Song:Forget Me Nots
Album:Forget Me Nots
Patrice Rushen started out as a jazz pianist and like George Duke, she transitioned to R & B and had several chart hits in the late 70s-early 80s. Forget Me Nots was her biggest hit in 1982. In recent years, she has worked behind the scenes in the Los Angeles music scene. She was born Sept. 30, 1954 in Los Angeles. Patrice won a solo piano competition at the 1972 Monterey Jazz Festival. This got her a record deal at Prestige Records. She recorded three albums for Prestige and also played on albums by Donald Byrd and Eddie Henderson. Her 1977 album Shout It Out went away from jazz and towards funk. Guys like Al McKay and James Gadson played on that album. Patrice continued that trend when she moved to Elektra Records with the 1978 album Patrice. Singles like Hang It Up and Haven't You Heard did very well on the R & B charts. But she had her biggest hit with the 1982 single Forget Me Nots from the album Straight From The Heart. Forget Me Nots reached #4 on the R & B Singles chart and #23 on the Billboard Hot 100. Patrice wrote the song with veteran songwriter Terri McFaddin and session bassist "Ready" Freddie Washington. Terri McFaddin has written hits for Smokey Robinson and Lenny Williams. Washington is a popular studio musician in Los Angeles and worked with Patrice for many years as the session group The Meeting. Forget Me Nots was sampled by Will Smith in the hit single Men in Black. The sax solo on Forget Me Nots is by Gerald Albright. Patrice had a couple more R & B hits like Feels So Real and Watch Out. But by the late 80s, she left Elektra and returned to studio work. This budget comp is a good intro to her Elektra hits. In the 90s, Patrice was Janet Jackson's musical director. And in 2004, she became the first female musical director for the Grammy Awards. Patrice hasn't recorded since 2003 but she still plays sessions for guys like Lenny White and Lee Ritenour. She has a family and likes to stay close to home. And she made a good chunk of change when her song was sampled on Men in Black. I'm sure the royalty cheques continue to roll in. Here's the video for Forget Me Nots by Patrice Rushen.
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