Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O’Brien, better known as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. She was a prominent singer of blue-eyed soul, pop, and dramatic ballads, as well as French chanson, country, and jazz, with her distinctive mezzo-soprano tone. She was one of the most successful British female artists on both sides of the Atlantic during her prime in the 1960s. Her look, which included a peroxide blonde bouffant/beehive haircut, heavy makeup (thick black eyeliner and eye shadow), and evening costumes, as well as stylised, expressive performances, established her as a Swinging Sixties star.
Springfield was a fixture on British television, hosting many episodes of the hip 1963-66 British TV music series Ready Steady Go! and her own series on the BBC and ITV between 1966 and 1969. Springfield swept the popularity polls in 1966, including Melody Maker’s Best International Vocalist, and was the first UK artist to top the New Musical Express readers’ poll for Female Singer. She is a member of both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the UK Music Hall of Fame. International polls have named Springfield one of the greatest female popular singers of all time.
Who are Dusty Springfield’s parents?
Springfield was born Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O’Brien on 16 April 1939 in West Hampstead, the second child of Gerard Anthony ‘OB’ O’Brien (born 1904-1979) and Catherine Anne ‘Kay’ O’Brien Ryle (born 1900-1974), both of Irish heritage. Her father, who was raised in British India, worked as a tax accountant and consultant. Her mother was born into an Irish family from Tralee, County Kerry, which included a number of journalists.
