Song of the Day: 'Nothing Has Been Proved' by Dusty Springfield

Yesterday I was revisiting Dusty Springfield's 1990 comeback album, "Reputation." Although Dan Hartman, of "I Can Dream About You Fame" who died of AIDS in 1994, produced three songs ("Send It to Me," "Time Waits for No One" and "Born This Way"), Paul O'Duffy (Swing Out Sister, Amy Winehouse) produced another ("Arrested by You"), and Andy Richards produced the stellar title track, it was Side 2 -- produced by her "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" collaborators (Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe) -- that was the most interesting part of the LP. Two were hit singles -- the epic "In Private" and today's song of the day -- two were original album tracks (the Pet Shop Boyish "Daydreaming," "Occupy Your Mind") and one was a Goffin-King cover ("I Want to Stay Here"), all of which cemented Dusty's legacy as the queen of blue-eyed soul. Read my 2010 post about "Reputation" -- which also mentioned Liza Minnelli's "Results" (1989) and Ronnie Spector's "Unfinished Business" (1987) -- HERE.

Song of the Day: 'Spooky' by Dusty Springfield

  Great Classics IV cover by the legendary Dusty Springfield. Had no idea this song came out the year I was born.

Song of the Day: 'Don't Sleep in the Subway' by Petula Clark

As I've written about before, Petula Clark's "Downtown" was the unwitting theme song to my childhood big-city ambitions. What I don't think I've ever mentioned was the time a bunch of us were arguing in the New York Times newsroom about whose obituary would get better Page 1 placement — Petula’s or Dusty Springfield’s. The general consensus was that Petula was by far the bigger star -- she's been in the business for more than 70 years! -- but that Dusty's legacy is more important. Sadly, Dusty died in 1999 at just 59. But Petula is still going strong at 84!

Song of the Day: 'Take Another Little Piece of My Heart' by Dusty Springfield

Some say "Dusty ... Definitely" -- which came out the year before the legendary "Dusty in Memphis" -- is Springfield's true masterpiece. At home reconsidering now ...

Song of the Day: 'What Have I Done to Deserve This?' by Pet Shop Boys and Dusty Springfield

As the critics trash the new West End musical about Dusty Springfield I find myself asking just one thing: What has she done to deserve this? Watching a documentary is the way to go here, people. No one can compare with the original.

Song of the Day: 'A House Is Not a Home' by Dusty Springfield

In this adorable clip, Dusty Springfield and Burt Bacharach talk about working together before singing their most underrated song.

 

Music Box: Dusty Springfield

One of my fondest memories from the late '80s was the resurgence of three female music legends, Ronnie Spector, Liza Minnelli and Dusty Springfield. While Ronnie refurbished her signature song to make a winning duet with Eddie Money, Liza and Dusty were even more fortunate, each collaborating with Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe of the Pet Shop Boys. While Liza's "Results" received enormous publicity, Dusty's 1990 comeback album, "Reputation," didn't even get released in America until many years later, despite the enormous success of "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" with the Boys in '87. (Might the lack of success of Ronnie's "Unfinished Business" have played a role in this?)

   It's a shame, because "Reputation" -- Dusty's first album in eight years and arguably her best since the 1960s -- is pure a pure delight. (The album fared pretty well in the UK, where it sold 60,000 copies in the first two weeks and charted two Top 20 singles, "In Private" and "Nothing Has Been Proved.") "In Private" was such a rousing dance anthem, in fact, it ended up becoming a huge dance-floor hit in the U.S., despite never being commercially released here. (It peaked at No. 14 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play chart in early 1990 -- and definitely got the crowd at Studio One going back in the day.) Equally good is the melodramatic title track -- which reeks of the Boys but was actually one of the songs they didn't produce or write -- that plays like the antidote to Olivia Newton-John's "The Rumor." Both videos are below -- like Liza, Dusty released an accompanying tape of videos from the album -- and I see iTunes has the 1997 reissue, "Reputation and Rarities" available at the nice price. Dusty's place in history is secure. But I'd like to think the Pet Shop Boys will someday be better appreciated for the geniuses they are. Works like "Results" and "Reputation" are wonderful supporting evidence.

 

Music Box: Dusty Springfield

In honor of the 40th anniversary of the release of Dusty Springfield's "Dusty in Memphis," unquestionably one of the greatest albums of all time (is there a song more perfect than "I Can't Make It Alone"?), plus the 70th birthday of Dusty and the 10th anniversary of her Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, my pal Brian Ferrari (on his show "60 Degrees") has created a special tribute to the highlight of 1969 over on Eastvillageradio.com. Featuring the entire album (plus bonus tracks) as covered by other artists, including: Tina Turner, Darlene Love, Maria McKee, The Honey Cone, Baby Washington, Barbara Lewis, Eternity’s Children, Kim Weston, Jackie DeShannon, Dionne Warwick, Linda Jones, The Harmony Grass, Bettye Swan, Shelby Lynne, Mark Eitzel, Jill Sobule and others, plus rare performances by Dusty herself!

  The show airs live on www.eastvillageradio.com on Monday April 13, 8-10 a.m. ET. Also available on streaming audio -– anytime, anywhere, at your convenience, for the next two weeks, absolutely free! Right HERE. I've never heard a Dusty Springfield album I didn't like (The "Memphis" follow-up, "A Brand New Me," and her Pet Shop Boys-aided comeback, "Reputation," are always on heavy rotation at my place), but "Dusty in Memphis" is the songbird's finest hour, truly deserving of its "classic" status. Now when is that much-discussed Dusty biopic coming out? Unlike the majority of the "stars" of today, hers was a life worth exploring ...

 

"I Can't Make It Alone"

Music Box: Dusty Springfield

Dusty Springfield "Dusty in Memphis"

No music collection could be complete without Dusty's 1969 masterpiece, "Dusty in Memphis." Michael and I were just listening to it the other night and even after all these years I had to turn to him and say, "God, I can't believe how good this is." In 1999 the album was gloriously remastered and a whopping 13 bonus tracks were tagged on (that's more songs than were on the original lp), including fun covers of Bread's "Make It With You" and Carole King's "You've Got a Friend." But it's the classic album that you'll never forget -- "I Can't Make It Alone" still gives me goose bumps and "So Much Love" still makes me swoon everytime (both are Goffin-King compositions, suggesting that Dusty may very well have been the ultimate interpreter of their work). What a voice ...

Especially: "Son of a Preacher Man," "I Don't Want to Hear It Anymore," "So Much in Love," "I Can't Make It Alone"