1999.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 77 | February 28, 2021 2:40 AM
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Black audiences liked and admired Dusty, especially black adults, but she never did hardcore R&B. Most of the songs she did were MOR songs dressed up in R&B arrangements with her husky voice, not that that's a bad thing. And if she did state of the art Soul like the Philadelphia album, she was never consistent with it.
by Anonymous | reply 78 | February 28, 2021 4:14 AM
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The role of Glenn Close’s younger life!!
by Anonymous | reply 79 | February 28, 2021 4:21 AM
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You all may call me MARY! (O'Brien) but when I first saw this a few years ago, I ***wept***, WEPT.
Stunning. The best I have EVER heard this performed, by anyone.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 80 | February 28, 2021 4:50 AM
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r80 that is a sublime performance. She was such a brilliant talent.
by Anonymous | reply 81 | February 28, 2021 6:12 AM
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Dionne Warwick had nice things to say about Dusty singing Bacharach/David tunes. She was otherwise very critical when other female singers encroached on her territory.
by Anonymous | reply 82 | February 28, 2021 6:57 AM
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[quote]Dionne Warwick had nice things to say about Dusty singing Bacharach/David tunes. She was otherwise very critical when other female singers encroached on her territory.
I love Dusty but her 90s single Heart And (arse)Soul with Dionne's nemesis Cilla was one of the worst records in the history of Bacharach & David adjacent singers.
by Anonymous | reply 83 | February 28, 2021 8:29 AM
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R72 Vicki said in an interview that they wrote the lyrics in a big hurry, and they all, including Dusty, considered it a shitty first draft. But there was no time to change anything because Dusty needed them for a performance. Imagine.
by Anonymous | reply 84 | February 28, 2021 1:59 PM
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R83 I love, love, love, LOVE Dusty, but I wholeheartedly agree, that was an aural abortion.
by Anonymous | reply 85 | February 28, 2021 2:20 PM
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[Quote] Dionne Warwick had nice things to say about Dusty singing Bacharach/David tunes.
Dionne has been her typical shady self when talking about Dusty. She said all Dusty had was music.
by Anonymous | reply 86 | February 28, 2021 5:37 PM
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I'd rather have no biopic about Dusty than a paint-by-numbers music biopic. They've been churning out so many mediocre music biopics lately and I don't think that any of them have been good.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 87 | February 28, 2021 5:47 PM
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The thing is, Dusty’s story has a perfect dramatic arc and touches on pertinent social issues. I should think it’s catnip to people who make biopics. Alas?
by Anonymous | reply 88 | February 28, 2021 6:00 PM
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If Dusty hadn't been a lesbian, it may have come to the screen much quicker. Look what they did to Freddie Mercury's sexuality in the Queen biopic.
by Anonymous | reply 89 | February 28, 2021 6:05 PM
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It's odd that there hasn't at least been a BBC TV movie. Maybe producers get hung up on securing the rights to her music.
by Anonymous | reply 90 | February 28, 2021 6:06 PM
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Good point about music rights. I certainly don’t want to hear anything but Dusty’s real voice.
by Anonymous | reply 91 | February 28, 2021 6:34 PM
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R87, you're right, but what would make them less mediocre? I saw Walk Hard a few years ago, and even though it didn't make laugh so much, I can't help but see all the stuff it parodied in the dramas I have seen since.
by Anonymous | reply 92 | February 28, 2021 6:35 PM
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R89 that's what I am most worried about, that they'll try to minimize her sexuality or make it a raised eyebrow and a wink.
Like I said upthread, there are two camps of Dusty fans and one seems to think she was Sandra Dee/Doris Day and barely wish to acknowledge that she was anything other than a virginal love goddess - and a het one.
by Anonymous | reply 93 | February 28, 2021 6:36 PM
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If they want to hit most of the points of her life, they should make it a mini series. Otherwise, they should focus on a narrow point of time if they want it to be a movie.
by Anonymous | reply 94 | February 28, 2021 6:49 PM
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Dusty's comments about taking the train to regional gigs has always stuck with me - she mentioned how she was always looking in windows at the families having their early evening meal, wishing she was in there with them; though knowing that if she was, she'd have wanted to be outside, going somewhere, doing something.
