Born September 30,1954, in Los Angeles, CA, Rushen's parents enrolled her in music classes at U.S.C. when she was three. In her teens, she won a solo competition at the 1972 Monterey Jazz Festival. The attention garnered from this earned her a contract with Prestige Records. After recording three albums and becoming an in-demand session player, Rushen signed with Elektra Records in 1978. Forging an engaging jazz/R&B/funk fusion, she regularly hit the R&B charts. Her five albums for the label were Patrice, Pizzazz, Posh, Straight From the Heart, and Now. Some of these sides can be found on Haven't You Heard:The Best of Patrice Rushen.
In 1993, Rushen signed with Disney's Hollywood Records. Her first and only release was the excellent Anything but Ordinary, which yielded the inspiring single "My Heart, Your Heart." Hollywood wasn't satisfied with the album and shelved it. Sindrome Records bought the rights to the album and reissued it with the single, and some LP tracks received airplay on R&B and smooth jazz radio stations. Rushen became a member of the jazz collective the Meeting, appearing on several releases. Her busy schedule includes session dates and being the musical director for several different tours and TV specials. 1997's Signature found Rushen returning to her jazz roots for this solid album of instrumentals.
In fall 2000, Patrice Rushen appeared as a part of Sisters Being Positively Real, an act on Brown Baby Entertainment Group.
is an American jazz pianist and R&B singer. She is also a composer, record producer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and music director. Her 1982 single, "Forget Me Nots", received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. Rushen had great success on the R&B and dance charts. "Haven't You Heard" went number 7 on the R&B charts, with "Forget Me Nots" as her only top 40 pop hit in the United States.
Rushen is the elder of two daughters born to Allen and Ruth Rushen.[1] In her teens, she attended south LA's Locke High School and went on to earn a degree in music from the University of Southern California.[2] Rushen married Marc St. Louis, a concert tour manager and live show production specialist,[3] in 1986.[4] They have one son Cameron.[4][5] Her nickname is "Babyfingers," a reference to her small hands. In 2005, Rushen received an Honorary Doctorate of Music degree from Berklee College of Music.[6] She has been a member of jazz fusion band CAB.[7]
Her song "Hang it Up" was featured on the 2005 video game Fahrenheit.[8]
To Each His Own
Patrice Rushen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Wanting to know if I believed in what they say
I cannot say if your ideas are right or wrong
But you have yours and I have mine
To each his own
To them that's got the best will come or so they say
The ones without won't care or miss it anyway
I wonder why this choice is such a rarity
A baby's born a chance in life he does deserve
The choices that he has to choose from he soon learns
Are they determined by the colour of his skin
Or do we take the time to see what lies within
To each his own
Understanding is the real thing oh, ooh
To each his own
We sacrifice or compromise through foolish pride
We'll even lie to each his own hmm, yeah
Ooh, ooh
You do it your way hmm
Your own thing
Your own thing
Your own thing
Your own thing
Your own thing
Sometimes a thousand questions
Seem to plague your mind
Somedays the answer are impossible to find
And everybody has advice on what to do
Just carry on with what you feel for you is true
With all we are we never seem to satisfy
The expectations others have of you and I
So critical of who I am and what to do
Looking at me when you should be looking at you.
In "To Each His Own," Patrice Rushen offers a powerful message of individualism and tolerance that speaks to the need for people to find their own path in life. The lyrics describe a person who comes to her door asking if she believes in the system they are selling, and she responds that everyone has their own beliefs and ideas. She then questions why some people have more opportunities than others and whether a person's choices are dictated by their skin color or if we take time to see what lies within a person. The chorus emphasizes that everyone has their own way and that understanding is the key to finding happiness. She acknowledges that sometimes life is a struggle, and everyone has their own questions and voices offering their opinion on what to do. She then reminds the audience to focus on what they believe in and not get caught up in the expectations that others have for them.
Line by Line Meaning
A person came to my front door just yesterday
I had a visitor yesterday who came to my house uninvited
Wanting to know if I believed in what they say
The visitor asked me if I shared their beliefs
I cannot say if your ideas are right or wrong
I cannot judge the validity of your beliefs
But you have yours and I have mine
We have different beliefs, and that's okay
To each his own
It's important to respect others' beliefs and choices
To them that's got the best will come or so they say
People believe that those who have wealth and success will always have more
The ones without won't care or miss it anyway
People who don't have wealth and success don't value it as much as those who do
If all men have the right to taste prosperity
If everyone has the right to succeed and be prosperous
I wonder why this choice is such a rarity
I'm curious why not everyone is able to achieve prosperity
A baby's born a chance in life he does deserve
Every baby is born with the right to a fair chance in life
The choices that he has to choose from he soon learns
As a child grows up, they learn about the options they have in life
Are they determined by the colour of his skin
Are their future opportunities based on their ethnicity?
