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.
Little Baby
Patti Austin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We will bring you in this world
We don't know when you get here
Will you be a boy or girl
Little babe, little baby
Who knows from where you came
They say it's a seed that brought you
Could it be you've chosen us
They say there's a thin line between being born and dying
Could it be that being born could mean your end?
Well instead of joying then, we should really all be crying
Little baby could it be that the things that everybody sees
is just the wrong goodnight?
Little babe, little baby
Cause the day you travel, you'll be glad you came
Little babe, little baby
Could it be that being born is just the same
Little babe, little baby
Could it be you've chosen us
to give you a name?
Little babe, little baby
Cause the day you travel, you'll be glad you came
Little babe, little baby
Could it be that being born is just the same
Little babe, little baby
Could it be you've chosen us
to give you a name?
Little babe, little baby
Cause the day you travel, you'll be glad you came
Little babe, little baby
Could it be that being born is just the same
Little babe, little baby
Could it be you've chosen us
to give you a name?
Little babe, little baby
Cause the day that you travel, you'll be glad you came
Little babe, little baby
Could it be that being born is just the same
Little babe, little baby
Could it be you've chosen us
to give you a name?
The song "Little Baby" by Patti Austin talks about the uncertain yet miraculous process of bringing a new life into the world. The opening lines express the excitement and anticipation of welcoming a new baby into the family, regardless of whether it's a boy or a girl. The singer questions the origin of this new life, acknowledging that it's a mystery that lies beyond human understanding. The following line addresses the possibility of destiny, implying that the baby may have chosen its parents, and they are mere vessels to give it a name.
The chorus of the song then delves into a deeper meaning. The lyrics suggest that birth and death are two sides of the same coin. The singer asks if birth could mean the end of life, and if that's the case, then the joy of birth becomes a sorrowful moment. The final lines of the chorus imply that most people see the wrong things in life and ignore the true essence of it. In the end, the song is a poignant reflection about the impermanence and fragility of life and how every moment is worth cherishing.
Line by Line Meaning
Little babe, little baby
Addressing the unborn child with affection
We will bring you in this world
Confirmation that they will become parents
We don't know when you get here
Acknowledging that they have no control over the timing
Will you be a boy or girl
Curiosity about the baby's gender
Who knows from where you came
Wondering about the origins of the baby
They say it's a seed that brought you
Referring to the biological process of conception
Could it be you've chosen us to give you a name?
Speculating on the possibility of fate or destiny
They say there's a thin line between being born and dying
Acknowledging the fragility of life
Could it be that being born could mean your end?
Questioning the significance of birth in the grand scheme of things
Well instead of joying then, we should really all be crying
Suggesting that birth is something to mourn rather than celebrate
Little baby could it be that the things that everybody sees is just the wrong goodnight?
Challenging societal norms and perspectives on birth
Cause the day you travel, you'll be glad you came
Assuming that the baby will eventually appreciate being alive
Could it be that being born is just the same
Questioning the uniqueness of birth
Could it be you've chosen us to give you a name?
Speculating on the possibility of fate or destiny
Contributed by Xavier T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.