Patti Austin
 |
Patti Austin | |
|---|---|
 Austin in 2000 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | August 10, 1950 Harlem, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | R&B, pop, jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Years active | 1954–present |
| Labels | |
| Website | pattiaustin |
Patti Austin (born August 10, 1950) is an American Grammy Award-winning R&B, pop, and jazz singer and songwriter best known for "Baby, Come to Me", her 1982 duet with James Ingram, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 after its re-release that same year.
Music career
[edit]Austin was born in Harlem, New York, to Gordon Austin, a jazz trombonist.[1] She was raised in Bay Shore, New York on Long Island.[2] Quincy Jones and Dinah Washington referred to themselves as her godparents.[3][4] Her father was black and her mother’s parents were from Barbados and Sweden.[5]
When Austin was four years old, she performed at the Apollo Theater. As a teenager she recorded commercial jingles and worked as a session singer in soul and R&B. She had an R&B hit in 1969 with "Family Tree".[4] She sang backing vocals on Paul Simon's 1975 number-one hit "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover". The jazz label CTI released her debut album, End of a Rainbow, in 1976.[6] She sang backing vocals on the track "Everybody has a Dream" for Billy Joel's hit album The Stranger (album) in 1977. She sang "The Closer I Get to You" for Tom Browne's album Browne Sugar, a duet with Michael Jackson for his album Off the Wall, and a duet with George Benson on "Moody's Mood for Love".[6]
After singing on Quincy Jones's album The Dude, she signed a contract with his record label, Qwest, which released Every Home Should Have One with "Baby, Come to Me", a duet with James Ingram that became a No. 1 hit on the Billboard magazine pop chart. A second duet with Ingram, "How Do You Keep the Music Playing", appeared on soundtrack to the film Best Friends (1982). Her final album for Qwest, The Real Me contained versions of jazz standards. Austin moved on to [6] GRP for four releases, including Love Is Gonna Getcha, which contained the singles "Good in Love" and "Through the Test of Time".[6]
Austin was booked for United Flight 93 on September 11, 2001, but because her mother suffered a stroke days before, she cancelled her ticket and flew at a different time.[7]
In 2003, she collaborated with Frances Yip on Papillon III in the rotunda of San Francisco City Hall to help the Jade Ribbon Campaign of Stanford University. A companion CD/DVD was released with Austin and Yip singing duets in Mandarin.[8]
A performance in 2000 with the Germany-based WDR Big Band[4] led to later recordings with the Germany-based ensemble that yielded two of Austin's six Grammy nominations:[9] For Ella (2002) was a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald.[4][6] A 2007 release with the band and arranger Michael Abene, Avant Gershwin, earned her the trophy for Best Jazz Vocal Performance.[10][11]
During a 2007 interview, Austin spoke of reluctantly attending as a teenager one of Judy Garland's last concerts and how the experience helped focus her career. "She ripped my heart out. I wanted to interpret a lyric like that, to present who I was at the moment through the lyric."[12]
In 2011, Sound Advice was released containing cover versions of Bob Dylan's "Gotta Serve Somebody", Brenda Russell's "A Little Bit of Love", the Jackson Five's "Give It Up", Bill Withers' "Lean on Me", and Don McLean's "Vincent". The album also included "The Grace of God", a song Austin wrote after watching an episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show which included a woman with scarred face. Austin appeared in the Oscar-winning documentary film 20 Feet from Stardom, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was released on June 21, 2013.[13]
In 2015, Austin appeared on Patrick Williams' Home Suite Home large jazz ensemble album, as vocalist for Williams' composition "52nd & Broadway," which won a Grammy for Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals.[14]
Awards and honors
[edit]Grammy Awards
[edit]The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Austin has received one award out of seven nominations.[15]
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Best Female R&B Vocal Performance | "Razzamatazz (Track)" | Nominated |
| 1984 | Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal | How Do You Keep The Music Playing (Single) | Nominated |
| 1985 | Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female | "Patti Austin" | Nominated |
| 1995 | Best Instrumental Arrangement With Accompanying Vocal(s) | "Ability To Swing (Track)" | Nominated |
| 2003 | Best Jazz Vocal Album | For Ella | Nominated |
| 2008 | Best Jazz Vocal Album | Avant Gershwin | Won |
| 2024 | Best Jazz Vocal Album | For Ella 2 | Nominated |
Accolades
[edit]- Honorary doctorate, Berklee College of Music[16]
Discography
[edit]- End of a Rainbow (1976)
- Havana Candy (1977)
- Every Home Should Have One (1981)
- Patti Austin (1984)
- Gettin' Away with Murder (1985)
- The Real Me (1988)
- Love Is Gonna Getcha (1990)
- On the Way to Love (2001)
- For Ella (2002)
- Avant Gershwin (2007)
- Sound Advice (2011)
Filmography
[edit]| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | The Wiz | The Wiz Singers Children's Choir / The Wiz Singers Adult Choir (voice) |
| 1988 | Tucker: The Man and His Dream | Millie |
| 2013 | 20 Feet from Stardom | Herself |
See also
[edit]- List of artists who reached number one in the United States
- List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance Club Songs chart
References
[edit]- ^ "Patti Austin - biography". encyclopedia.com. Archived from the original on August 27, 2014. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
- ^ "The New Patti Austin". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
- ^ Murph, John (July 2, 2014). "Patti Austin: 5 Tips for Aspiring Singers". aarp.org. AARP. Archived from the original on September 3, 2014. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
- ^ a b c d Yanow, Scott (2008). The Jazz Singers: The Ultimate Guide. Backbeat. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-87930-825-4.
- ^ <Ancestry.com>
- ^ a b c d e Wynn, Ron. "Patti Austin". AllMusic. Archived from the original on September 26, 2019. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
- ^ White, Beverly; Brayton, Julie (September 8, 2011). "Singer Patti Austin Talks About 9/11 Experience". NBC Los Angeles. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
- ^ Engardio, Joel P. (May 22, 2002). "Dim Sum Diva". SF Weekly. San Francisco. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
- ^ "Artist: Patti Austin". Grammy.com. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
- ^ "50th Annual GRAMMY Awards". GRAMMY. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
- ^ "Grammy-Winning Singer Patti Austin Celebrates Gershwin at Walt Disney Concert Hall". The Ford. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
- ^ "Topic Galleries". baltimoresun.com. Archived from the original on May 13, 2007. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
- ^ "Hoda and JBH sing backup for Patti Austin". TODAY. March 3, 2014. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
- ^ "Grammy Award Results for Pat (Patrick) Williams". grammy.com. November 19, 2019. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
- ^ "Patti Austin". The Recording Academy. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
- ^ "Jazz Beat: Sonny Rollins, Herb Alpert, Thelonious Monk". MTV News. May 16, 2000. Archived from the original on April 21, 2017. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
External links
[edit]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
- 1950 births
- Living people
- Jazz musicians from New York (state)
- People from Bay Shore, New York
- Musicians from Manhattan
- People from Harlem
- Singers from New York City
- 20th-century American singers
- 20th-century American women singers
- 21st-century American singers
- 20th-century African-American women singers
- American contraltos
- American dance musicians
- American women jazz singers
- American jazz singers
- American rhythm and blues singers
- Grammy Award winners
- GRP Records artists
- Qwest Records artists
- RCA Victor artists
- CTI Records artists
- 21st-century African-American women singers
- 21st-century American women singers