“Just a Little Lovin'” (Dusty Springfield)

This week we’re going to do something a little different with a deep dive into one of the finest albums ever made, Dusty in Memphis. We won’t look at every track on the album, although we could, but rather focus on the best of the best on this landmark album.

The opening track on Dusty in Memphis (side one, track one) and today’s classic song of the day is “Just a Little Lovin’.” The song was written by the legendary songwriting team of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, who were also responsible for huge hits such as “Uptown” and “He’s Sure the Boy I Love” for the Crystals; “Blame It On the Bossa Nova” for Eydie Gorme; “On Broadway” and “Saturday Night at the Movies” for the Drifters; “Only In America” for Jay and the Americans; “Walking in the Rain,” a former classic song of the day, for both the Ronettes and Jay and the Americans; “We Gotta Get Out of This Place” for the Animals; “Kicks” and “Hungry” for Paul Revere and the Raiders; “New World Coming,” “Make Your Own Kind of Music,” and “It’s Getting Better” for Mama Cass Elliott; “Rock and Roll Lullaby” for B.J. Thomas; “(You’re My) Soul and Inspiration” for the Righteous Brothers; “Just Once” for Quincy Jones with James Ingram; “Somewhere Out There” for Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram; and the most-played song in the 20th century, “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin'” for the Righteous Brothers. Not surprisingly, “Just a Little Lovin'” is of the same quality as all these other tunes, which is what you’d expect from this talented duo.

“Just a Little Lovin'” sets the stage for what listeners can expect from the rest of the album. It’s a slow, almost sensual groove, just what you’d expect from the Memphis Boys who played on the album. The song itself is languorous, the lyrics extolling the benefits of having “just a little lovin’ early in the morning.” As the lyrics note, it “beats a cup of coffee for starting off the day.” Dusty, with her sensual, smoldering voice, sells the hell out of it; you can just imagine her rolling over in bed, her hair tussled, stretching and sighing and smiling to herself after some languid early-morning lovemaking. That’s what her voice sounds like on this one.

Dusty in Memphis was released in January of 1969. It was Dusty’s fifth studio album and her first on the Atlantic Records label. The goal was to record the album in Memphis with legendary producers Jerry Wexler and Arif Mardin and engineer Tom Dowd, using the cream of the local talent. That they did, to a point.

The backing tracks for Dusty in Memphis were laid down in American Sound studios in Memphis, where Elvis Presley, Joe Tex, B.J. Thomas, Neil Diamond, the Box Tops, and many, many other great artists recorded. The backing musicians were the Memphis Boys (Bobby Wood on acoustic piano, Bobby Emmons on organ and electric piano, Reggie Young on guitar, Tommy Cogbill on bass, and Gene Chrisman on drums), who had accompanied such R&B legends as Wilson Pickett, Bobby Womack, and King Curtis. They were accompanied by the equally legendary Sweet Inspirations (Cissy Houston, Sylvia Shemwell, Estelle Brown, and Myrna Smith) on vocals. The tracks they laid down were nothing short of superb.

Dusty, however, was too nervous about being compared to the soul legends who had recorded in that studio to record her vocals there; this was also the first time she’d worked with outside producers. So while she attended the tracking sessions, she ended up recording her vocals by herself a few weeks later in New York City. It didn’t matter. Dusty’s vocals were spot on and as soulful as you can get, blending perfectly with the expert backing tracks laid down in Memphis.

Despite the obvious quality of the songs and the performances, Dusty in Memphis didn’t sell well. It only hit #99 on the Billboard 200 album chart and didn’t chart at all in the U.K.. Instead of reviving Dusty’s career, as planned, Dusty in Memphis almost ended it. Atlantic released five singles from the album, with only “Son of a Preacher Man” having any chart impact. It was a commercial and, at the time, critical failure.

As time went by, however, opinions changed. Critics eventually recognized Dusty in Memphis not as a misstep in Ms. Springfield’s storied career but rather as one of the greatest albums of all time, a blue-eyed soul classic. Rolling Stone and NME both listed the album as one of their top 100 albums of all time. Elvis Costello said that “Dusty Springfield’s singing on this album is among the very best ever put on record by anyone.” Nobody says anything bad about it anymore.

I personally rank Dusty in Memphis among my all-time top ten albums, and perhaps among the top five. It’s that good. I don’t know any other album with this good a mix of songs and there is simply no topping Dusty’s sultry blue-eyed soul vocals. The album is compelling listening, which is why I’m featuring it all this week. Every song on the album is a classic, as are all the performances. If you haven’t heard Dusty in Memphis yet, or haven’t heard it in awhile, punch it up and listen to it now. You will not be disappointed.

ADDENDUM 6/2/23: Cynthia Weil, the co-writer of this song, passed away on June 1st. She was one of the top songwriters of the rock era, and this is one of her best songs. RIP Ms. Weil, your music lives forever.