50 years ago: Dusty Springfield released Dusty in Memphis

First posted 4/8/2008; updated 12/1/2020.

Dusty in Memphis Dusty Springfield

Released: January 18, 1969 Charted: March 15, 1969 Peak: 99 US Sales (in millions): -- Genre: blue-eyed soul

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Just a Little Lovin’ (Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil) [2:19] So Much Love (Gerry Goffin, Carole King) [3:33] Son of a Preacher Man (John Hurley, Ronnie Wilkins) [2:28] (11/30/68, 10 US, 9 UK) I Don’t Want to Hear It Anymore (Randy Newman) [3:12] Don’t Forget about Me (Goffin, King) [2:54] (3/1/69, 64 US) Breakfast in Bed (Eddie Hinton, Donnie Fritts) [2:59] (4/12/69, 91 US) Just One Smile (Newman) [2:44] The Windmills of Your Mind (Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, Michel Legrand) [3:54] (5/3/69, 31 US, 3 AC) In the Land of Make Believe (Burt Bacharach, Hal David) [2:34] (10/4/69, 27 AC) No Easy Way Down (Goffin, King) [3:11] I Can’t Make It Alone (Goffin, King) [4:01] Total Running Time: 33:31

Rating: 3.807 out of 5.00 (average of 14 ratings) Quotable: “The All-time rock-era torch record” – Robert Christgau Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “The idea of taking England’s reigning female soul queen to the home of the music she had mastered was an inspired one.” RW That “home” was specifically the American Sound Studio in Memphis where Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, and others had recorded. Although she’d self-produced her earlier albums, she went with outside producers this time around using Atlantic Records’ Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd, and Arif Mardin to create what critic Robert Christgau called “the perfect instance of how a production team should work.” WK Springfield had “very real anxiety about being compared with the soul greatest who had recorded in the same studios.” WK She had recorded R&B songs before, but this was the first time she committed to an entire album’s worth. WK The “production and engineering team picked mostly perfect songs, and those that weren’t so great were salvaged by Springfield’s marvelous delivery and technique.” RW She was backed by the house band, the Memphis Cats, who had worked with Elvis Presley, Wilson Pickett, and King Curtis. She covered songs written by the famed writing teams of Gerry Goffin and Carole King, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, and Burt Bacharach and Hal David. “This set has definitive numbers in So Much Love, Son of a Preacher Man, Breakfast in Bed, Just One Smile, I Don't Want to Hear About It Anymore, and Just a Little Lovin'.” RW The album didn’t perform well initially, peaking at #99 in the US and failing to reach the UK top 40. Music journalist Peter Robinson said the album stalled Springfield’s career, but eventually became “a popcultural milestone [and] timeless emotional reference point.” WK Entertainment Weekly’s Tony Scherman called it “one of the greatest pop records ever recorded.” WK Christgau called it “the all-time rock-era torch record.” WK “It’s truly a disc deserving of its classic status.” RW Notes: A reissue added three bonus tracks including a cover of Willie and Laura Mae Jones’ That Old Sweet Roll (Hi-De-Ho) and an unreleased version of What Do You Do When Love Dies from the original Memphis sessions. A 25-song Rhino reissue included those three songs as well as “songs left over from sessions for the unfairly underrated Gamble- and Huff-produced Brand New Me album, and the unissued 1971 Jeff Barry-produced sides for a never-released third Atlantic album.” BE Also featured are “covers of David Gates' Make It with You and Carole King’s You’ve Got a Friend, the gospel-flavored Love Shine Down, and the hard-rocking Natchez Trace.” BE

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Dusty Springfield BE All Music Guide review by Bruce Eder of Rhino reissue RW All Music Guide review by Ron Wynn WK Wikipedia

Norah Jones’ Come Away with Me hit #1

Come Away with Me Norah Jones

Released: February 26, 2002 Peak: 14 US, 14 UK, 15 CN, 13 AU Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, 2.56 UK, 27.0 world (includes US and UK) Genre: adult contemporary/jazz

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts. Don’t Know Why (5/28/02, 29a US, 4 AC, 5 AA, 8 A40, 59 UK, 5 AU) Seven Years Cold, Cold Heart Feelin’ the Same Way (8/2/02, –) Come Away with Me (10/8/02, 12 AA, 21 A40, 80 UK) Shoot the Moon Turn Me On Lonestar I’ve Got to See You Again Painter Song One Flight Down Nightingale The Long Day Is Over The Nearness of You Total Running Time: 45:03

Rating: 4.004 out of 5.00 (average of 16 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: Nearly a year after its release, Norah Jones’ Come Away with Me nabbed the #1 spot on the Billboard album chart. A month later, Norah Jones won eight Grammys, including Album of the Year and Record and Song of the Year for the lead single, Don’t Know Why. That pushed the album to 10 million in sales domestically and a total of 27 million worldwide. “Though its surprising success…overwhelmed it, this seductively modest little record is a marvel of mood and invention. The songwriting and arrangements are sophisticated, often jazzy, yet full of catchy hooks. And Jones’ vocals are silken and perfectly turned, setting a seamless mood that could soundtrack high-end restaurants and low-rent make-out sessions alike. And the sexy double entendre of the hit ‘Don’t Know Why’ (‘…I didn’t come’) still sounds sly as hell.” RS’11 Her voice, which “is mature beyond her 22 years,” AZ has “a touch of Rickie Lee Jones” AMG while the arrangements suggest a touch of Bonnie Raitt. AMG “Her youth and her piano skills could lead one to call her an Alicia Keys for grown-ups.” AMG “Her assured phrasing and precise time are more often found in older singers as well. She is instantly recognizable, blending shades of Billie Holiday and Nina Simone without sounding like anyone but herself. Any way you slice it, she is a singer to be reckoned with.” AZ Her “debut on Blue Note is a mellow, acoustic pop affair with soul and country overtones, immaculately produced by the great Arif Mardin.” AMG “Jones is not quite a jazz singer, but she is joined by some highly regarded jazz talent: guitarists Adam Levy, Adam Rogers, Tony Scherr, Bill Frisell, and Kevin Breit; drummers Brian Blade, Dan Rieser, and Kenny Wolleson; organist Sam Yahel; accordionist Rob Burger; and violinist Jenny Scheinman.” AMG Jones does “convincing readings of Hank Williams’ Cold Cold Heart, J.D. Loudermilk’s Turn Me On, and Hoagy Carmichael’s The Nearness of You.” AMG “Heart” and “Nearness” alone “are worth the price of the CD.” AZ “Her regular guitarist and bassist, Jesse Harris and Lee Alexander, respectively, play on every track and also serve as the chief songwriters. Both have a gift for melody, simple yet elegant progressions, and evocative lyrics.” AMG “Jones, for her part, wrote the title track and the pretty but slightly restless Nightingale.” AMG Her material, “while not bad, pales a bit next to such masterpieces. They might have fared better had she…opted for some livelier arrangements” AZ “or if the tunes had simply been given less laconic performances.” AZ Still, “while the mood of this record stagnates after a few songs, it does give a strong indication of Jones’ alluring talents.” AMG She “has all the tools; what will come with experience and some careful listening to artists like J.J. Cale and Shirley Horn is the knack of remaining low-key without sounding sleepy – sometimes less is not, in fact, more.” AZ

Resources and Related Links: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Norah Jones AMG All Music Guide review by David R. Adler AZ Amazon.com review by Michael Ross RS’11 Rolling Stone (7/8/2011). “100 Best Albums of the 2000s” First posted 3/28/2008; last updated 3/15/2024.