By the late 1960s Austin was a prolific session musician and commercial jingle singer. By the 1980s she was signed to Jones's Qwest Records and she began having hits. She charted twenty R&B songs between 1969 and 1991 and had success on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, where she hit number one in 1981 with "Do You Love Me?" / "The Genie."
The album containing that hit, Every Home Should Have One, also produced her biggest mainstream hit. "Baby, Come To Me," a duet with James Ingram, peaked at number 73 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1982. After being featured as the love theme in a prominent storyline on the soap opera General Hospital, the song re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart in October and went to number one in early 1983.
Next Austin released her third album in three years entitled "Gettin' Away With Murder". In addition to the title track, she had two more hit singles, "Honey For The Bees" (#24 R&B and #6 Dance) and "The Heat of Heat". Produced by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, noted for their later work with Janet Jackson, the latter track returned Austin to the top 15 of the R&B charts for what would be the last time to date. It would also be her last Hot 100 charting to date, peaking at number 55, although she would score a top-5 dance hit with the single Reach that appeared originally on her 1994 CD That Secret Place (GRP Records). "Gettin' Away With Murder" used producers Russ Titelman, Tommy LiPuma, Monte Moir (of "The Time"), and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Billy Joel (Austin sang background on his "Just The Way You Are"), Dan Hartman, friends Luther Vandross and Jocelyn Brown, along with Chaka Khan were among the background vocalists on the project, with successful songwriters, Randy Goodrum, Michael Bolton, Jam & Lewis plus several other big name writers offering up their best compositions on what was likely a big budget affair. She next appeared with Jeff Bridges and Joan Allen in Francis Ford Coppola's critically acclaimed period piece Tucker: The Man and his Dream (1988). That year, Austin released The Real Me, a collection of standards which garnered her the first of several Top 10 showings on the Jazz Albums chart. "The Real Me" was chiefly produced by David Pack who had been a part of the Pop group Ambrosia. Austin served as a co-producer and as Executive Producer on the project. Austin sang "It's the Falling in Love" with Michael Jackson on his album Off The Wall. Other duet partners include George Benson ("Moody's Mood for Love" and "Keep Your Dreams Alive"), and Luther Vandross ("I'm Gonna Miss You In The Morning"). Earlier she'd recorded featured duets with Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons on "Our Day Will Come" and "Swearin' To God" with little billing. Austin also sang lead and background vocals on many contemporary Jazz instrumentalists' records in the 1970s. In 1985 she sang lead vocals on a collaboration with her producer, Narada Michael Walden, and the single, "Gimme, Gimme, Gimme", went top 40 on the R&B charts. In 1991, she recorded the duet "You Who Brought Me Love" with music legend Johnny Mathis, which was received with critical acclaim. That same year she was invited to be a guest on a Johnny Mathis television special that was broadcast across North America.
Austin led a new group of Raelettes for the 2006 album Ray Charles + Count Basie Orchestra = Genius². That group also featured veteran session singer Valerie Pinkston and members of the group Perry.
During a 2007 interview promoting her latest recording, Austin reflected how as a teenager she reluctantly attended one of Judy Garland's last concerts and the experience helped focus her career, stating "She (Judy Garland) ripped my heart out. I wanted to interpret a lyric like that, to present who I was at the moment through the lyric."
In 2007 Patti Austin participated in the Avo Session Basel with a program dedicated to Ella Fitzgerald.
In 2008, fifty-three years after getting her first record contract, Patti Austin was awarded her first Grammy Award, winning Best Jazz Vocal Album for "Avant Gershwin" at the 50th annual Grammy Awards. The award came for her ninth nomination in that category.
Austin is co-producer and one of over 70 artists singing on "We Are the World: 25 for Haiti", a charity single in aid of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
In 2011 Austin released a mostly covers album project titled "Sound Advice" which contained re-works of Bob Dylan's "Gotta Serve Somebody", Brenda Russell's "A Little Bit Of Love", a lesser known Jacksons tune, "Give It Up," her tribute to late friend/collaborator, Michael Jackson, a cover of Bill Withers, "Lean On Me" which she first sang at a milestone birthday for her Godfather Quincy Jones. Also on "Sound Advice" standout performances of Don McLean's "Vincent" (aka Starry Starry Night) and a deeply female take on "My Way." Austin wrote the anthemic "The Grace Of God" after watching an episode of the old "Oprah Winfrey Show" which featured a facially scarred woman ... Keeping relevant, Austin offered the bouncy slice of Pop/Rock/RandB "Round And Round" including the latest trendy vocal effects, though Austin remains one singer who clearly needs no such production techniques to cover a crystal clear, flexible, and knowing voice imitated by many, duplicated by none. Austin co-wrote and sings in the star-studded L.O.V.E. - Let One Voice Emerge, encouraging especially younger Americans to get out there and exercise their right to vote.[citation needed]
Austin appears in the Academy Award-winning documentary film 20 Feet from Stardom (2013), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was released on 21 June 2013. She is working on an upcoming, as yet untitled duets album project with James Ingram.
Cry Me A River
Patti Austin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But you cry the whole night through
You can cry me a river
Oh yes you're goin' to cry me a river
'Cause I cried a river over you
Now you say you're sorry for being so untrue
You may cry a river
I cried a river over you
Yes I did child, yes I did my child
You drove me nearly out of my head
You stood by and never shed a tear
But I remember every word that was said
Oh yes, I remember - never fear
You may cry me a river, c'mon now
Cry me a river
You may cry me a river
I cried a river for you (Oh how I cried)
You nearly drove me out of my own sweet head
You stood by, you never shed a tear for me.
