Story of the Song: Son of a Preacher Man by Dusty Springfield

When Atlantic Records boss Ahmet Ertegun heard Dusty Springfield’s gutsy rendition of a Gerry Goffin and Carole King number, “Some of Your Lovin’”, he was reminded of another Atlantic signing, Aretha Franklin. Ertegun detected an R&B voice straining to be heard and picked up the phone, with the aim of recording Dusty in the R&B capital – Memphis.

“I figured it would be Aretha kind of songs, by these people I'd never heard of,” said Dusty. She sat down with Atlantic’s producer, Jerry Wexler, to focus on track selection. “I drove him mad,” she said. “I only picked two.”

The first they agreed on was the soul-deep “Son of a Preacher Man”, the tale of a girl who sneaks off with the preacher’s boy every time his dad comes around. It was written by John Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins, who had penned “Love of the Common People” for the Four Preps a year earlier.

Appropriately enough, it had originally been offered to Aretha, a preacher’s daughter, who considered it verging on the blasphemous and turned it down. Dusty went into American Studios in the summer of 1968, with the cream of Memphis session men. “Son of a Preacher Man” trailed the album Dusty in Memphis: it was Dusty’s career high and her last Top 10 (until she sang with the Pet Shop Boys two decades later).

When Aretha heard the recording, she overcame her disapproval, calling on Wexler for her own, gospel-hollered version. It was included on her 1970 album of pop covers, This Girl’s in Love with You.