Patrice Rushen

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Patrice Rushen
Birth name Patrice Louise Rushen
Born September 30, 1954 (1954-09-30) (age 53)
Origin Los Angeles, California, United States
Genre(s) Jazz, R&B, Pop, Soul
Occupation(s) pianist, singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, music director
Years active 1972–present (singer)
Label(s) Prestige, Elektra, Arista, GRP, Aix Entertainment, Discovery
Website www.patricerushen.com

Patrice Louise Rushen (born September 30, 1954 in Los Angeles, California) is a Grammy Award winning African-American R&B singer, songwriter, composer, and pianist.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Rushen demonstrated her musical potential at a young age; she was regarded as a child prodigy. In her teens, she won the prestigious 1972 Monterey Jazz Festival. She earned her degree in music from the University of Southern California. As a mature woman, she became a jazz master and top musical director.

Due to her musical talent, Patrice Rushen has made many ground-breaking achievements. She became the first woman to serve as head composer/musical director for the Grammy Awards and the Emmy Awards, the first woman to serve as musical director for the NAACP Image Awards broadcast, an honor she held for twelve consecutive years. Rushen has been the only woman to be a musical director/composer for the People's Choice Awards, HBO's Comic Relief and the only woman musical director/conductor/arranger for a late-night television talk show, The Midnight Hour which aired on CBS.

In addition, Rushen was named musical director/composer for Newsweek's first American Achievement Awards, broadcast on CBS from the Kennedy Center and she served as the musical director for Janet Jackson's World Tour, "janet."

Cover of 1985's Anthology, the last release on Elektra Records, before Rushen jumped ship to Arista Records.
Cover of 1985's Anthology, the last release on Elektra Records, before Rushen jumped ship to Arista Records.

[edit] Solo Career

Rushen has also achieved great success as a singer. A classically trained pianist, Rushen has spent great deal of time channeling her skills towards making great music. Won competition at the 1972 Monterey Jazz Festival put Patrice into the spotlight. The attention garnered from this earned her a contract with Prestige Records in 1973.

After recording three albums and becoming an in-demand session player, including with artists such as Jean-Luc Ponty, Rushen signed with Elektra Records in 1978. Forging an engaging jazz/R&B/funk fusion, this fresh mixture of styles gave her great success with a string of Top Ten R&B hits, including "Haven't You Heard," "Forget Me Nots," "Feels So Real," "Watch Out," "You Remind Me," and "Never Gonna Give You Up" from her first five albums (Patrice, Pizzazz, Posh, Straight From the Heart, and Now). Rushen also performed her single I Need Your Love on the hit show Soul Train in 1981. She also penned the opening theme for The Steve Harvey Show. Her mentor and friend is Quincy Jones. Rushen also plays multiple instruments including flute, piano, percussion, and clarinet.


[edit] Samples & Covers

  • Her 1982 hit song "Forget Me Nots" has been sampled several times. The most notable has been its inclusion as the driving musical element in Will Smith's "Men In Black," the theme to the 1997 film of the same name. The song won a Grammy, which co-writers Freddie Washington and Terry McFaddin also shared. Also in 1996, "Forget Me Nots" was featured prominently in the bridge of George Michael's #1 hit "Fastlove."
  • The 1998 hit "Strawberries" by female rapper Smooth samples "Where There Is Love" from Rushen's 1982 album Straight From The Heart.
  • The uptempo "Haven't You Heard" was sampled prominently into gospel artist Kirk Franklin's 2005 hit "Lookin' 4 U," with gospel lyrics written by Franklin. The song was also interpolated into Zhane's early 90's hit single "Groove Thang."
  • Patrice Rushen's "Remind Me" from her 1982 album Straight from the Heart was sampled by 9th Wonder on the remix of "The Cross" from the 9th Wonder remix album, God's Stepson.

