Midweek Madness: Dusty Springfield sings refrain from Wagner's 'Tannhauser'
I've always had a soft spot for Dusty Springfield. She had such a distinctive voice, with a tinge of melancholy to it, and she could phrase a ballad with the best of them.
Not that you asked -- heck, you never need to ask; I just give and give, because I am naturally so giving -- my favorite Dusty recording was "Windmills of Your Mind," a version that I still hold in high esteem, even though I have now heard Barbra's superb interpretation from her soon-to-be-released album.
Truth be told, I never became a big Dusty fan, to the point of collecting her records. I just enjoyed hearing her when the opportunity arose. But I live with a major Dusty devotee, and Robert routinely breaks out her recordings, enabling me to appreciate much more of her oeuvre over the years.
I still recall the shock when, on one of Robert's Dusty days, he slipped into the player a little-known record of a song called "Don't Speak of Love." The first bars sounded like generic vintage pop, and I almost tuned it out when, holy cow, the refrain hit -- and I heard nothing less than the big tune of the Pilgrim's Chorus from Wagner's "Tannhauser," complete with ...
all the accompanying flurries from the violins, right out of the opera score.
Quite wild and hard to resist -- perfect for my Midweek Madness featurette. Wagner would have been appalled, of course, which is all the more reason to enjoy it:
Categories: Clef Notes, Drama Queens, Midweek Madness
Comments
Nice, that's a good song, nice vocal by Dusty.
"Wagner would have been appalled, of course"
Maybe, but he sure wouldn't turn down the royalty checks!
How right you are. Thanks for commenting. TIM
Posted by: Henry Holland | July 13, 2011 10:41 AM
Dusty's pitch is iffy, but the song is a hoot and this is a fun post.
Glad you liked it. TIM
Posted by: Jerry Floyd | July 14, 2011 9:39 AM