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 parent's 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 a 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
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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, 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!