Reply to: RE: Dusty Springfield
Wednesday March 3 6:46 AM ET
Singer Dusty Springfield Dies At 59
LONDON (Reuters) - Dusty Springfield, the 1960s British pop star famous for her husky
voice and blonde beehive hairdo, has died at the age
of 59, her agent said Wednesday.
Springfield, who had fought a long battle against breast cancer, died Tuesday night at
her home in Henley-on-Thames, west of London, agent
Paul Fenn said. Her cancer had first been detected in 1994.
Born Mary O'Brien in London, she teamed up in the early 1960s with her brother Tom to
form the Springfields, which became one of the
country's top pop and folk acts.
Once described as Britain's finest white soul singer, Springfield's 1963 solo debut
``I Only Want To Be With You'' is now a pop classic.
Worldwide success came in 1966, with ``You Don't Have To Say You Love Me,'' which sold
a million copies to become her only British
number one hit.
In 1968, she moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where she recorded ``Dusty In Memphis,''
regarded by some critics as one of the decade's
finest albums. At the same time she released her classic single ``Son Of A Preacher
Man.''
After disappearing from the charts, Springfield let slip in a 1975 newspaper interview
a veiled admission that she was bisexual and moved to
Los Angeles.
She recorded little, preferring to spend time with tennis star Billie Jean King and
campaign for animal rights.
In the 1980s, she found renewed success when she teamed up with Britain's Pet Shop
Boys, who persuaded her to duet with them on their hit
single ``What Have I Done to Deserve This?.''
The group also wrote the theme song to ``Scandal,'' the film of one of Britain's most
notorious political scandals of the 1960s, which also
became a hit for Springfield.
In May last year, Springfield announced a financial deal in Los Angeles under which
she would get millions of dollars in exchange for future
royalties from her hits.
Just two months ago, Springfield was honored by Britain, being granted an OBE (Officer
of the Order of the British Empire).
KATIEJOM wrote:
>Hi folks,
>
>.... along the lines of "see 'em while you still can" and "smoke 'em while you
>got 'em," very sad news this morning....according to various radio reports,
>Dusty Springfield passed away at the age of 59 after battling breast cancer.
>
>For those wanting to read about Dusty and her career, there is a pretty good
>site at:
><A HREF="http://www.isd.net/mbayly/contents.htm">
>http://www.isd.net/mbayly/contents.htm</A>
>
>It's worth a visit for the pictures alone!!
>
>Kate.
