Today is the 72nd anniversary of the birth of British pop and soul vocalist Dusty Springfield (1939-1999).Anyone who knows me knows that I am a great admirer of Dusty. Indeed, her life and music inspired my "coming out" as a gay man.
To mark the anniversary of Dusty's birth I share her 1971 recording of the Gerry Goffin and Carole King composition, "Wasn't Born to Follow."
Dusty's recording of this particular track is included in the 1999 compilation album Dusty in London: Dusty Springfield's Lost British Recordings, comprised of songs Dusty recorded in Britain with the Philips label while concurrently signed with Atlantic Records in the States. Contrary to the album's subtitle, these tracks (with perhaps the exception of one) have never been "lost." As the liner notes themselves acknowledge, all but the second-last track, "Sweet Inspiration," have been available on various British releases for years.
Regardless, here for your listening pleasure is the great Dusty Springfield with "Wasn't Born to Follow." Enjoy!
Notes Paul Howes in his book The Complete Dusty Springfield about Dusty's recording of "Wasn't Born to Follow":
In December 1968, Carole King released an album with a band she had formed after breaking up with Gerry Goffin and moving to the West Coast. Now That Everything's Been Said was the only album to be recorded by the City and included on it was the track "Wasn't Born to Follow." The Byrds had already recorded the song for their Notorious Byrds Brothers album released in early 1968; in 1969 their version was featured in the film Easy Rider. Although it was a number Dusty recorded during a session for See All Her Faces, when it came to releasing the album Philips decided not to use the track. So, instead of an album containing a uniformity of recordings, See All Her Faces ended up with a hodge-podge of productions and "Wasn't Born to Follow" remained unreleased until the mid 1990s. Dusty herself claimed at the time that [her record company] Philips had passed over some of the best tapes for the album and this track certainly validated that claim. Dusty's treatment of the song is very close to Carole King's with its undulating rhythm and urgent delivery.
See also the previous Wild Reed posts:• Remembering Dusty
• Time and the River
• Soul Deep
• Something In Your Eyes
• The Sound of Two Decades Colliding
• Celebrating Dusty
• Classic Dusty
• Classic Dusty II
• Classic Dusty III
• Classic Dusty IV
• Classic Dusty V
• Remembering Dusty, Eleven Years On
• The Other "Born This Way"
Recommended Off-site Link:
Dusty Springfield: Woman of Repute
Great song!
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