Published Apr 16, 2021

Remembering ‘Son of A Preacher Man’ Singer Dusty Springfield Who Died from Breast Cancer at 59

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A British Legend

The late English singer Dusty Springfield who died from breast cancer in 1999 at 59 years young would have turned 82 years old today.
The pop star’s sensual voice is most known for songs of the 1960s like I Only Want to Be With You and Son of a Preacher Man, which Rolling Stone named as one of the top songs of all time; the magazine also named Springfield the best British pop singer of all time.
Breast cancer awareness and treatment has advanced in recent years, and the disease now has a higher survival rate.

The late English singer Dusty Springfield who died from breast cancer at 59 years young would have turned 82 years old today.

The pop star’s sensual voice is best known for songs of the 1960s such as I Only Want to Be With You and Son of a Preacher Man, which Rolling Stone named as one of the top songs of all time; the magazine also named Springfield the best British pop singer of all time.

Springfield had a lot of soul for someone with a blonde beehive, emulating artists like Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight. Legendary singer and piano man Elton John declared her “the best white British female singer” of her time and the Queen of England was “saddened” over her death when she passed in 1999, according to the Guardian. Springfield received the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) not long before her death. She was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame by Sir Elton John himself posthumously the year of her death.

Diagnosed with breast cancer in 1994, she struggled with the disease for five years until she passed at home with family in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire. The singer never married and had no children. She protected her sexuality, eventually telling a reporter: “A lot of people say I’m bent, and I’ve heard it so many times that I’ve almost learned to accept it . . . I know I’m perfectly as capable of being swayed by a girl as by a boy. More and more people feel that way and I don’t see why I shouldn’t.”

Springfield struggled with alcohol abuse and addiction through the 1970s, but rebounded when she made a comeback in the ’80s in a duet with the Pet Shop Boys, What Have I Done to Deserve This, and became somewhat of a gay icon. The video has 33 million views on YouTube.

Grammy award winner Adele, one of the best present-day singers who also hails from England, looked up to the singer, and it’s not hard to see a glimpse of Springfield in her style.

“She was the first British artistfemale soul singer to break it in America and put English women on the map and stuff, which I love,” Adele said in an interview with BBC.

English singer Dusty Springfield (1939 – 1999) recording her first solo single ‘I Only Want to Be with You’ at Olympic Studios, London, October 22, 1963. (Photo by Mike McKeown/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Staying Ahead of a Diagnosis

Although it is unclear what type of breast cancer Springfield had or what her treatment plan was, luckily we have come a long way since the ’90s as far as promoting awareness and cancer prevention. Many artists and public figures are also more open about sharing their health battles because of the light it shines on issues that millions of others are dealing with.

It is not evident exactly what causes breast cancer, so a good rule of thumb is to stay healthy overall to help reduce the risk of a diagnosis, which includes exercising, eating health, and abstaining from alcohol or drinking in moderation. The good news is we have come very far with treatment and reducing the number of deaths from this too-common disease.

Cancer Caused Her To Relapse; Sobriety Saved Her Life

Breast Cancer: Introduction to Prevention and Screening

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