1st March 2001
As if making a CD isn’t stimulating enough, another dream of mine has just come true. A recording of Dusty Springfield singing my song, “Beautiful Soul” has been released after being locked in a vault somewhere for 27 years.
Like many women I know of a certain age, I began listening to Dusty Springfield when I was a teenager. Her renditions of “I’m All Cried Out” and “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me” sent me into a swoon each time I heard them. What I identified with was her voice: the mix of power and vulnerability, of longing and defiance.
When I became a singer-songwriter myself, I had only one dream: that Dusty Springfield would one day record one of my tunes. Imagine my excitement when Dusty arranged to record my song, “Beautiful Soul” in the early 70s. Imagine my disappointment when this song, along with others on the album she recorded, was shelved by the record label.
I am thrilled that this new compilation release on Hip-O records is called: Beautiful Soul: The ABC Dunhill Selections, with my song as the title track. I only wish she was still with us so I could call her and thank her for taking such a risk in 1974. As the liner notes say: “The emotionally charged Margaret Adam composition explores a progressive premise for 1974-love between two women. Dusty handles the delicate material with her typical sensitivity and a trace of sadness.”
I have put up several options for you to hear at the “Beautiful Soul” page.