''A Girl Called Dusty'' is the debut studio album by English singer

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, pop and dram ...

. It was released on 17 April 1964 in the United Kingdom by Philips Records. The album peaked at No. 6 on the UK Album Charts and No.5 on NME charts in May 1964.

Background

Dusty Springfield had been a member of the girl group

The Lana Sisters The Lana Sisters were a British vocal group formed by Iris Long in 1958, along with Lynne Abrams. They put an advert in ''The Stage'' for a third member and got a reply from Mary O'Brien, who would go on to solo success a few years later as Dust ...

from 1958 to 1960, and the folk-pop trio

The Springfields The Springfields were a British folk-pop vocal trio who had success in the early 1960s in the UK, US and Ireland. They included singer Dusty Springfield and her brother, songwriter Tom Springfield, along with Tim Feild, who was later repla ...

from 1960–1963, in the latter case with her brother

Tom Springfield Tom Springfield (born Dionysius Patrick O'Brien, 2 July 1934 – 27 July 2022) was an English musician, songwriter and record producer who was prominent in the 1960s folk and pop music scene. He was the older brother of singer Dusty Springfiel ...

. While on tour in the US in the early 1960s she was exposed to

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became ...

, which was to have a profound impact on her subsequent life and career. Although The Springfields were moderately successful, with songs such as "Island of Dreams", "Bambino" and "Silver Threads And Golden Needles" (a No. 16 US

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

hit), their style of music limited the wide range of material that Dusty Springfield wanted to sing. Therefore, in 1963, Springfield decided to begin a career as a solo singer. Her first single, "

I Only Want to Be with You "I Only Want to Be with You" is a song written by Mike Hawker and Ivor Raymonde. The debut solo single released by British singer Dusty Springfield under her long-time producer Johnny Franz, "I Only Want to Be with You" peaked at number 4 on th ...

", was actually recorded while still a member of The Springfields, and was released one week after their final concert. The song was a success in both Britain and the US and led to the recording of ''A Girl Called Dusty'' which was released in 1964. The album contained a mix of mostly straightforward pop songs and a few Motown influenced numbers, such as "When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes", "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" and "Mockingbird". It also marked Springfield's first collaboration with well-known songwriters Burt Bacharach and

Hal David Harold Lane David (May 25, 1921 – September 1, 2012) was an American lyricist. He grew up in New York City. He was best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach and his association with Dionne Warwick. Early life David ...

, as well as Gerry Goffin and Carole King, whose songs Springfield continued to record for the rest of her career. At the time, ''A Girl Called Dusty'' was not released to the US market. Instead, Philips released a compilation of singles and tracks recorded for the album as '' Stay Awhile/I Only Want To Be With You''. It was named after her first two singles, which had been Top 20 hits in the US. Later in 1964, Philips released ''

Dusty Dusty may refer to: Places in the United States * Dusty, New Mexico, an unincorporated community * Dusty, Washington, an unincorporated community * Dusty Glacier, Washington People * Dusty (given name) * Dusty (nickname) * Slim Dusty, Austra ...

'', a second version of ''A Girl Called Dusty'' with a different track listing and different tracks.

Release history

''A Girl Called Dusty'' was first released both in mono (BF 7594) and stereo (SBL 7594) on 17 April 1964 by Philips Records, in the LP album format. The album had its first CD release in June 1990 by

Philips Records Philips Records is a record label founded by the Dutch electronics company Philips. It was founded as Philips Phonographische Industrie in 1950. In 1946, Philips acquired the company which pressed records for British Decca's Dutch outlet in ...

/ PolyGram, then a direct transfer from vinyl. In 1997, two years before Springfield's death, a digitally remastered and expanded edition was issued by

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it i ...

, then including eight bonus tracks as well as a few alternate mixes. Since most of the original multi-track master tapes are thought to be completely lost in the Philips Records archives, the vast majority of the tracks on the 1997 version are in mono, or in some cases, re-created stereo mixes using alternate vocal takes. The current CD version of ''A Girl Called Dusty'', which still remains in print, is consequently radically different from the original album, as produced by Johnny Franz and Springfield herself.

Reception

The album was included in Robert Dimery's

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music critics ...

.^ Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (23 March 2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. .

Track listing

Side A Side B Bonus tracks 1997 CD re-issue

Personnel and production

– lead vocals *

The Breakaways The Breakaways were an English female vocal trio, formed in 1962. Britain's premier session vocalists throughout the 1960s, The Breakaways also recorded a handful of little-known girl group singles. Career The original members were Vicki Has ...

–

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

Johnny Franz John Charles Franz (23 February 1922 – 29 January 1977) was an English record producer and A&R man at the Philips label. He was one of Britain's most successful producers in the 1950s and 1960s. While his recordings encompassed several forms o ...

– record producer *

Ivor Raymonde Ivor Raymonde (born Ivor Pomerance; 22 October 1926 – 4 June 1990) was a British musician, songwriter, arranger and actor, best known for his distinctive rock-orchestral arrangements for Dusty Springfield and others in the 1960s. Life and care ...

– orchestra director * Keith Grant – engineer * Roger Wake – digital remastering/remix (1997 re-issue) * Mike Gill – digital remastering/remix (1997 re-issue)

Charts

References

;Bibliography * Howes, Paul (2007). The Complete Dusty Springfield, London: Reynolds & Hearn Ltd. , {{DEFAULTSORT:Girl Called Dusty, A Dusty Springfield albums 1964 debut albums Philips Records albums Albums produced by Johnny Franz