Tag: Son of a Preacher Man

This song never gets old to me. It’s full of soul and pure Dusty. I will say, I always thought Dusty Springfield was from Memphis or somewhere like that. Never did I think that she was born in London.

Mary O’Brien was the daughter of a tax consultant who grew up in Hampstead in North London. In 1958 she became the third member of a short-lived girl group known as the Lana Sisters. She started to go by Dusty Springfield, she then joined her brother Dion (stage name Tom Springfield) in the British country-music trio the Springfields, who achieved moderate success in the early 1960s.

She signed with Atlantic Records in 1968 and recorded her Dusty in Memphis album in the famed American Sound Studios with producers Jerry Wexler and Arif Mardin. The album brought her critical acclaim and this international hit Son of a Preacher Man.

The song was originally offered to Aretha Franklin (who is a preacher’s daughter), but she turned it down because she thought it was disrespectful. She then changed her mind and did a cover version of it.

The song was released in 1968 and peaked at #10 on the Billboard 100, #11 in Canada, and #9 in the UK. The song was written by John Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins. The backup vocals were by a female group called the Sweet Inspirations, who were made up of Cissy Houston, Sylvia Shemwell, Myrna Smith, and Estelle Brown. Later on, they would tour with Elvis Presley.

Elton John: “I’m biased, but I just think she was the greatest white singer there ever has been … every song she sang, she claimed as her own.”

Son of a Preacher Man

Billy-Ray was a preacher’s son
And when his daddy would visit he’d come along
When they gathered round and started talkin’
That’s when Billy would take me walkin’
A-through the backyard we’d go walkin’
Then he’d look into my eyes
Lord knows to my surprise

The only one who could ever reach me
Was the son of a preacher man
The only boy who could ever teach me
Was the son of a preacher man
Yes he was, he was
Ooh, yes he was

Being good isn’t always easy
No matter how hard I try
When he started sweet-talkin’ to me
He’d come and tell me everything is all right
He’d kiss and tell me everything is all right
Can I get away again tonight?

The only one who could ever reach me
Was the son of a preacher man
The only boy who could ever teach me
Was the son of a preacher man
Yes he was, he was
(Ooh…) Lord knows he was
Yes he was

How well I remember
The look that was in his eyes
Stealin’ kisses from me on the sly
Takin’ time to make time
Tellin’ me that he’s all mine
Learnin’ from each other’s knowing
Lookin’ to see how much we’ve grown

And the only one who could ever reach me
Was the son of a preacher man
The only boy who could ever teach me
Was the son of a preacher man
Yes he was, he was
Ooh, yes he was

The only one who could ever reach me
He was the sweet-talking son of a preacher man
The only boy who could ever teach me
I kissed the son of a preacher man
The only one who could ever move me
The sweet-lovin’ son of a preacher man
The only one who could ever groove me
Ahh, ooh, ahh….