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By Manny Otiko
Patrice Rushen has worn many hats during more than 40 years in the music industry. She started off as an acclaimed jazz singer, then had a hit R&B record in the ’80s, saw her music turned into a popular rap song by Will Smith and now she is teaching a new generation of young people how to have careers in the music industry through the University of Southern California (USC)’s Thornton School of Music’s Popular Music program.
Rushen, a classically trained pianist who has a degree in music from USC Thornton started off playing in different jazz bands and was discovered by record company executives while playing in a Monterrey jazz competition. She released her first album in 1973. Rushen’s biggest hit was “Forget Me Nots,” off “Straight From The Heart,” her third album on Elektra. The song was later sampled by several different artists including Will Smith and George Michael.
Ironically, the song almost never came about because the record company didn’t like it.
“It was different,” Rushen said. “a little ahead of the curve. “The record company said they (the public) wouldn’t embrace it.”“Forget Me Nots” originally started as a bass track that came out of a jam session between Rushen and collaborators Terry McFaddin and Freddie Washington. People liked what they heard, in spite of the record company’s reticence.
“Once it got in front of people, people took care of it,” Rushen said.
More than a decade later Rushen got a call from Will Smith’s people saying he wanted to use a sample of “Forget Me Nots” for the soundtrack of “Men in Black.” However, when she heard how much “Men in Black” borrowed from her song, she contacted her lawyer.
“That’s me they’re playing,” she said. Her lawyer said it was also a copyright issue. Rushen eventually got a writing credit for “Men in Black,” which also turned out to be a financial windfall. As a writer, Rushen got a royalty check from the soundtrack to “Men in Black,” every time the song was played on the radio, performed at a show, or on TV and from the “Men in Black” cartoon show.
Rushen points out that payment system doesn’t work in the digital music landscape. Songwriters are suffering because they have not figured a system to track downloads or songs being streamed.
“They are not paid at the same rate,” Rushen said. “It’s difficult to track.”
As her recording career began to slow down, Rushen moved into a different arena. She began composing for several different movies and she used her music education background to teach a course at Berkeley and to also develop USC’s Popular Music program. According to Rushen, the program teaches young
people to have careers in the music industry. Some of her students know who she is.
“If they don’t their parents tell them,” Rushen said.
Parents might worry when they child says they want to work in music, but Rushen say there are several other career fields in the industry apart from being a performer. The industry also needs writers, composers, recording engineers and lawyers.
USC’s Popular Music program was started about seven years ago, and has produced three graduating classes. Some of its graduates have gone on to perform with Maroon Five and George Benson. USC music graduates have also won three Grammys. Rushen said one of her graduates currently serves as music director for Ariana Grande.
In between administration, teaching and doing the occasional live performance, Rushen admits she rarely finds the time to record.
“At this stage of the game, recording is not for me,” Rushen said. “But I do miss it.”
