Song 6: Son of a Preacher Man

Son of a Preacher Man - Dusty Springfield

The last few entries have been a bit serious and passionate and thoughtful, so here's a shorter and simpler rumination on a classic you all know and love. Oh yes, you all know it and you all love it. I know this. This is because 'Son of a Preacher Man' is the safest song on God's Earth.

And I mean that in a wonderful way. I mean I have never met a person who doesn't like it. It's the first song I play in a professional capacity every night, when I've set up my sound equipment and i have to play music before the quiz starts, I always, always, whatever the crowd, start with 'Son of a Preacher Man'. Nice and quietly, just in the background. And people smile and nod along. It's my way of saying "this won't be a horrible evening, you're in a reasonably safe hands. I, like you, know that 'Son of a Preacher Man' is a good song."

It has come to slot very safely into our everyday life. I did a neat trick at a wedding last year, where the band kicked off with 'Moondance' and I then accurately predicted that the next song would be 'Son of a Preacher Man'. They were just that kind of band and it's just that kind of song.

It's from the 1968 album 'Dusty in Memphis', which is something of a classic, but i'm not entirely sure the extent to which it still held prominence before, of course, Tarantino used it in 'Pulp Fiction'. Since then, it's been  pretty omni-present. Fair play to Tarantino, his soundtracks have always been utterly tremendous, none more so than 'Pulp Fiction'. In some ways, that's as much the definitive album of the mid-90s as something like 'Parklife'.

It's not too hard to unpack what's great about this record - it's beautifully produced, beautifully sung, evocative, has a gentle, glorious groove, totally unthreatening but infectious, and of course it's catchy as hell. There's not that much more needs saying about it. Dusty Springfield was a wonderful singer and her death was terribly sad, in particular as various singers of her era have had lovingly crafted comebacks in the last decade, and she'd have been perfect for one last, great record.

If you want something Dusty Springfield-related from the last few years, I'd recommend the 2008 Shelby Lynne album 'Just a Little Lovin'', which is a straight-up tribute record, splendidly sung and played, with even more of a country-soul edge than some of the originals. There's no 'Son of a Preacher Man' on it, though. What would be the point?