Editing Dusty Springfield (section)

== Early life ==
[[File:Dusty Springfield Green Plaque in Ealing, West London.jpg|thumb|[[Blue plaque|Green Plaque]] at the entrance of Ealing Fields High School in [[Ealing]], London which Springfield, as Mary O'Brien, attended]]
Springfield was born Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien on 16 April 1939 in [[West Hampstead]],<ref>O'Brien, p. 3.</ref> the second child of Gerard Anthony 'OB' O'Brien (1904–1979) and Catherine Anne 'Kay' O'Brien (''née'' Ryle; 1900–1974), both Irish immigrants.<ref name="Valentine20">Valentine and Wickham, p. 20.</ref> Springfield's elder brother, Dionysius Patrick O'Brien (2 July 1934 – 27 July 2022) was later known as [[Tom Springfield]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7lUYAAAAIAAJ&q=Tom+Springfield+2+July+1934 |title=Tom Springfield |work=The Oxford Companion to Popular Music |page=542 |first=Peter |last=Gammond |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=New York |year=1991 |isbn=0-19-311323-6 |access-date=2 September 2010}}</ref> Her father grew up in [[British Raj|British India]] and worked as a tax accountant and consultant.<ref name=rnb357>Gulla, p. 357.</ref> Her mother came from an Irish family originally from [[Tralee]], County Kerry, that included a number of journalists.<ref>Valentine and Wickham, p. 21.</ref>

Dusty Springfield grew up in [[High Wycombe]], Buckinghamshire living there until the early 1950s and later in [[Ealing]] in [[West London]].<ref name=rnb357 /> She attended [[St. Anne's Convent School (disambiguation)|St Anne's Convent School]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-07 |title=Place House St Anne's Convent School (IOE01/01127/18) Archive Item - Images Of England Collection {{!}} Historic England |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250507101803/https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/photos/item/IOE01/01127/18 |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=web.archive.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Place House St Anne's Convent School (IOE01/01127/18) Archive Item - Images Of England Collection {{!}} Historic England |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/photos/item/IOE01/01127/18 |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=historicengland.org.uk |language=en}}</ref> in [[Northfields, London|Northfields]], a traditional all-girl [[Roman Catholic school]] in London. The comfortable middle-class upbringing was disturbed by dysfunctional tendencies in the family: her father's perfectionism and her mother's frustrations sometimes resulted in food-throwing incidents.<ref>Valentine and Wickham, p. 23.</ref> Springfield and her brother were both prone to food-throwing as adults.<ref name=rnb357 /> She was given the nickname "Dusty" because she played football with boys in the street; she was described as being a [[tomboy]].<ref>Leeson, [https://archive.org/details/dustyspringfield0000lees <!-- quote=tomboy. --> p. 14].</ref>

Springfield grew up in a music-loving family. Her father tapped out rhythms on the back of her hand and encouraged her to guess which musical piece had the beat.<ref name="secret">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/The+secret+life+of+Dusty+Springfield-a054492600 |first=Michele |last=Kort |title=The Secret Life of Dusty Springfield |magazine=[[The Advocate (LGBT magazine)|The Advocate]] |publisher=Liberation Publications (Thomson Corporation Company) |year=1999 |access-date=2 July 2012}}</ref> She listened to a wide range of music including [[George Gershwin]], [[Rodgers and Hart]], [[Rodgers and Hammerstein]], [[Cole Porter]], [[Count Basie]], [[Duke Ellington]], and [[Glenn Miller]].<ref name="secret" /><ref name="dustyinmemphis80">{{cite book |title=33 1/3 Greatest Hits |volume=1 |chapter=Dusty in Memphis |first=Warren |last=Zanes |editor=David Barker |publisher=The Continuum International Publishing Group |year=2007 |pages=1–16 |isbn=978-0-8264-1903-3 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7v7wJqhaBhoC&q=Zanes%2C+Warren+Dusty+in+Memphis.&pg=PA1}}</ref><ref name="rnb358">Gulla, p. 358.</ref> A fan of American [[jazz]] and the vocalists [[Peggy Lee]] and [[Jo Stafford]], she wished to sound like them. At age 12 she recorded herself performing the [[Irving Berlin]] song "When the Midnight Choo-Choo Leaves for Alabama" at a record shop in Ealing.<ref name="secret" /><ref name="dustyinmemphis80" /><ref name="rnb358" />