I also love her recollection of hearing the Exciters' "Tell Him," blaring out of a record shop when she was on a trip to America. It was a seminal moment for her. She instantly knew the sound, the direction in which she wanted to go.
Her tour to Africa, where she refused to perform for segregated audiences, should also feature.
by Anonymous | reply 95 | February 28, 2021 6:53 PM
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[quote]Her tour to Africa, where she refused to perform for segregated audiences, should also feature.
Not sure the White Saviour element would go down will in some quarters.
by Anonymous | reply 96 | February 28, 2021 6:57 PM
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The parties at Dusty's flat, where food fights would inevitably occur, should also feature. I think someone put a runny material - baked beans, perhaps - in the Shangri Las' leather boots.
EDIT: Here's an excerpt:
[Quote] MARY - When we went to England we found the British spent more time setting up everything as far as television goes. They're meticulous. I walk in the studio and the entire soundstage was filled with sand, and a giant grandfather clock for one song. I just could not believe it. Dusty was on that show. Dusty is an absolutely amazing talent. The Shangri-La's were in London doing Top of the Pops and Ready! Steady! Go! Dusty was having a very large party in her flat. It started out all civilized, nice French doors and antique desks, but she liked to start food fights. And she started one and I'm hiding under this lovely French desk with her manager and fish and food are flying by! They were actually throwing pies later in the night. So Mary Ann (Ganser, of the Shangri-Las) goes to put her boots on and they were filled with fish! Dusty was a kinky girl, but a true talent. But Mary Ann got even with Dusty. She waited and waited and the next time we were with Dusty at the Brooklyn Fox, Mary Ann put fish in Dusty's shoes. And that's called...payback! (laughs)
by Anonymous | reply 97 | February 28, 2021 6:58 PM
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[Quote] Not sure the White Saviour element would go down will in some quarters.
Dusty walked the walk. If they wanted to show how Dusty might have been perceived as meddlesome, they can include the time Nina Simone threw a drink in Dusty's face.
by Anonymous | reply 98 | February 28, 2021 7:00 PM
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[quote]Dusty's take on "Send It to Me" was more appropriate than Gladys Knight's original. Dusty's is so breezily carnal. Gladys seems to be singing about the love of her life, whereas Dusty wants to get off.
I had no idea Send It To Me had been recorded before Dusty did it.
by Anonymous | reply 99 | February 28, 2021 7:01 PM
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R96 In clips of Dusty, she didn’t play savior. She just seemed nonplussed at the idea that people who wanted to purchase a ticket and hear her sing, couldn’t. It was still a telling incident.
by Anonymous | reply 100 | February 28, 2021 7:03 PM
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Lol at fish in Dusty’s shoes. “A Kinky Girl, But a True Talent.” Maybe that could be the title of the movie/series.
by Anonymous | reply 101 | February 28, 2021 7:06 PM
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R92 I don’t have any solutions, but again... I’d rather have no biopic than a corny as fuck one! It’s up to the director and writers, not the audience!!
by Anonymous | reply 102 | February 28, 2021 7:07 PM
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I'm just glad Nicole Kidman or Kristi Dawn Chenoweth didn't get to play Dusty as they'd hoped.
by Anonymous | reply 103 | February 28, 2021 7:10 PM
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[quote]In clips of Dusty, she didn’t play savior. She just seemed nonplussed at the idea that people who wanted to purchase a ticket and hear her sing, couldn’t. It was still a telling incident.
I'm not disputing events - she showed courage at a time when others didn't and took a very public stand which many people still acknowledge her actions as being heroic. In the same way people still think about Queen playing to white only audiences in Sun City in the 1980s and it diminishes the memory somewhat.
My point is that making a film about a white woman and focusing on her part in defeating anti black racism would be criticised by many.
by Anonymous | reply 104 | February 28, 2021 7:10 PM
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I agree the SA incident would have to be presented in a sensitive and straightforward way , but it’s part of her story and certainly interesting.
by Anonymous | reply 105 | February 28, 2021 7:14 PM
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[Quote] My point is that making a film about a white woman and focusing on her part in defeating anti black racism would be criticised by many.
