Post by erik on Mar 18, 2023 22:38:19 GMT -5
The second Top 40 (and first Top 10) U.S. hit for Dusty Springfield, arguably the most influential female singer to have come out of England in the rock and roll era, is in this week's Pop Music Hits Spotlight.
WISHIN’ AND HOPIN’ (Dusty Springfield; Philips; 1964)—Decades before anyone had heard of Adele, Amy Winehouse, Duffy, or Ellie Goulding, there was Dusty Springfield. Arguably the most influential female singer to have come out of England during the rock and roll era, Dusty, whose birth name was Mary O’Brien, began her career as part of the British folk group known as The Springfields. They achieved a Top 20 pop hit (it also hit on the U.S. country chart) with a folksy cover of the 1956 Wanda Jackson classic “Silver Threads And Golden Needles” (later covered by Linda Ronstadt). Dusty, however, really achieved fame as the female leader of what became known as The British Invasion, when said invasion hit U.S. shores during the first two months of 1964. Her first U.S. hit “I Only Want To Be With You”, which had already hit #4 in England just before the end of 1963, hit #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1964. Her second big American hit came from the already legendary songwriting pair of Burt Bacharach and Hal David, who had provided several big hits for Dionne Warwick. One song they offered Dusty was “Wishin’ And Hopin’”, which Dionne had recorded in 1962, but had not had a hit with. Dusty, however, did have a very big hit with it. Released in late May 1964, Dusty’s British “blue-eyed soul” rendition of “Wishin’ And Hopin’” would become an instant classic with American audiences, peaking at #6 in August 1964, and remaining her biggest hit until “You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me” in the early summer of 1966. Dusty’s hit-making acumen dried up in the 1970’s, but she returned to prominence in 1992 with “What Have I Done To Deserve This?”, dueting with England’s Pet Shop Boys. Dusty sadly passed away on March 2, 1999, slightly more than a month before what would have been her 60th birthday, from breast cancer, which she had been diagnosed with in 1994. Less than two weeks later, she was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
WISHIN’ AND HOPIN’ (Dusty Springfield; Philips; 1964)—Decades before anyone had heard of Adele, Amy Winehouse, Duffy, or Ellie Goulding, there was Dusty Springfield. Arguably the most influential female singer to have come out of England during the rock and roll era, Dusty, whose birth name was Mary O’Brien, began her career as part of the British folk group known as The Springfields. They achieved a Top 20 pop hit (it also hit on the U.S. country chart) with a folksy cover of the 1956 Wanda Jackson classic “Silver Threads And Golden Needles” (later covered by Linda Ronstadt). Dusty, however, really achieved fame as the female leader of what became known as The British Invasion, when said invasion hit U.S. shores during the first two months of 1964. Her first U.S. hit “I Only Want To Be With You”, which had already hit #4 in England just before the end of 1963, hit #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1964. Her second big American hit came from the already legendary songwriting pair of Burt Bacharach and Hal David, who had provided several big hits for Dionne Warwick. One song they offered Dusty was “Wishin’ And Hopin’”, which Dionne had recorded in 1962, but had not had a hit with. Dusty, however, did have a very big hit with it. Released in late May 1964, Dusty’s British “blue-eyed soul” rendition of “Wishin’ And Hopin’” would become an instant classic with American audiences, peaking at #6 in August 1964, and remaining her biggest hit until “You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me” in the early summer of 1966. Dusty’s hit-making acumen dried up in the 1970’s, but she returned to prominence in 1992 with “What Have I Done To Deserve This?”, dueting with England’s Pet Shop Boys. Dusty sadly passed away on March 2, 1999, slightly more than a month before what would have been her 60th birthday, from breast cancer, which she had been diagnosed with in 1994. Less than two weeks later, she was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.