Dusty in Memphis is Dusty Springfield’s magnum opus, an amalgamation of Memphis soul and British orchestral pop that over time has grown in stature to be regarded as one of the all-time great albums. The album was actually a pretty significant commercial flop upon its release 1969 (even with top 10 single “Son of A Preacher Man” dominating the charts), but much like Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys has aged like a fine wine in the years following its release.
Springfield was notoriously self-conscious about her vocal talents and struggled with the comparison to the soul greats who had recorded at the American Sound studio in Memphis. Her anxiety was obvioulsy misplaced in retrospect– Springfield’s mezzo-soprano voice is an absolute treasure– but it reportedly made recording of this album difficult for all involved.
It was a challenge the group eventually overcame as the musicianship on this album is top-tier. Produced by legendary 60’s producers Jerry Wexler, Arif Mardin, and Tom Dowd, and featuring orchestral kingpin Gene Orloff (a frequent collaborator with Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, The Bee Gees, and Barbra Streisand during his career) alongside R&B legends The Sweet Inspirations and also The Memphis Boys, the arrangements are dense and lovely. Bassist Tommy Cogbill in particular is a standout.
An interesting footnote– during the recording sessions for Dusty in Memphis, Springfield was meeting with execs from Atlantic Records. She was close with a bassist called John Paul Jones (who had played in her band during live shows previously) and recommended that the label sign his newly formed group. The label offered the band a $143,000 advance (worth about $1.25M in 2023) on Dusty’s advice without seeing the band perform live.
That band? The one and only Led Zeppelin.
Standout Songs: “I Don’t Want to Hear It Anymore”, “Son of a Preacher Man”, “The Windmills of Your Mind”
