‘There was a kind of a shadow that I saw over the smile, that fell across the smile in all the recent pictures. And I suspected something was wrong.’ ibid. Paul Williams, lyricist
‘Karen, I don’t know what you’re doing, but stop it, you know.’ ibid. Petula Clark
‘She is very much alive in our minds and in our hearts.’ ibid. Richard’s eulogy
‘My sister happened to be one of the finest female singers who ever lived … The world misses her.’ ibid. Richard
Louis Armstrong is the single most influential singer American music has ever produced. Gary Giddins, critic
O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the earth. Psalms 96:1
O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory. Psalms 98:1
Praise ye the Lord. Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints. Psalms 149:1
I’ve known tremendous back-up singers who just don’t look comfortable in that position. Twenty Feet From Stardom, Springsteen, 2000
There’s a power to what it is we do. ibid. Janice Pendarvis
They were all white girls, but they were very tasteful … we called them the Readers, they couldn’t do nothing without that music sitting right in their face. ibid.
It’s 40 years since this LP called Cold Effects from Rodriguez was released. Searching for Sugar Man ***** 2012
He had committed suicide – he set himself alight on stage and burnt to death in front of the audience … the most grotesque suicide in rock history. ibid.
Why didn’t he make it? ibid.
He’s alive and kicking and living in Detroit. ibid.
In South Africa you are bigger than Elvis Presley. ibid. investigator
Emerson, I gotta so on tour. ibid. Rodriguez
South Africa made me feel like more than a prince. ibid.
He has no ordinary voice: ‘I can sing two notes.’ Incredible Medicine: Dr Weston’s Casebook IV, BBC 2017
He was the first black artist who had his own television show and it was flawless. And every week it was a wonderful thing to watch. Nat King Cole: Afraid of the Dark, Tony Bennett, Netflix 2014
He only had two lessons but he picked everything up … He was an absolute genius. ibid. wife
A gentleman. He was a class act. ibid. Ivan Mogull, music publisher
Such a fantastic piano player. And a wonderful jazz piano. ibid. Bruce Forsyth
126,776. He was loved by everybody. It was something magical about him. ibid. fellow artist
They [neighbours] all had his records in their houses [Los Angeles]. But they signed a petition to get him out. ibid. George Benson
A mesmerising quality to his vocals. ibid. fan
The greatest singer in the world. ibid. Harry Belafonte
‘She was a white girl who could sing that fabulous black R & B music. And it crossed over.’ Definitely Dusty ***** Lulu, BBC 2020
‘Dusty does sum up a kind of fabness of the ’60s.’ ibid. Neil Tennant
Since the death of Dusty Springfield in March 1999, just short of her sixtieth birthday, fans and musicians continue to celebrate one of Britain’s greatest ever singers. ibid.
A gay icon. A diva. Over a career spanning four decades, Dusty’s glamorous image was to be as much her hallmark as her voice. But it masked the deeply private person. ibid.
Dusty the solo singer burst on to the screen in 1963 and was an immediate success. But her rise to stardom was not without its difficulties. ibid.
Dusty would have a string of hits throughout the sixties and host her own television show. She seemed to be able to sing anything while remaining distinctly Dusty. ibid.
‘The look of love …’ [Dusty] … ‘It was smoky, it was sexy, it was restrained, it was held in check but underneath it was smouldering. It was just on fire.’ ibid. Burt Bacharach
She was a tireless promoter of black music. ibid. Burt Bacharach
Dusty was cast as a hero of the Apartheid movement when her 1964 tour of South Africa provoked a political storm. ibid.
Dusty left England at the start of the ’70s. He sales were dropping. She had a horror of ending up on the nostalgia circuit. And she wanted to escape the prying into her sexuality. ibid.
#2 in America: Dusty Springfield & The Pet Shop Boys. ibid.