A Girl Called Dusty
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Product Description
Product Description
Dusty Springfield is a pop music legend. Goddess of the sixties, reluctant recluse of the seventies, enigmatic icon of the eighties and nineties, she attracted a passionate following that has remained loyal to this day. She crossed the line into soul music, her first love, but never turned her back on pop music. A perfectionist in her work, she was a shy, awkward girl off stage. Misunderstood and misquoted, that was Miss Springfield. She had a lifestyle to envy, was the original IT girl and achieved, many believed, the height of decadence. But who really knew her? Who was the real lady behind the black mascara and backcombed hair? This is the story that she never had the chance to tell herself because, nearly two years after her first battle with breast cancer, the disease returned to take her life in 1999. When the end finally came, the music business descended into mourning, tributes flooded in from all over the world, The Daily Telegraph front page announced Dusty Springfield dies on day she was to get OBE and her Majesty The Queen was reported to be deeply saddened. Dusty Springfield was the very heart and soul of British music. Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant, who was responsible for her return to chart success in 1987, believed that she was the very essence of fabness .
About the Author
SHARON DAVIS was first introduced to Dusty by Martha Reeves, and stayed in touch with her until she died. Their last conversation was about the possibility of a biography, to which Dusty gave her blessing. "Be kind," were her last words on the subject. Formerly the Motown representative in London, Davis wrote for leading music magazines, and her published books include the official history of Motown, and biographies of Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder. She also helped Diana Ross research her autobiography.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
We get to know her, somehow,
By 1001 Pages (Germany) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Girl Called Dusty (Hardcover)
As is known, there are two kinds of biographies of popular singers and musicians. Those by detached and professional music writers who have some sense of really doing music ethnology, or cultural history, if you like. And those by involved and personally stirred-up fans of the person in question. This book here belongs, by and large, into the second category, the expertise of the author notwithstanding. To me, it doesn't seem particularly well-written, and many facts come along in the somewhat boring way of listing things up as a rough and simple sequence of events: In so-and-so she did this-and-that, and then she recorded this-and-that and then she went here-and-there and so on and so on. Not very exciting, really. And almost no sideglances on the wider world, musically and otherwise, she was living in. But still, we get many valuable information and precious knowledge about Dusty in this book, much of it taken from personal recollections and daily press stuff. I therefore resigned myself into awarding three stars. The book is as good a mine of information about Dusty as we will ever get and portrays her life and personality in detail. Unfortunately, it's not a great book.
18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dusty Springfields Definitive Biography,
By
This review is from: A Girl Called Dusty (Hardcover)
Sharon Davis, renowned black music and Motown expert, brings us an intimate portrait of Britains finest and most well-loved singer of all time:DUSTY SPRINGFIELD. This follows in the footsteps of Sharon Davis other critically acclaimed best-selling books on the likes of Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder.A Girl Called Dusty is alternately funny (some amusing anecdotes from people who knew Dusty personally saying how she used to love having food fights and would throw crockery around in a tantrum) and very touching (her struggle to keep her sexuality a secret being one, and, of course, her courageous battle with Breast Cancer). The impression you get of the legendary Dusty Springfield here is the most honest and beleavable account you will ever read. Before Dusty's untimely death in 1999, Dusty, who was a personal friend of the author, had told Sharon Davis that if ever a biography was to be written on her life she'd like Sharon Davis to be the lady to write it - "Be kind" quipped Dusty to Sharon. Another astonishing insight into the private life of Dusty Springfield was that she was infact a highly self-critical and deeply insecure lady, unsure of her abilities, even at the height of her success. This book is a fascinating insight and a celebration of the life of Dusty Springfield. Extremley well written, as always, by Sharon Davis, who writes in an engaging and very entertaining way, creating and setting the scene impeccably as we are transported back to Dustys childhood, through to her triumphant success as a solo singer in the 1960's through to her reclusive period during the 1970's, to her return back to the music scene via The Pet Shop Boys in the 1980's and early 1990's, through to her turbulent time when she was diagnosed with cancer. There are also indepth reviews on Dustys albums and singles - and what a lot of classics she made! Son Of A Preacher Man, You Dont Have To Say You Love Me, I Just Dont Know What To Do With Myself, I Count To Ten to name but some. Sharon, again, sets the scene very well in depicting stories of the recording sessions of these great classics. Dusty was undoubtedly the first white lady of Soul (was amazed at how Dusty commented to Sharon Davis in an interview that she didnt consider herself a Soul singer which is really an insecure Dusty underestimating herself) and her memory will be treasured forever. Keeping Dustys legacy burning bright is Sharon Davis who undoubtedly has written the definitive biography of Dusty Springfield. Ian Phillips October 2008
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not a biography,
This review is from: A Girl Called Dusty (Hardcover)
I got this book because I love Dusty and the way she sings, and wanted to learn more about her life. I thought this is a biography of her but it is NOT.Most of the pages are filled with her song titles and the circumstances of recording them. Without denying that recording plays a huge part in a singer's life I don't think that singing and recording are their whole life. Of course the reader is offered tiny glimpses into her life story, but that is all they are: glimpses and very small at that. Struggled to finished it and wouldn't have bought it if it were clearer that this book is not a biography but an account into her professional life.
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