Known for her hit song “Son of a Preacher Man”, Dusty Springfield was a popular singer that proved unique in many ways. The thing that continues to make Dusty stand out from her peers the most would be her sexuality. During her career, Dusty came out to the public as bisexual. However, this was simply the singer’s compromised way of saying that she was a lesbian. Sadly, the singer found dwindling success in her career towards the end of her life, and ended up passing away tragically after suffering from breast cancer for many years. During her last days, Dusty allegedly had some strange dietary habits. Join Facts Verse as we explore why Dusty Springfield only ate cauliflower in her final days.
Dusty Springfield Was a True Trailblazer
The fact that popular singer Dusty Springfield remains best known for her sexuality proves both a curse and a blessing when you take into account the late pop idol’s legacy. On one hand, the singer paved the way for much more acceptance in popular culture after coming out of the closet in the 1970s. This comes in spite of the fact that Dusty didn’t come out of the closet fully. Although Dusty broke new ground by showing the public that she wasn’t afraid to date a woman, she became pigeonholed as a gay icon during her late years and failed to find continued success in the entertainment industry during her final decades.
At the time that Dusty Springfield was growing up, being gay was much more frowned upon socially than it is now. This is particularly true within the type of religious community that the future star was growing up in. Dusty was born to two Irish immigrants in 1939, and her Catholic upbringing made it clear that there was no place for sexual experimentation. As she was growing up, Dusty began to think of herself as a sinner due to the strange sexual urges that she was feeling for her female peers. Though the future star would eventually come to terms with these urges, she would continue to subconsciously feel as if she was doing something wrong by indulging in them until her death in 1999.
Dusty’s childhood was distraught for reasons besides her closeted sexuality. The future star’s father was a tax consultant that hated his career. Her father had always dreamed of being a concert pianist but had been forced into the profession of financial consultation to pay the bills. Meanwhile, Dusty’s mother was said to have been a drunk who spent the majority of her time frequenting the movies. Most of Dusty’s formative childhood memories revolved around her parents bickering. When her parents couldn’t hurt each other, they would hurt her. Dusty would recall often during her adult years how her father ridiculed her during her childhood. Dusty’s father allegedly told the young girl that she was ugly, which prompted her to self-harm. These traumatic experiences certainly didn’t help the young girl with the issues she was already having regarding her sexuality. As she was coming of age, there were a great many things working against Dusty Springfield.
Dusty Escaped Into Dreams of Stardom
When things got their worst for Dusty Springfield, the young girl could always turn to popular music. Her favorite artists included the likes of Billie Holiday and Doris Day, and their work helped the young woman form an identity away from the trauma of her daily life. Eventually, Dusty’s childhood experiences escaping into the fantasy of popular music paved the way for her to become a star in her own right. However, everyone close to Dusty balked when she began expressing dreams of stardom as a teenager.
Dusty Springfield claimed before her death that the nuns in her religious community had encouraged her to become a librarian. However, Dusty ended up proving all the naysayers wrong by becoming a major figure in the music industry. Dusty’s transition from traumatized young woman to big-name star came alongside a physical transformation. The soon-to-be star bleached her hair and headed out to the seaside town of Clacton-on-Sea to become a jazz singer.
Dusty Springfield slowly but surely rose up through the ranks of the music industry to the point where she was a star. Along the way, she was forced to pay her dues via nightclub appearances all across the United Kingdom. Early in her career, Dusty made an appearance on television alongside Benny Hill. By the end of the 1960s, Dusty was a pop superstar thanks to such releases as 1969’s “Son of a Preacher Man”. However, the singer’s life would regrettably turn tragic in the ensuing decades leading up to her death at the turn of the millennium. If you’re enjoying this video so far, be sure to hit the like button to show your support! Also, subscribe to the channel if you’d like to be among the first to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their way!
