How She Got Her Nickname
If you’re wondering how a girl with the name Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O’Brien became Dusty Springfield, it’s because she was given the nickname “Dusty” in her teen years. She was “one of the boys” and liked to play soccer with the neighborhood boys in the street, who described her as a tomboy.
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In those days, girls’ soccer was still in its infancy, and she didn’t have dreams of being a soccer player. She did, however, want to grow up to be a famous singer. When Dusty wasn’t kicking a ball around, she was reveling in her family’s record collection. By the age of 12, she recorded herself performing the Irving Berlin song “When The Midnight Choo Choo Leaves for Alabama” at a local record shop.