FEBRUARY 1 2008
AMERICANWAY 57
Jackson, Alabama, andLondon, England,
couldhardly bemore different. One is a
tiny townof about 6,000 in theAmerican
South; the other, amajormetropolis of
more than sevenmillion inhabitants. But
the two localeswill come together this
month, musically at least, when Jackson-
bornShelby Lynne releases a tribute album
toDustySpringfield. Called
Just aLittle
Lovin’
, the album is arguably the biggest
risk the 39-year-oldLynne has taken inher
career. Springfield is amember of theRock
andRoll Hall of Fame andwaswidely re-
garded as one of the greatest pure vocalists
of the postwar era. She enjoyed an eclectic,
four-decade run of hits, which included
such successes as 1963’s “IOnlyWant to
BewithYou” and a comeback collaboration
with thePet ShopBoys in the late ’80s,
before her untimely passing from cancer
in 1999 at age59. Inotherwords, she’s a
legend. ¶Then again, Lynne is no slouch
herself. Over the course of a20-year re-
cording career, she’s sung everything from
hard-core country to jazzyWestern swing
togritty soul toglossy pop. Her veryfirst
single, aduetwithGeorge Jones, charted in
the top50 in 1988. And in2001, shewon
aGrammyAward as best new artist (odd,
considering she had already released eight
albums by that time). ¶Still, youdon’t try
to capture a legendwithout a little legend-
ary help. SoLynne enlistednoted studio
guruPhil Ramone—whohas alsohelmed
albums for FrankSinatra, ArethaFranklin,
Madonna, PaulMcCartney, andBarryMa-
nilow, amongothers— in themaking of
Just aLittle Lovin’
, whichhits the highlights
of Springfield’smassive catalog. The tracks
AMusicalMemorial
Shelby Lynne sings Dusty Springfield, thanks to BarryManilow.
ByBobMehr
MusicalMath
Five other great artist-to-artist tribute albums.
MerleHaggard+ Jimmie
Rodgers =
SameTrain
–
ADifferent Time
, 1969:
Haggard, thePoet of the
CommonMan, pays loving
homage to theSinging
Brakeman as he updates Rodgers’s train songs
and hobo lamentswith a touch of theBakers-
fieldSound.
HarryNilsson+Randy
Newman=
NilssonSings
Newman
, 1970:
Coming
off the success of “Every-
body’s Talkin’,” his
Mid-
night Cowboy
soundtrack
smash, Nilssonflipped the classic tribute record
formula by recording an album not to a known
star but toNewman, who, at the time, was an
undiscovered talent.
JenniferWarnes +Leon-
ardCohen=
Famous
BlueRaincoat
, 1987:
A
former backup singer for
Cohen and a folksy ’70s
hitmaker in her own
right,Warnes turned headswith this powerful,
modern take on the catalog of the poeticCana-
dian. The record’s success helped spark a critical
reappraisal and career comeback for Cohen.
IrmaThomas +DanPenn
=
MyHeart’s inMemphis:
TheSongs of DanPenn
,
2000:
NewOrleans vocal
queenThomas samples
the best sides fromSouth-
ern soul manPenn— author of hits forAretha
Franklin, theBoxTops, and James Carr— on
this contemporaryR&B classic.
RobynHitchcock+Bob
Dylan=
RobynSings
,
2002:
British postpunk/
psych-folk iconHitchcock
indulges hisDylan obses-
sionwith a two-CD set
of covers, including a live disc that re-creates
theGreatWhiteWonder’s historic 1966Royal
Albert Hall concert.
are builtwith spare simple arrangements,
letting the focus remain on the songs and
onLynne’s own voice, an instrument as dis-
tinctive andpowerful as Springfield’s. “This
is not just a covers record andnot just a
tribute record,” Lynne says. “It’s also a re-
minder record— a reminder of howgreat
these songs are andhowgreat Dustywas.”
Barry Manilowwrites the songs, and he’s also
the one who inspired his pal Shelby Lynne to
cover Dusty Springfield.
“It was his idea,” Lynne
says. “A couple of years ago, he sent me an e-mail
saying, ‘Have you ever considered doing an album of
Dusty’s songs?’ I thought, God, that’s a little scary.
I’dnever coveredher stuff in concert or evenmessed
around with the songs for fun. I’d always figured it
wassacredground. Therewassuchan incredible feel-
ingwhen she sang. Theway shewouldglide through
vocally— it’s such a female sensibility on things. To
me, asa fan, she’s thegreatest.But there isa timeand
place for everything. So, eventually, it came time to
doanew record, and I thought, Yeah,maybe it’s time
for people to rememberDusty and these songs.”
It’s not easy to cover a legend, especiallywhen
that legend has recorded hundreds of songs.
“Phil and I compared lists.Weprobably startedwith
20 songs and [then] narrowed themdown a little at
a time. For me,” says Lynne, “the important thing in
choosingwas that it couldn’t justbe stuff from
Dusty
inMemphis
or Dusty in the ’80s; it had to span her
entire career. Also, I had to choose the songs I knew
I could singwell and some that peoplewould recog-
nize as hers. But I think first and foremost, I picked
songs that I really loved. This is a Shelby Lynne re-
cord too. That’s thebiggest fearwhenyoucut covers
—finding away tomake the songs your own.”
The best way tomake the songs your own?
Re-
cord them fast. “We recorded thewhole thing in five
days,” Lynne recalls. “We cut two songs a day, and
thatwas it. The cool thingaboutmaking the record is
we didn’t have any arrangements. We went into the
studiowith themusicians, pickedakey, andplayed the
songs like a bandwould and until it felt right. Some
things happened quickly; some things took a bit lon-
ger.Butasawhole, it started justmelding together. It
turnedout tobemore of a soul record thananything.
And keepingDusty inmindas one ofmy favorite soul
singers, I think she’dbe reallyhappywith it.”
