Memphis to Springfield or is it Springfield to Memphis

In 1996 I went to see Pulp Fiction.  I already saw Quentin Taratino's first film so I knew his flare for violence and also using oldies music in his soundtracks.  He somehow added these songs with flair and  with a touch that when you hear them outside the movie you would have the image or even scene stamped in your memory.  It happened with his first film.  I mean how many remember some of the music from his previous film Reservoir Dogs and the music from a certain scene.  I won't give it away and if you seen his films since then you know what I'm talking about.

What is great about some of these songs is that they are so good that when you hear them you can't help it but sing a long and sometimes think about the song or musician that is featured.  A great example is in Pulp Fiction is "Girl You'll Be A Women Soon." Sadly, the original could not be used because of copy write issues,  So instead of Neil Diamond, they used Urge Overkill.  But some of these songs used the original artists.  One of those favorites was Dusty Springfield's "Son Of A Preacher Man" It was a song I heard very rarely at the time on the radio.  I liked it.  I liked with the scene that went with it. In the scene where the music is playing The scene is where Vincent met Mia for the first time at her house and it's playing on the turntable.

After the movie was over I was now on a mission to find two things, the soundtrack and the album that Dusty Springfield song was on.  In the early years of the internet I found where the song came from.  Finding that was the easy part, finding the album was harder.  At this point finding Dusty in Memphis on any format was a goal.  I looked everywhere and one day on CD I found it in the used section.  At this point I only recognized two songs.  "The Son Of A Preacher Man" and "Windmills Of Your Mind." both used in movies, but "Preacher Man" used in it's original form and "Windmills Of Your Mind" was a remake of a Noel Harrison song for another great movie Thomas Crown Affair.  The rest of the songs I had no idea about, but was happy to find it.

When I got home to listen to it I was trying to figure out where these songs came from.  The albums music has no songs written by her, but they have all been done by other artists before or written for her to perform on the album.  A example was "Son Of A Preacher Man" was initially written for Aretha Franklin, but it did not fit her style and they handed it to Dusty Springfield to play and it turned it into a hit for her reaching number 10.  It's still a great tune no matter if she wrote it or not.

After listening to the album I really want to explore more and more of her music.  She had a beautiful voice and if she can sing these songs with such conviction then I love to hear other songs she covered. After hearing Dusty In Memphis I wanted to hear other albums she made.  They were all good, but I kept going back to the album I explored first.  Between the lush arrangements, the band and her voice Dusty was truly amazing to me.  I really must admit her later music never turned me on, but the music from her sixties and early seventies output was pretty cool.

If you ever want to explore someone who really does not get the attention of many female singers that we all know then check out Dusty Springfield.  In my music circles (correct me if I'm wrong) her respect and recognition don't get much of the credit it so deserves.  If people know her, they remember the song from Pulp Fiction and nothing else.  I was fooled too, believe me.  Hearing her one day on the radio thinking she was somebody else covering Van Morrison's "Tupelo Honey" floored me.  I liked it better then Van's.  Dusty's music should be recognized more and more.  Digging through her music the other day I did not realize how much just one song added so much of Dusty's music to listen and love, repeat and shake my head in awe.  If there is one album to listen to then give Dusty In Memphis a chance.  It is a bit short in length, but if you find any of the re-issues the extra tracks it do the trick. Like me, there should a understanding on how great she really was. I just wish I was not to late to hearing her music because I would have put her in the upper tier as one of the best there ever was.  Enjoy!!!