Son-Of-A Preacher Man – Dusty Springfield | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning

Chart Performance: Pop (#10); 1969

Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne

After an unremarkable stint with the Lana Sisters, Dusty Springfield made her mark, along with older brother Tom, as a member of the Springfields.

In England the group scored with Island Of Dreams and Say I Won’t Be There, while in America the trio reached the Top 20 (the first UK vocal group to do so) in 1962 with Silver Threads And Golden Needles.

Dusty boldly stepped out on her own the next year, and immediately caught fire in Britain and the States. I Only Want To Be With You was the first song played on BBC’s legendary Top Of The Pops TV show, and debuted on America’s Hot 100 three weeks later.

Hits such as included Wishin’ And Hopin’ and You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me cemented her reputation as Britain’s top soul singer; an accolade echoed here with the release of Son-Of-A Preacher Man, which peaked at #10 in January of 1969.

This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.

Produced by:

  • John Hurley
  • Ronnie Wilkins

Lyrics Written by:

  • Jerry Wexler
  • Arif Mardin
  • Jeff Barry
  • Tom Dowd

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Ed Osborne

Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).