PATRICE RUSHEN

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

Contents

Biography

Awards

Discography

Albums

Singles

Filmography

Musical directing

References

External Links

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. As a mature woman, she became a jazz master and top musical director.
Due to her musical talent, Patrice Rushen has achieved 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."
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, as well as co-wrote Kirk Franklin's "Looking For You".
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 the writers of "Forget Me Nots" also shared. Also in 1996, "Forget Me Nots" was featured prominently in the bridge of George Michael's #1 hit "Fastlove."
Her mentor and friend is Quincy Jones. Rushen also plays multiple instruments including flute, piano, percussion, and clarinet.

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.

Discography

Albums

Released	Cover	Album	Pop Albums	Black Albums	Jazz Albums	Top Contemporary Jazz
1974		''Prelusion''
1975		''Before the Dawn''		48	14
1976		''Shout It Out''	164		16
1976		''			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''
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''
2003		''Forget Me Nots and Other Hits''

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		–

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)

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)

References

★ Patrice Rushen

External Links

★ Official website of Patrice Rushen

★

★ [1] at IMDb