Dusty Springfield

Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien OBE (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer and record producer whose career spanned over five decades. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a significant singer of blue-eyed soul, pop and dramatic ballads, with French chanson, country and jazz also in her repertoire. During her 1960s peak she ranked among the most successful British female performers on both sides of the Atlantic and her image – marked by a peroxide blonde bouffant/beehive hairstyle, heavy makeup (thick black eyeliner and eye shadow) and evening gowns, as well as stylised, gestural performances – made her an icon of the Swinging Sixties. A fixture of British television, she presented many episodes of the hip 1963–66 British TV music series Ready Steady Go! and, between 1966 and 69, hosted her own series on both the BBC and ITV. In 1966 Springfield topped a number of popularity polls, including Melody Makers Best International Vocalist, and was the first UK singer to top the New Musical Express readers' poll for Female Singer. She is a member of both the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the UK Music Hall of Fame. International polls have cited Springfield as one of the finest female popular singers of all time.