Or do we take the time to see what lies within
Or do we see people for who they are, based on their inner character and abilities?
Understanding is the real thing oh, ooh
The real key to getting along and respecting others is empathy and understanding
We sacrifice or compromise through foolish pride
Sometimes we let our pride get in the way of making compromises or sacrifices for others
We'll even lie to each his own hmm, yeah
In some cases, we will even deceive ourselves or others to maintain our beliefs
Sometimes a thousand questions
At times, we have many questions on our mind
Seem to plague your mind
These questions may trouble us
Somedays the answer are impossible to find
Sometimes, we simply can't find the answers we're looking for
And everybody has advice on what to do
Everyone has their own opinion or advice to give
Just carry on with what you feel for you is true
It's important to follow our own hearts, and to do what we feel is right for ourselves
With all we are we never seem to satisfy
No matter how much we do, we never seem to be fully satisfied
The expectations others have of you and I
The expectations of others can be burdensome
So critical of who I am and what to do
Others can be overly critical of us, even when we're doing our best
Looking at me when you should be looking at you.
Instead of focusing on others, it's important to focus on ourselves and our own growth
Writer(s): Patrice Rushen, Lynn Davis
Contributed by Aaron A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@morabonilla6814
A person came to my front door just yesterday
Wanting to know if I believed in what they say
I cannot say if your ideas are right or wrong
But you have yours and I have mine, to each his own
Own, hmm
Yeah, yeah
To them that's got, the best will come or so they say
The ones without won't care or miss it anyway
If all men have the right to taste prosperity
I wonder why this choice is such a rarity
A baby's born, a chance in life he does deserve
The choices that he has to choose from, he soon learns
Are they determined by the colour of his skin?
Or do we take the time to see what lies within?
To each his own
Understanding is the real thing, ooh-ooh
To each his own
Sacrifice, compromise through foolish pride
We'll even lie, yeah
To each his own, mm (yeah, yeah, yeah)
To each his own
Ooh, ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh-ooh
You do it your way
Hmm-mmm
Your own thing, your own thing
Your own thing, your own thing
Your own thing
Sometimes a thousand questions seem to plague your mind
Some days the answers are impossible to find
And everybody has advice on what to do
Just carry on with what you feel for you is true
With all we are, we never seem to satisfy
The expectations others have of you and I
So critical of who I am and what I do
Looking at me when you should be looking at you
To each his own
Understanding is the real thing, understanding is the real thing
Understanding is the real thing (ooh-ooh)
To each his own
We sacrifice, compromise through foolish pride
We'll even lie
To each his own (ooh-ooh-ooh)
(Carry on) to each his own
(Hmm, so they say) to each his own
Understanding is the real thing, yeah
To each his own (ooh-ooh-ooh)
To each his own (tell me it's inside me)
To each his own (ooh-ooh)
To each his own
@CurtisWhitehead-wn5bs
No Queen Mother Songstress. I "Haven't Heard" this one before. Thank you for ALL the fantastic music you've blessed us with. 💖🎶
@MidnightMadness81
I play this every day before work
@jeshun7071
Happy 68th birthday Patrice Rushen, Jazz pianist and R&B singer. She is also a composer, record producer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and music director.
@og_sane
Beautiful music. Patrice Rushen is still one of my favorite artists ever, respect from Finland.
@sydnemorgan560
I'm going to take u back to the first time on pop let the music take me still got 12, inch holla at a fool if u can
@TheFever77
The production on this is outstanding. What a track..
@ogplr5914
So underrated. Strong message
@jakien
Lyrically, this is genius. Musically it's genius too, but I never realised until I heard this mix. Thank you Strut for taking the time, I am currently homeless (no joke) but hustling my way up. The first thing I buy next week with my first paycheck will be this album. You will never know how much finding this song helped me, I may not be here if it weren't for that. Thank you ever so profusely and please don't stop uploading 🙂
@riskytalent461
Jake you will make it I believe 🙏✨✨✨✨
@malfevra
Jake Nicholls bless you