Dusty Couldn’t Keep Her Sexuality Hidden
As Dusty Springfield became a famous pop idol, she began to have trouble keeping her sexuality a secret. By the early 1970s, she was forced to accept the fact that she didn’t want to hide her true colors any longer. Instead of coming out to the public as an out-and-out lesbian, Dusty told her fans that she was simply open to the idea of dating a woman. However, it doesn’t seem as if Dusty Springfield was romantically involved with any men over the course of her lifetime. Given the cultural climate that Dusty became famous in, it’s a wonder that the singer had the courage to come out of the closet in any form at all. Dusty also proved a relatively revolutionary pop artist in other ways.
At one point during her career, Dusty was tasked with going on a large tour that would’ve seen her perform in South Africa. When Dusty got there, she refused to perform once she realized that she was expected to do so in front of a segregated audience. Dusty ended up putting her foot down and refusing to perform, which caused her to be deported. Though this caused issues in the moment, few can deny that this incident has paid off in terms of the singer’s legacy.
There were certainly many reasons that Dusty Springfield didn’t feel comfortable performing in front of a segregated audience in South Africa, but it’s undeniable that there was a part of her that drew parallels with the discrimination going on in the region and the discrimination that she faced back home as a result of her sexuality. Dusty was certainly one of the preeminent civil-rights activists within the popular music scene of the time. The 1960s proved the peak of Dusty Springfield’s success, and it was a downward trajectory for the singer from the 1970s and onwards. Instead of aging gracefully, Dusty found herself relegated to the role of a camp icon amongst the gay community. As she got older, it began to take longer and longer for her to put on her makeup before performances. Towards the end of the 1960s, she got a nose job. Meanwhile, the singer could never settle down.
Dusty Had Bigger Issues Than Being a Lesbian
Even after coming out to the public, Dusty Springfield could never settle on just one partner. It seems that Dusty wasn’t all that comfortable forming personal relationships. The singer allegedly had to drink in order to become intimate with her partners, and this resulted in her developing quite the substance-abuse habit. The singer hit rock bottom when she was involuntarily admitted into Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital after suffering a nervous breakdown. There, she was held in the high-security ward of the hospital for a period of time.
Dusty Springfield eventually managed to keep herself from going over the edge as a result of her substance-abuse habits, but she still spent the last few decades of her life in relatively dire straits. During the 1980s, Dusty could be found working as a lounge singer for mere fractions of the sums that she had commanded during her prime. In 1985, she was admitted to the hospital after having her teeth knocked out during a barroom brawl. The singer saw a minor career revival during the 1990s, though this didn’t prove enough for the singer to turn her life around entirely.
Dusty Springfield’s Tragic Demise
Towards the end of her life, Dusty Springfield began suffering from breast cancer. As her health got worse, her behavior became more and more peculiar. Those close to the late singer have remarked that she would eat nothing but cauliflower and ice cream during the final days of her life. Dusty lived out her tragic end in Buckinghamshire, where she was said to have done little besides watch reruns of old television shows. Allegedly, the late pop idol’s favorite show to watch was Bonanza, which she watched via German dubs that she found on satellite television.
Dusty Springfield ended up succumbing to her breast cancer in 1999. She had never been married and left behind no children. However, it can’t be denied that the singer left behind a pretty impressive legacy in popular culture. Dusty certainly wasn’t the first gay icon, but she was one of the first icons that publicly came out of the closet during their career. It’s tragic that Dusty’s mixed-up feelings about her sexuality prevented her from making healthy romantic connections as an adult, though her story has hopefully paved the way for subsequent homosexual women to lead healthier lives! In the meantime, fans of popular music will always have the singer’s many hit singles to enjoy time and time again.
Dusty Springfield was one of the most popular recording artists of her time, and she made music history by coming out to her fans as gay. Now it’s time to hear from you: did you know that Dusty Springfield was deported from South Africa for refusing to perform in front of a segregated audience, and that the pop idol made history by coming out as bisexual during the early 1970s? As always, like this video to show your support, and subscribe and hit the notification bell if you’d like to be among the first to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their way!
