''Cameo'' is the eighth studio album released by singer

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), better known by her stage name Dusty Springfield, was a British singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano voice, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop mus ...

, released in 1973.

Writing and recording

The album was recorded in the United States between July and October 1972. ''Cameo'' was produced by Steve Barri, Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter who later went on to write and produce major hits for among others

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American country musician and actor. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'' on CBS television from ...

The Four Tops ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

and The Tavares. The album also included material written by

Alan O'Day Alan Earle O'Day (October 3, 1940 – May 17, 2013) was an American singer-songwriter, best known for writing and singing "Undercover Angel (song), Undercover Angel," a million-selling Gold-certified American No. 1 hit in 1977. He also wrote son ...

David Gates David Ashworth Gates (born December 11, 1940) is a retired American singer-songwriter, guitarist, musician and producer, frontman and co-lead singer (with Jimmy Griffin) of the group Bread (band), Bread, which reached the top of the musical ch ...

Nickolas Ashford Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting, production and recording duo composed of Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946). Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carol ...

Valerie Simpson Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting, production and recording duo composed of Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946). Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carol ...

and

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician whose recording career started in the 1960s. Morrison's albums have performed well in the UK and Ireland, with more than 40 reaching the UK ...

and among the all-star line up of musicians contributing were

Hal Blaine Hal Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky; February 5, 1929 – March 11, 2019) was an American drummer and session musician, thought to be among the most recorded studio drummers in the music industry, claiming over 35,000 sessions and 6,000 singles. ...

, Paul Humphrey,

Larry Carlton Larry Eugene Carlton (born March 2, 1948) is an American guitarist who built his career as a studio musician in the 1970s and 1980s for acts including Steely Dan and Joni Mitchell. One of the most sought after guitarists of his era, Carlton has ...

Wilton Felder Wilton Lewis Felder (August 31, 1940 – September 27, 2015) was an American saxophone and bass player, and is best known as a founding member of the Jazz Crusaders, later known as the Crusaders. Felder played bass on the Jackson 5's hits "I Want ...

Carol Kaye Carol Kaye (née Smith; born March 24, 1935) is an American musician. She is one of the most prolific recorded bass guitarists in rock and pop music, playing on an estimated 10,000 recordings in a career spanning over 65 years. Kaye began play ...

Victor Feldman Victor Stanley Feldman (7 April 1934 – 12 May 1987) was an English jazz musician who played mainly piano, vibraphone, and percussion. He began performing professionally during childhood, eventually earning acclaim in the UK jazz scene as ...

Michael Omartian Michael S. Omartian (born November 26, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, keyboardist, and music producer. He produced number-one records in three consecutive decades. He has earned 11 Grammy Awards nominations and won three. H ...

Venetta Fields Venetta Lee Fields (born 1941) is an American-born Australian singer and musical theater actress, and vocal coach. Fields was a backing vocalist for touring American and British rock and pop acts of the 1960s and 1970s, as well as working as a ...

and

Clydie King Clydie Mae King (August 21, 1943 – January 7, 2019) was an American singer, best known for her session work as a backing vocalist. King also recorded solo under her name. In the 1970s, she recorded as Brown Sugar, and her single "Loneliness ( ...

Release and promotion

''Cameo'' is Springfield's first LP for the ABC Dunhill Records label, which released it in the United States first in February 1973. It was released in the UK (by

Philips Records Philips Records is a record label founded by Netherlands, Dutch electronics company Philips and in 1999 was absorbed into Netherlands, Dutch-United States, American music corporation Universal Music Group. It was founded as Philips Phonograph ...

