Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O’Brien OBE, better known as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer who lived from 16 April 1939 to 2 March 1999. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano voice, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, pop, and dramatic ballads, as well as French chanson, country, and jazz. During her peak in the 1960s, she was one of the most successful British female performers on both sides of the Atlantic. Her image, defined by a peroxide blonde bouffant/beehive hairstyle, heavy makeup (thick black eyeliner and eye shadow), and evening gowns, as well as stylised, gestural performances, established her as a Swinging Sixties icon.
Springfield learned to sing at home after being born in West Hampstead, London, into a musical family. She joined her first professional group, The Lana Sisters, in 1958. Springfield formed the folk-pop vocal trio The Springfields with her brother Tom Springfield and Tim Feild two years later. Two of their five Top 40 UK hits from 1961 to 1963, “Island of Dreams” and “Say I Won’t Be There,” both reached number five in the spring of 1963. They also had a big hit in the United States with their cover of “Silver Threads and Golden Needles” in 1962.
What was Dusty Springfield’s cause of death?
According to her agent, Paul Fenn, the cause was breast cancer. Ms. Springfield had one of the most successful recording careers in modern pop history.