No it wouldn't. Only to people who cream themselves at throwing out "sjw" as an insult.
by Anonymous | reply 106 | February 28, 2021 7:14 PM
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Batshit crazy. Crazy as a loon. Off her rocker
by Anonymous | reply 107 | February 28, 2021 7:17 PM
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Making that incident THE focus and premise would be inappropriate, yes. I wouldn’t care to watch that.
by Anonymous | reply 109 | February 28, 2021 7:20 PM
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They couldn't make it the focus as there wasn't much to the experience. Dusty and her crew were made to leave the country. It's never been said that Dusty toured shanty towns and blessed brown babies.
by Anonymous | reply 110 | February 28, 2021 7:31 PM
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[Quote] I had no idea Send It To Me had been recorded before Dusty did it.
Quite a few of the tracks from that album are covers.
by Anonymous | reply 111 | February 28, 2021 7:36 PM
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Arrested by You - Rupert Hine.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 112 | February 28, 2021 7:37 PM
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Reputation - Brian Spence.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 113 | February 28, 2021 7:37 PM
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R103 Me too. I like Nicole Kidman overall, but still can’t believe the gall of her thinking she could play Grace Kelly. Cheryl Ladd did a more credible job of that. As for Chenoweth, I can’t get past the helium speaking voice and the mannered Broadway singing style. Arterton at least is English and has a vaguefacial resemblance. But she better not attempt to sing.
by Anonymous | reply 114 | February 28, 2021 8:09 PM
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[quote] My point is that making a film about a white woman and focusing on her part in defeating anti black racism would be criticised by many.
Depends on how it is presented. Dusty morphed from singing novelty songs in a family group into a uniquely soulful singer who was respected by Black American artists. She had a real affinity for Black music and artists (and women) -- it is what made her a star. She was an authentic white soul singer ("the white negress") before such a thing existed. It is why she has always enjoyed more universal acclaim than Petula, Cilla Black, Lulu or Sandie Shaw even though she had no greater commercial success than those other British female singers.
If a film shows that her stand in SA was an extension of her long-standing cross-racial solidarity and identification it could be a very compelling narrative statement.
by Anonymous | reply 115 | February 28, 2021 8:20 PM
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One of the things I really thought with this movie is that I ***don't*** want them to feature her biggest songs.....at least not every single one.
The way in for the audience re: belivability could be including the songs that maybe not everyone is familiar with, so to them, they can buy into the story. I Can't Wait to See My Baby's Face is one that would be ideal (fun, fun to perform, also a sample for a Saint Etienne song that people will recognize).
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 116 | March 1, 2021 12:23 AM
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I really need to see the excitement of “I Only Want to Be With You.” That first big hit. And the drama of “Ypu Don’t Have to Say You Love Me.”
by Anonymous | reply 117 | March 1, 2021 12:36 AM
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R117 I think those are excellent "signpost" choices, and it could be that she doesn't even perform them - we hear I Only in a record shop, for example. A bookend to her hearing Tell Him in a record shop.
by Anonymous | reply 118 | March 1, 2021 12:47 AM
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Two scenes I want: Dusty recording “I only want to be with you” in the studio, standing on a pile of books, singing to that wall of sound with all the strings and horns. The excitement of sensing it’s going to be a hit and her life is about to change forever.
Dusty at the San Remo festival, hearing an emotional Italian ballad that moves her to tears. She engages her friends to write English lyrics for her, but hates the result. But there’s no time! - she has to sing them, there’s a performance to turn in. The song turns out to be “you don’t have to say you love me.“ SHOWSTOPPER
by Anonymous | reply 119 | March 1, 2021 3:55 AM
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“...Cuz you’ve started somethin, oh can’t you see...”