I remember every cruel word, everything that was said
Yes I remember, never you fear
You may cry me a river
I cried a river for you
Yes I cried a river for you
Turn back the tide of life, I cried, salty water runnin' down
I cried I love you
I cried I love you
I cried, I cried
You may cry, oh, she may cry now, a river of tears
A river of tears for you
You may cry now, she may cry, oh, she may cry now
You may cry, oh, she may cry now a river of tears
A river of tears for you
I cry you can cry me a river
Lord loves a cheerful giver
C'mon and cry me a river of tears
C'mon now and cry me a river of tears
C'mon now and cry me a river of tears
C'mon now, c'mon down and cry me a river
The song 'Cry Me a River' by Patti Austin is about revenge and heartbreak. The primary theme of the song is about a woman who is hurt by her lover, and now he is crying his heart out to gain her sympathy, but she does not care anymore. The song begins with the woman admitting that her lover loves her, but he is crying the whole night through, just like how she used to cry when he hurt her. She tells him that he may cry her a river now because she has already cried a river over him.
The next verse is about the man apologizing for being untrue to the woman, but the woman is not ready to forgive him. She tells him that she remembers every cruel word that he said to her, and even though he never shed a tear for her, she cried a river over him. The song ends with the woman telling her ex-boyfriend that he can cry her a river, but she cried a river for him, and now she is not willing to shed any more tears for him.
Overall, the song 'Cry Me a River,' is a classic tale of revenge and heartbreak. The woman in the song has been hurt so many times by her lover that she is not willing to forgive him anymore. The song shows how little things can accumulate into big things and cause the breakdown of a previously beautiful relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
Now you say you love me
You claim to love me now
But you cry the whole night through
You cry all night long despite your words
You can cry me a river
You can cry as much as you want for me
Oh yes you're goin' to cry me a river
You will definitely cry a lot for me
'Cause I cried a river over you
Because I cried a lot for you in the past
Now you say you're sorry for being so untrue
Now you apologize for being dishonest
You may cry a river
You are allowed to cry a lot
I cried a river over you
I cried a lot for you
You drove me nearly out of my head
You pushed me close to madness
You stood by and never shed a tear
You watched me suffer without empathy
But I remember every word that was said
I still remember everything you said
Oh yes, I remember - never fear
I do remember, don't worry
Cry me a river
Cry a lot for me
I cried a river for you (Oh how I cried)
I cried a lot for you (Oh, how much I cried)
Turn back the tide of life, I cried, salty water runnin' down
I begged to reverse the course of life, with tears streaming down my face
I cried I love you
I cried out 'I love you'
You may cry, oh, she may cry now, a river of tears
You or someone else may cry a lot of tears
A river of tears for you
So many tears will be shed for you
Lord loves a cheerful giver
God loves those who give joyfully
C'mon and cry me a river of tears
Come on and cry a lot for me
C'mon now and cry me a river of tears
Come on now and cry a lot for me
C'mon now, c'mon down and cry me a river
Come on now, come down and cry a lot for me
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Arthur Hamilton
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@annamariotto6255
Now you say you love me
But you cry the whole night through
You can cry me a river
Oh yes you're goin' to cry me a river
'Cause I cried a river over you
Now you say you're sorry for being so untrue
You may cry a river
You may cry me a river
I cried a river over you
Yes I did child, yes I did my child
You drove me nearly out of my head
You stood by and never shed a tear
But I remember every word that was said
Oh yes, I remember - never fear
You may cry me a river, c'mon now
Cry me a river
You may cry me a river
I cried a river for you (Oh how I cried)
You nearly drove me out of my own sweet head
You stood by, you never shed a tear for me.
I remember every cruel word, everything that was said
Yes I remember, never you fear
You may cry me a river
I cried a river for you
Yes I cried a river for you
Turn back the tide of life, I cried, salty water runnin' down
I cried I love you
I cried I love you
I cried, I cried
You may cry, oh, she may cry now, a river of tears
A river of tears for you
You may cry now, she may cry, oh, she may cry now
You may cry, oh, she may cry now a river of tears
A river of tears for you
I cry you can cry me a river
Lord loves a cheerful giver
C'mon and cry me a river of tears
C'mon now and cry me a river of tears
C'mon now and cry me a river of tears
C'mon now, c'mon down and cry me a river
@alessandrabroglia1104
My absolute favourite version...what a feeling, every time is the first time!!!
@KeepDante2
this is a tough song to pick favorites!
@beaumontmuni
Anything she touches with that voice is just gold ... thanks Patty. Absolutely love this version.
@chairmanoftheboard2560
Great 👍!!!!!!!!!!
@kristinasarkisyan6051
My favorite version ,amazing ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🎤
@4Jrzgrl
This is my absolute favorite version of this song! Love you Patti Austin!!
@francoisjazz8990
For You ;) ♪
@philiphorn-botha5502
Without a doubt - A perfect opening slide into the song [Gliss] - the orchestration of the strings, the subtle bass and that trumpet solo ! Greetings from Doha Qatar
@jameswhite7128
The angelic voice of Patti Austin is always a joy to my ears.
@Dariush02
A touch of class from Mrs Austin. In my opinion the best version! :)