Pride Month Artist Spotlight: Dusty Springfield
Since the month of June is Pride Month, I wanted to share the story of a not so obviously celebrated member of the LGBTQ community. The artist in question is the lovely, blonde bouffant having, icon of the Swinging Sixties, Dusty Springfield.
Dusty Springfield was a blue-eyed soul and pop singer whose career peak was in the 1960s and who is probably best known for her songs “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me” and “Son of a Preacher Man”. She was also well known for her heavy eyeshadow and eyeliner, blonde beehive/bouffant hair style, and gorgeous evening gowns that created her stage persona. However, despite her unmistakable sultry voice and glamorous look, there was another side to Dusty that wasn’t so glamorous.
Dusty, whose real name was Mary, received the nickname “Dusty” for playing football in the streets and being quite the tomboy as a child. Being raised in a music-loving family, she got her start in music by playing in clubs with her brother Tom. Originally she joined a group called The Lana Sisters, surprisingly none of them were sisters, and then later formed a trio with her brother and Reshad Feild known as The Springfields. In the early 1960s, Dusty left the band and decided to start her solo career with a very successful first solo single titled “I Only Want to Be With You”. Following her successful debut single, she released her first album titled A Girl Called Dusty. After releasing her debut album, Dusty continued to have a successful career throughout the United Kingdom in the 1960s, which included a BBC TV series, The Dusty Springfield Show. She later received wider recognition in the United States with the release of the single “Son of a Preacher Man” from her fifth album, Dusty in Memphis.
Despite the great success she achieved in the 1960s, there were a few factors causing her career to stagnate. The first was that although she was one of the most successful white soul artists at the time, her music couldn’t keep up with the changing trends in pop music, with many considering her sound to be unfashionable. The second issue was a controversy causing her to be deported from South Africa for performing to an integrated audience, which was prohibited by the South African government at the time. Her contract even specifically excluded segregated performances, which made her one of the first British artists to do so, a queen ahead of her time really. Lastly, the main issue facing Dusty’s career was her continuous struggle with alcohol and drug addiction, along with self harm brought on due to masking several insecurities. At the time, Dusty had never been reported to be in a heterosexual relationship so questions of her sexuality started to come about. In the 1960s and 1970s, homosexuality wasn’t very accepted by society by any means and Dusty was in constant fear of losing her career due to being outed as a lesbian. This fear and constant struggle continued to lead her down a dark path, causing her to be hospitalized several times. However, eventually Dusty decided to just accept and embrace her sexuality. In 1970 she admitted to being in a domestic partnership with fellow singer-songwriter, Norma Tanega.
Dusty was asked several times about her sexual orientation in interviews during the early 1970s to which she openly addressed. In 1970 when asked, her response was “Many other people say I'm bent, and I've heard it so many times that I've almost learned to accept it…I know I'm perfectly as capable of being swayed by a girl as by a boy. More and more people feel that way and I don't see why I shouldn't.” This statement was considered pretty controversial at the time to which she later doubled down on the statement in an interview with Chris Van Ness of the Los Angeles Free Press saying “I mean, people say that I'm gay, gay, gay, gay, gay, gay, gay, gay. I'm not anything. I'm just…People are people…I basically want to be straight…I go from men to women; I don't give a shit. The catchphrase is: I can't love a man. Now, that's my hang-up. To love, to go to bed, fantastic; but to love a man is my prime ambition…They frighten me.” I mean honestly, in today’s standards, that statement is pretty iconic in and of itself!
Once she was comfortable being open with her sexual orientation, Dusty continued to have relationships with women throughout the rest of her life that were not kept secret, and later had a wedding ceremony with actress Teda Bracci, which of course at the time wasn’t recognized as a real marriage under California law. Because of her bold acceptance surrounding her sexual orientation, Dusty acquired a strong following within the gay community. Another aspect giving her notability within the gay community was her signature style of glamorous gowns pared with the bouffant hair and heavy eye makeup, making her a prototypical female inspiration for drag queens. In 2015, she was named one of Equality Forum’s icons of LGBT History Month, now known as Pride Month.
Unfortunately, Dusty would continue to struggle with mental health and recklessness for the remainder of her life. However, her story, although sad at times, is one that should be appreciated. Her soulful sound allowed her to make one of the largest impressions in the United States as a female of the British Invasion. She openly supported black individuals facing discrimination and used her soul sound to uplift and support the black Motown stars. After a dark struggle, she finally accepted her sexuality and spent the rest of her life openly sharing her relationships with women without fear of being exposed during a time that was heavily against open homosexuality. And of course, became a style icon for not only the gay community, but for lovers of glamour and camp across the board. Dusty truly was a woman ahead of her time.
Happy Pride Month to all my LGBTQ readers and as always, thanks for reading!