) three months later in May. The album was a commercial failure in 1973 – charting neither in the UK nor the US. A planned second album on the ABC Dunhill label with the working title of ''Elements'' (eventually re-titled '' Longing''), was started, but never finished, due to Springfield's personal problems at the time. Most of the uncompleted album ''Longing'' can also be found on the

Hip-O Records Hip-O Records is a record label that specializes in reissues and compilations. It is part of Universal Music Group. Established in 1996, the label has distributed releases from 'out of style' genres such as disco and early hip-hop music as well ...

compilation ''Beautiful Soul'', released in the United States in 2001. ''Cameo'' was digitally remastered and released on CD for the first time in Europe by Mercury/

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum ...

in 2002, though not containing any bonus tracks. Due to its relative obscurity upon the LP's initial release in 1973, ''Cameo'' is considered to be one of the rarer titles of Springfield's official catalogue/discography, and hard to find on any format, though its increased popularity in recent years due to the CD release and digital music file sharing has alleviated that difficulty to a good degree. Prior to its release in May 1973 in the UK Springfield made a brief public appearance in the UK doing dates in the Provinces up in the North, doing a TV appearance on ''They Sold a Million'' and also doing two live shows at The London Palladium that January to make up for the ''Talk of the Town'' fiasco. This live appearance would be her last tour or live show she would do for another 6 years and her last public appearance in the UK until 5 years later in February 1978 for a promotional trip for her new album ''It Begins Again''. During the years between ''Cameo'' and ''It Begins Again'', Springfield remained very much off the radar and was in a period of what many describe as her "wilderness years". In the US Springfield made a few television appearances but only performed two songs from Cameo. The first being "Of All the Things" on ''The Bobby Darin Show'' and the second being "Mama's Little Girl" on ''The Tonight Show - With Johnny Carson''.

Critical reception

Reviewing in '' Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies'' (1981),

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

highlighted the songs "Of All the Things" and "The Other Side of Life", while writing of Springfield: "Simultaneously gushy and ladylike, she sings like the beautiful maidservant of men's vainest and most shameful fantasies--always the supplicant, always in love. Yet at the same time she manages to elicit sisterly sympathy from other women. Lambert and Potter have mixed the orchestra way too high on this record, but for these guys, who usually write banal melodies that stick so stubbornly you hate them for it, the tunes are complex and likable. Maybe that's because L&P adjusted them for a tough human being who convinced them mid-session that she wasn't just some backup chick doing a solo spot."

Track listing

All tracks composed by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter; except where indicated
Side one # "Who Gets Your Love" – 3:28 # "Breakin' Up a Happy Home" – 3:36 # "Easy Evil" (

) – 2:55 # "Mama's Little Girl" – 3:31 # "The Other Side of Life" (

) – 2:43 # "Comin' and Goin'" – 3:12 Side two # "I Just Wanna Be There" (

) – 2:43 # "Who Could Be Loving You Other Than Me?" (Willie Hutchinson) – 3:04 # "

Tupelo Honey ''Tupelo Honey'' is the fifth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released in October 1971 by Warner Bros. Records. Morrison had written all of the songs in Woodstock, New York, before his move to Marin Count ...

" (

) – 4:02 # "Of All the Things" – 3:07 # "Learn to Say Goodbye" (from the ABC Movie of the Week, ''Say Goodbye, Maggie Cole'') (

Hugo Montenegro Hugo Mario Montenegro (September 2, 1925 – February 6, 1981) was an American orchestra leader and composer of film soundtracks. His best-known work is interpretations of the music from Spaghetti Westerns, especially his cover version of Ennio M ...

, Bradford Craig) – 2:51

Unused recordings

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" (

Walter Scharf Walter Scharf (August 1, 1910 – February 24, 2003) was an American musician, best known as a film, television and concert composer and arranger/conductor. Biography Broadway theatre Born in Manhattan, he was the son of Yiddish theatre comic Be ...

, Don Black) #"

I Can See Clearly Now "I Can See Clearly Now" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Johnny Nash. It was the lead single from his twelfth album, ''I Can See Clearly Now'' (1972), and achieved success in the United States and the United Kingdo ...

" (

Johnny Nash John Lester Nash Jr. (August 19, 1940October 6, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter, best known in the United States for his 1972 hit " I Can See Clearly Now". Primarily a reggae and pop singer, he was one of the first non-Jamaican art ...