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 120 | March 1, 2021 4:07 AM
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"How Dusty came to record THIS song, how she came to record THAT song" is EXACTLY the kind of biopic I don't want.
by Anonymous | reply 121 | March 1, 2021 6:13 PM
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Well it has to be about the music somewhat.
by Anonymous | reply 122 | March 1, 2021 6:25 PM
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[Quote] who was respected by Black American artists. She had a real affinity for Black music and artists (and women) -- it is what made her a star. She was an authentic white soul singer ("the white negress") before such a thing existed. It is why she has always enjoyed more universal acclaim than Petula, Cilla Black, Lulu or Sandie Shaw even though she had no greater commercial success than those other British female singers.
I don't know that this is quite true. The "soul" thing has become part of her ongoing status (I think it's very telling that the "White..." comment came from Cliffy Richard...) but Dusty made her name as a solo act singing Girl Group type material before pivoting to Italian ballads. Her status was established well before "Son of a Preacher Man." What Dusty, Cilla, Lulu and Sandie all had in common was an untrained, edgy sound to their voices. This was the era where Rock n Roll meant not only the Beatles and the Rolling Stones but the Ronettes, the Shangri-Las, early Dionne Warwick. These acts could all appear on the same bill. They were all "youth music." I left out Petula Clark because she was seen as belonging to a previous generation in the UK, where her Tony Hatch hits were less consistently successful on the charts than in the US.
Where Dusty diverged from the women above was that she WENT AWAY. She did not stick around the UK TV variety/Light Entertainment format, and thus become "strictly for Mums and Dads" in the eyes of the youth. Sandie Shaw also went away, mostly, which helped her long term status.
There's no doubt that Dusty was a soulful singer but she wasn't alone in that.
by Anonymous | reply 123 | March 1, 2021 6:41 PM
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I Only Want To Be With You and Wishin' and Hopin' are truly my two LEAST favorite songs of hers.
by Anonymous | reply 124 | March 1, 2021 7:18 PM
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Unpopular opinion, I respect but do not love "Dusty in Memphis." I'm partial to her big swinging wall-of-sound stuff of the mid-60s.
by Anonymous | reply 125 | March 1, 2021 7:21 PM
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Dusty died 22 years ago today.
Way too young, at age 59.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 126 | March 3, 2021 12:55 AM
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In 2007 Petula Clark recorded a "duet" with Dusty. I like Petula but not crazy about this.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 127 | March 3, 2021 1:40 AM
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There's one person who would have made a magnificent Dusty - if she were an actress, and if they'd filmed perhaps a few years or a decade ago.
Look at that face!
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 128 | March 5, 2021 1:20 AM
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Wow R128 - I'm blown away.
by Anonymous | reply 129 | March 5, 2021 1:38 AM
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Roisin did an all denim performance recently. Not an explicit tribute, but shades of a girl called Dusty.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 130 | March 7, 2021 8:12 PM
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R130 Are you the only person to have proposed her or was she ever seriously considered?
by Anonymous | reply 131 | March 7, 2021 9:59 PM
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Inspired by this thread, I have been going through a bit of a Dusty phase, have had her music on throughout the days. I remembered I had a musician acquaintance with a long resume, so I asked him if he ever worked with Dusty. Answer - yes, four decades ago, one of his early LA studio experiences. Says she "couldn't have been nicer."
by Anonymous | reply 132 | March 29, 2021 1:09 PM
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Not a household one, R133.
by Anonymous | reply 134 | March 29, 2021 1:51 PM
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He still may be listed among her musicians.
by Anonymous | reply 135 | March 29, 2021 1:53 PM
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I am not familiar with any Dusty songs at all, but after hearing the Winter song, I immediately thought of Roisin (whom Lady Gaga filched a lot of looks from).
by Anonymous | reply 136 | March 29, 2021 1:53 PM
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I was listening to “son of a preacher man“ yesterday and it’s stuck in my head now. I keep thinking about how dusty said Aretha Franklin‘s phrasing of “who could ever teach me,“ with emphasis on the word “who“ instead of “ever,“ was superior and she wished she’d done it herself. I disagree, prefer Dusty’s phrasing and her version overall. Such a random detail for her to focus on, though.
