‘Breakfast In Bed’: the pivotal Dusty Springfield song that challenged societal attitudes
“When I said I needed you…” were the lyrics that first introduced the world to Dusty Springfield as a solo artist. After years spent performing with The Lana Sisters and, later, The Springfields, it became clear that Dusty was destined for greatness in her own right. Armed with a peroxide blonde beehive and her groundbreaking mezzo-soprano vocal tones, Springfield quickly established herself among Britain’s defining pop stars during the 1960s, soon outgrowing the adolescent doting of songs like ‘You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me’.
From the very beginning of her career in music, lovey-dovey songs of heartbreak and adoration were thrust upon Springfield by her mentors and record company executives. Admittedly, the vocalist took to each and every track with effortless grace, defining the blue-eyed soul scene and creating a wide variety of beloved recordings which have since stood the test of time. As the years went by, however, her voice became much more independent, much more defiant.
Springfield’s debut solo record, A Girl Called Dusty, already established the vocalist as an independent voice that was not willing to bow down to any sense of authority or patriarchal attitudes of romance. ‘You Don’t Own Me’, for instance, was both a rallying cry for women’s liberation and a sign of things to come in Springfield’s musical career. The foundations laid by that album-only track in 1964 were expanded upon years later on the singer’s magnum opus, Dusty In Memphis.
Arriving right at the end of the 1960s, the album encapsulated everything that audiences had come to love about Springfield: her defiance, individualism, and, above all else, unparalleled vocal skill. An undeniable highlight of Dusty In Memphis is the single ‘Breakfast In Bed’, a song that perfectly encapsulates the singer’s development over the years.
In fact, the song itself references ‘You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me’ in its lyrics, giving a knowing nod to her debut solo single while establishing a much more mature and profound direction for the vocalist. In opposition to that early single, ‘Breakfast In Bed’ sees the power put firmly in the hands of Springfield, as she takes ownership of herself and speaks openly about casual sexual relationships–this may shock you, but ‘Breakfast In Bed’ is not just about a slice of toast and some orange juice.
In that sense, ‘Breakfast In Bed’ typifies the sexual liberation of the 1960s, evoking the freedom that was given to many young women like Springfield. Whereas the vast majority of love songs around that time, particularly within the genre of soul, saw women in subservient roles to their male partners, Springfield’s track sees the narrator almost taking pity on the other character before inviting them into her home.
You could take this argument even further by pointing out the fact that the other person in this story is never referred to by any specific gendered pronouns or terms. As such, it is not out of the question that the person that Springfield invites in for “breakfast” is not, in fact, a male. This would certainly fit with the singer’s outspoken bisexuality, another defiant aspect of her career as a musician, which would eventually see her ostracised from the music industry.
Not only did ‘Breakfast In Bed’ challenge the societal attitudes and musical cliches of the 1960s, but it also established Dusty Springfield as a truly defiant voice within popular music. Pithy love songs like ‘You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me’ might have helped to establish the vocalist within the musical mainstream, but it was profound works like ‘Breakfast In Bed’ which reflected the power and attitude that made Springfield such a trailblazing figure within that expansive era of pop music.
