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.
Love Letters
Patti Austin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The sky may be starless,
The night may be moonless,
But deep in my heart there's a glow.
For deep in my heart
I know that you love me.
You love me because you told me so.
Love letters straight from your heart
Keep us so near while apart.
I'm not alone in the night
When I can have all the love you write.
*I memorize ev'ry line,
I kiss the name that you sign.
And, darling, then I read again right from the start
Love letters straight from your heart.
(Instrumental interlude and pick up from *.)
I memorize ev'ry line,
I kiss the name that you sign.
And, darling, then I read again right from the start
Love letters straight from your heart.
The song "Love Letters" by Patti Austin is a romantic ballad that speaks of the power of love letters to keep two people connected even when they are apart. The opening verse of the song describes a night that is devoid of stars and moon, yet the singer's heart is aglow because she knows that the person she loves also loves her. The use of light and darkness in the lyrics serves as a metaphor for the inner feelings of the singer. Even when it seems like everything else is dark and hopeless, the love between the two people radiates a bright light that is felt deep in the heart.
The chorus of the song speaks to the power of written words to bridge the distance between two people who are physically apart. Love letters, straight from the heart, keep the two lovers connected and close, even when they cannot be together. The idea of memorizing each line of the love letter and kissing the name of the person who wrote it shows the intense passion and devotion that the singer feels for her lover. The final lines of the chorus suggest that the singer reads the love letters over and over again, beginning each time from the start, highlighting the emotional impact that the words have on her.
In essence, "Love Letters" is a song about the enduring power of love and the written word. The lyrics speak to the idea that love can conquer all, even distance and time. The love letters that the singer receives keep her close to her lover, regardless of their physical separation. Overall, the song is a beautiful tribute to the power of love and the ways that it can manifest itself in our lives.
Line by Line Meaning
The sky may be starless,
Even if the sky is without stars,
The night may be moonless,
Even if the night is without the moon,
But deep in my heart there's a glow.
There is a certain warmth deep within my heart.
For deep in my heart
Because deep within my heart
I know that you love me.
I am sure that you truly love me.
You love me because you told me so.
You love me as you have conveyed to me.
Love letters straight from your heart
Letters conveying affection from the depth of your feelings,
Keep us so near while apart.
Bring us closer despite the distance between us.
I'm not alone in the night
I do not feel solitary in the evening,
When I can have all the love you write.
As I read the words of your love.
I memorize ev'ry line,
I commit each word to memory,
I kiss the name that you sign.
I place a kiss on the name you sign off with.
And, darling, then I read again right from the start
And, my beloved, I read the whole thing again from the very beginning
Love letters straight from your heart.
Those love letters that are straight from your heart.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Victor Young, Edward Heyman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mary Logan
Patti Austin's rendition of this song gives me goose-bumps...every time. Love her.
Yvonne McCoy
Patti is the perfect example that you can sing a beautiful song in a gentle, straight-forward way. See her live...she's awesome!!!
C Flow
Love this CD, my favorite matter of factly! Love the pics inside and liner notes. She shares her inspirational source on each song. This is a nice cover originally done by Ketty Lester.
John Benn
I agree 100& If you get a chance to hear Patti sing live,grab it & i assure you that she will blow your mind. One of the very best vocalists ever!
Alan Nicholls
love this,Patti is my favourite female singer.. EVER!!!
Lekraful
Patti you have such a wonderful voice and you sing this Song sooooo grandios, i love it sooooooooooooooooooooo much ! Thats great singing for me ! I hope you give us more of such great Songs ! Lovely greetings from Germany ! Your friend Hanns
max alberts
Perfect.
Christine Hackett
My Mom loved this song.
Cicco Peppe
che brano, che interpretazione..... era da tanto che non lo ascoltavo, mi ha riportato indietro nel tempo...... quando si ballavano i lenti
Victor M. Centeno
From a girl to a soldier....