) #"It's All Been Said Before" #"When The Boys Come Out to Play" - Recorded during the ''Cameo'' sessions but unissued and subsequently lost or possibly destroyed upon the end of Dusty's contract with ABC/Dunhill in June 1975. #"I Just Wanna Be There" lternate Take(Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson) - Features longer intro and fade; unreleased though master tapes exist. #"Tupelo Honey" lternate Take(Van Morrison) - Features different vocals; unreleased though master tapes exist. #"Learn to Say Goodbye" riginal Recording(Hugo Montenegro, Bradford Craig) - As featured in the 1972 made-for-TV drama, the ABC Movie of the Week, '' Say Goodbye, Maggie Cole''. The track was re-recorded for the ''Cameo'' LP. Aside from its inclusion in the movie the original recording remains unreleased. #"Six Million Dollar Man" (theme from ''

The Six Million Dollar Man ''The Six Million Dollar Man'' is an American science fiction and action television series, running from 1973 to 1978, about a former astronaut, USAF Colonel Steve Austin, portrayed by Lee Majors. After being seriously injured in a NASA test f ...

'') (

Glen A. Larson Glen Albert Larson (January 3, 1937 – November 14, 2014) was an American television producer, writer, and composer. He created many series, including '' Alias Smith and Jones'', ''Battlestar Galactica'', '' Buck Rogers in the 25th Century'', ' ...

) - Recorded in 1973. Featured in the opening and closing credits of the ''Wine, Women & War'' and ''The Solid Gold Kidnapping'' made-for-TV movies and in the promotion of the series; replaced by an instrumental theme for the weekly series. Aside from its inclusion in the movies and adverts the original recording remains unreleased. #"The Other Side of Life" 005 B.J. Thomas "duet" mix">B.J._Thomas.html" ;"title="005 B.J. Thomas">005 B.J. Thomas "duet" mix(David Gates) - B.J. Thomas recorded the song in the 1970s during his tenure with Scepter Records. In 2005 a mix was created mixing Springfield's ''Cameo'' vocal into Thomas's Scepter recording. Both the B.J. Thomas solo recording and the "duet" mix remain unreleased.

Personnel and production

* Dusty Springfield – vocals * Steve Barri – record producer * Dennis Lambert – producer, keyboards * Brian Potter (musician), Brian Potter – producer, percussion *

– drums * Paul Humphrey – drums * Ben Benay – guitar *

– guitar *

David Bennett Cohen David Bennett Cohen (born August 4, 1942) is an American musician best known as the original keyboardist and one of the guitar players for the late-1960s psychedelic rock and blues band Country Joe and the Fish. Early life and influences C ...

– guitar *

– bass guitar *

– percussion * Michael Lang – keyboards *

– keyboards, string, horn and flute arrangements *

–

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

– backing vocals *

Sherlie Matthews Sherlie Mae Matthews (born November 10, 1934) is an American singer, songwriter and former Motown Records producer, best known as a backing vocalist for pop, R&B and rock groups from the mid-1960s to the present. Mirwood Employing her as bot ...

– backing vocals * Myrna Matthews – backing vocals * Sid Sharp –

concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German language, German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (UK) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (clarinet or oboe in a concert band). After the Conducting, conductor, the concertma ...

Jimmie Haskell Jimmie Haskell (born Sheridan Pearlman; November 7, 1926 – February 4, 2016) was an American composer and arranger for motion pictures and a wide variety of popular artists, including Elvis Presley, Neil Diamond, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Steely D ...

– string arrangements

Charts

Album –

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

(United States) Singles – Billboard (United States) ^At the time of the album's release,

Billboard Magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized in lowercase since 2013) is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events and styles related to th ...

maintained a "Bubbling Under" Album chart, for albums that had not yet entered the Billboard Top 200 Album chart. ''Cameo'' peaked at #5 on this chart. ^^"Learn to Say Goodbye" was initially the B side of "Mama's Little Girl". The single was later flipped, with "Learn to Say Goodbye" becoming the A side.

Sources

* Howes, Paul (2001). The Complete Dusty Springfield. London: Reynolds & Hearn Ltd. . {{Authority control Cameo ABC Records albums Cameo Albums arranged by Jimmie Haskell Albums produced by Steve Barri