Forget Me Nots
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Album Summary
Patrice Rushen laid down something real special when she recorded the tracks that make up 'Forget Me Nots,' released in 1982 on Elektra Records. Produced by Rushen herself alongside the deeply talented Freddie Washington, this record was born in Los Angeles — a city that had long been home to Rushen's remarkable journey from classically trained pianist to one of the most compelling voices in contemporary R&B. The result was a shimmering fusion of funk, soul, and jazz-pop that carried all the sophistication of her instrumental roots while reaching boldly toward the mainstream, proving that artistic depth and commercial appeal were never mutually exclusive in the hands of someone this gifted.
Reception
- The lead track climbed into the top 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and made a serious impact on the R&B charts, standing as one of the most commercially successful moments of Patrice Rushen's recording career.
- Critics embraced the record warmly, singling out its irresistible groove, elegant arrangement, and Rushen's expressive, soulful vocal delivery as evidence that she was operating at a rare level where musicianship and artistry moved as one.
- The release earned substantial radio airplay across both R&B and pop formats, pulling Rushen's name into households well beyond her established jazz and funk audience.
Significance
- 'Forget Me Nots' stands as a cornerstone of early 1980s funk-soul, its distinctive bass line and keyboard hook carving out a place in the era's musical landscape that has never faded — a groove so right it feels like it always existed.
- The record represents a landmark moment for women in music production, with Rushen's hands-on creative control over every element of the session serving as a powerful testament to the self-determining force she was — and remains — in the story of Black American popular music.
- Across decades and generations, the music Rushen made here has proven its enduring vitality, bridging the worlds of jazz sophistication, funk electricity, and pop accessibility in a way that few recordings of any era have managed with such effortless grace.
Samples
- Forget Me Nots — one of the most sampled tracks in hip-hop and pop history, most famously interpolated and sampled by Will Smith in 'Men in Black' (1997), and also sampled by George Michael in 'Fastlove' (1996), among countless other artists across multiple decades.
Tracklist
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A Forget Me Nots 112
3:38
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B (She Will) Take You Down To Love 159
4:20
Artist Details
Patrice Rushen is a supremely gifted Los Angeles-born musician, composer, and vocalist who came up through the jazz world in the early 1970s before crossing over into the silky realm of R&B and funk, blessing us with grooves so deep they could hold water. She laid down some of the most sophisticated and soulful sounds of the late 70s and early 80s, most notably the irresistible 1982 classic Forget Me Nots, a track so infectious it became the backbone of countless hip-hop samples for decades to come. Beyond her recording artistry, Rushen broke serious ground as one of the first Black women to music direct major television productions, making her not just a titan of the turntable but a trailblazer whose influence echoes through every corner of American music and entertainment.