[edit] Awards

ASCAP Songwriter's Award, 1988; USC Black Student Assembly, Legacy of Excellence Award, 1992; Crystal Award, American Women in Film, 1994; AS CAP Award, Most Performed Song in Motion Pictures for 1997 for "Men in Black," 1998.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

Year Album Pop Albums Black Albums Jazz Albums Top Contemp. Jazz
1974 Prelusion
1975 Before the Dawn 48 14
1976 Shout It Out 164 16
1976 Let There Be Funk: The Best Of Patrice Rushen 42
1978 Patrice 98 27 5
1979 Pizzazz 39 11 2
1980 Posh 71 23
1982 Straight from the Heart 14 4
1984 Now 40 7 7
1985 Anthology of Patrice Rushen
1986 Watch Out 77 19 17
1990 The Meeting 17
1994 Anything But Ordinary
1996 Haven't You Heard - The Best of Patrice Rushen
1997 Signature 9
2002 The Essentials: Patrice Rushen
2008 Untitled Patrice Rushen Album

[edit] Singles

Year Title Chart Positions
US
Hot 100		 US
R&B/Hip-Hop		 US
Dance		 UK
1979 "Hang It Up" – 16 – -
1979 "When I Found You" – 87 – -
1980 "Givin' It Up Is Givin' Up" – 47 – -
1980 "Haven't You Heard" 42 7 5 62
1980 "Let The Music Take Me" 50
1980 "Look Up" - 13 – -
1981 "Never Gonna Give You Up" – – 2 66
1982 "Forget Me Nots" 23 2 2 8
1982 "Breakout!" 46
1982 "I Was Tired Of Being Alone" – 79 – 39
1984 "Get Off (You Fascinate Me)" – 26 40 –
1984 "Feels So Real (Won't Let Go)" 78 – 10 51
1987 "Watch Out" – 9 22 78
1987 "Anything Can Happen" – 51 – –
1988 "Come Back To Me" – 65 37 –
1988 "Watch Out" – 9 –

[edit] Filmography

  • Burning Sands (2008) (pre-production)
  • For One Night (2006) (TV)
  • Just a Dream (2002)
  • Our America (2002) (TV)
  • Baby of the Family (2002)
  • Piano, Bass and Drums (2002 Aix Entertainmen), (DVD Audio)
  • The Killing Yard (2001) (TV)
  • Fire & Ice (2001) (TV)
  • Cora Unashamed (2000) (TV)
  • Ruby Bridges (1998) (TV)
  • America's Dream (1996) (TV)
  • A. Philip Randolph: For Jobs and Freedom (1996) (TV)
  • The Steve Harvey Show (1996) TV Series (unknown episodes)
  • The Best of Robert Townsend & His Partners in Crime (1991) (TV)
  • "The Midnight Hour" (1990) TV Series (unknown episodes)
  • Without You I'm Nothing (1990)
  • Hollywood Shuffle (1987)
  • George Michael: I'm Your Man - A South Bank Show Special (2006) (TV) (writer: "Fastlove")
  • Fahrenheit (2005) (VG) (performer: "Hang it Up")
  • Men in Black (1997) (writer: "Men In Black")
  • Waiting to Exhale (1995) (performer: "And I Gave My Love To You")
  • Big (1988) (writer/performer: "FORGET ME NOTS")
  • Dominick and Eugene (1988) (performer: "Somewhere")
  • TV in Black: The First Fifty Years (2004) (V) Herself
  • "VH-1 Where Are They Now?" Herself (1 episode, 2002)
  • "100 Greatest Dance Songs of Rock & Roll" (2000) (mini) TV Series Herself
  • Monterey Jazz Festival: 40 Legendary Years (1998) (V) Herself (hostess)
  • The Best of Robert Townsend & His Partners in Crime (1991) (TV) Herself
  • "Top of the Pops" Herself (1 episode, 1982)
  • Soul Train Herself (1 episode, 1981)

[edit] Musical directing

  • The 48th Annual Grammy Awards (2006) (TV) (musical director)
  • The 47th Annual Grammy Awards (2005) (TV) (musical director)
  • The 10th Annual Walk of Fame Honoring Smokey Robinson (2004) (TV) (musical director)
  • The 46th Annual Grammy Awards (2004) (TV) (musical director)
  • The 9th Annual Walk of Fame Honoring Aretha Franklin (2003) (TV) (musical director)
  • The 8th Annual Walk of Fame Honoring Stevie Wonder (2002) (TV) (musical director)
  • The Best of Robert Townsend & His Partners in Crime (1991) (TV) (musical director)
  • The Women of Brewster Place (1989) (TV) (special musical consultant)
  • The Midnight Hour (1990) TV Series Herself (Musical Director) (unknown episodes, 1990)
  • Robert Townsend's HBO variety show series: "Partners in Crime" (1988) (TV) (musical director)

[edit] References

[edit] External links