Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien OBE, born on 16th April 1939, Enfield, Middlesex, England, UK, professionally known as Dusty Springfield, was a pop singer, musician, TV presenter and record producer, whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s. With her distinctive sensual mezzo-soprano sound, she was an important singer of blue-eyed soul, having been one of the most successful British female performers at her peak, with 6 top 20 singles on the US Billboard Hot 100 and 16 on the UK Singles Chart between 1963 - 1989. Springfield is a member of the US Rock and Roll and UK Music Halls of Fame, with International polls having named Dusty among the best female rock artists of all time. Her image, of a peroxide blonde, bouffant hairstyle, evening gowns, with heavy make-up, and flamboyant performances, made her an icon of the Swinging Sixties. Born into a family that enjoyed music, Springfield learned to sing at home. Dusty joined her first professional group, The Lana Sisters during 1958 then 2 years later formed a pop-folk vocal trio, The Springfields, with her brother Tom Springfield and Tim Field, which became the UK's top selling act. Her solo career began in 1963 with the upbeat pop hit, "I Only Want to Be with You". Among the hits that followed were "Wishin' and Hopin' " (1964), "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" (1964), "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" (1966), and "Son of a Preacher Man" (1968). Dusty brought many little-known US soul singers to the attention of a wider UK record-buying audience, by hosting the first national TV performance of many top-selling Motown artists beginning during 1965. Partly due to her efforts, a year later she became the best-selling female singer in the world, having topped a number of popularity polls, including Melody Maker's Best International Vocalist. Although Springfield was never regarded as a Northern Soul artist in her own right, she contributed much to the formation of the genre. Dusty was the first UK artist to top the New Musical Express readers' poll for Female Singer. Springfield went to Memphis, Tennessee, to record Dusty in Memphis, an album of pop and soul music with the Atlantic Records main production team, which increased her credibility as a soul artist. Released during 1969, it's been ranked among the greatest L.Ps of all time by the US magazine Rolling Stone and in polls by VH1 artists, New Musical Express readers, and Channel 4 viewers.