by Anonymous | reply 137 | April 4, 2021 3:03 PM
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Here's Gemma Arterton serving face in the new Jessie Ware video - "Remember Where You Are"
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 138 | April 4, 2021 3:14 PM
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[quote]she has always enjoyed more universal acclaim than Petula, Cilla Black, Lulu or Sandie Shaw
Cilla Black should not be mentioned with the others. She had a terrible voice, thin and nasal.
by Anonymous | reply 139 | April 4, 2021 3:16 PM
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Cilla's voice wasn't thin. Her voice was actually quite dark, as can be heard in the "Bill Medley" parts of "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling." The Merman side of her voice is an acquired taste. It was a mistake for her to get a nose job as it thinned out her sound.
by Anonymous | reply 140 | April 4, 2021 4:14 PM
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Sandie's voice was actually the thinnest of the Fab Four. Listen to her version of "Downtown," for instance.
by Anonymous | reply 141 | April 4, 2021 4:14 PM
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[Quote] I was listening to “son of a preacher man“ yesterday and it’s stuck in my head now. I keep thinking about how dusty said Aretha Franklin‘s phrasing of “who could ever teach me,“ with emphasis on the word “who“ instead of “ever,“ was superior and she wished she’d done it herself. I disagree, prefer Dusty’s phrasing and her version overall. Such a random detail for her to focus on, though.
It's also inaccurate. Aretha doesn't sing "WHO could ever reach me."
by Anonymous | reply 142 | April 4, 2021 4:15 PM
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R142 Do you mean Dusty was inaccurate, or I've relayed the story inaccurately? How did Aretha sing it?
by Anonymous | reply 143 | April 4, 2021 4:46 PM
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R138 What a pretty song, thanks for posting. Where is that? Mayfair?
by Anonymous | reply 144 | April 4, 2021 4:51 PM
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Dusty recounts her memory of Aretha's phrasing at 3:25.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 145 | April 4, 2021 4:57 PM
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The recording shows that Aretha does not emphasize "who," as Dusty claimed.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 146 | April 4, 2021 4:58 PM
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I didn't know until today that Dusty's brother Tom wrote "I'll Never Find Another You" and co-wrote (with Jim Dale) "Georgy Girl," both massive hits I love, by The Seekers. Gee, those Springfield siblings certainly made their contribution to that Swinging London sound.
by Anonymous | reply 147 | April 6, 2021 2:04 AM
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You know the Seekers covered "Island of Dreams," don't you?
by Anonymous | reply 148 | April 6, 2021 2:46 AM
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Tom also wrote "Losing You."
by Anonymous | reply 149 | April 6, 2021 2:46 AM
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Dusty's In the Winter is fantastic - I wish she had recorded more Janis Ian songs. She would have been great singing some Joni Mitchell and The Mamas and the Papas.
Her "Quiet Please, There's a Lady Onstage" is definitive for me - Peter Allen's own performance of the song never quite does it.
by Anonymous | reply 150 | April 6, 2021 3:14 AM
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R149 Great song.
I imagine Mum and Dad O’Brien were properly chuffed at the success of those crazy kids Mary and Dion.
by Anonymous | reply 151 | April 6, 2021 4:24 AM
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Katharine McPhee for Mary O'Brien, Megan Hilty for Dusty Springfield.
by Anonymous | reply 152 | April 6, 2021 8:29 AM
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She sounds like a lot more fun than her stage persona.
by Anonymous | reply 153 | April 6, 2021 8:35 AM
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Did not know Dusty did her own “Born This Way” in 1990. The similarity in spirit to Lady Gaga’s is striking.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 154 | April 6, 2021 11:23 PM
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That track was produced (not sure if co-written) by Dan Hartman, who was gay and sadly died of AIDs in the mid 1990s.
by Anonymous | reply 155 | April 7, 2021 12:05 AM
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Sharon Gless could have played Dusty at one point.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 156 | May 31, 2021 10:08 PM
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She really could sing ANYTHING.
Rock out with your clit out, sister!
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 157 | September 24, 2021 11:59 PM
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