Patrice Rushen, Forget Me Nots | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 139^th edition of Throwback Vibez (2023), we recollect and reflect on “Forget Me Nots” by Patrice Rushen. 

The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace this column are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome. In the 139^th edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2023), we recollect and reflect on 🎵 “Forget Me Nots”, performed by 🎙 Patrice Rushen.

“Sending you forget me nots / To help you to remember.” Well, that’s incredibly thoughtful, 🎙 Patrice Rushen! She continues singing in the chorus of 🎵 “Forget Me Nots”, “Baby, please forget me not / I want to remember you.” Sweet, sweet, sweet! “Forget Me Nots” appears as the opening track from the singer/songwriter/pianist’s 1982 album, 💿 Straight From The Heart. Straight From The Heart marked the most successful album of her career, eventually peaking at no. 14 on the Billboard 200. Furthermore, “Forget Me Nots” marked the biggest hit of her career, peaking at no. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The chorus goes a long way in solidifying the success of “Forget Me Nots” – it’s catchy, infectious, tuneful, etc.  However, it’s just one of the reasons why the song was and still is a BOP.  The funky groove is inescapable, PERIOD.  The bass line (🎸 Freddie Washington) is incredibly active, featuring that glorious slapping technique, which was extremely popular in the 1980s. The production (Rushen and 🎛 Charles Mims, Jr.) is a huge selling point – a V-I-B-E to the n^th degree! As for the star, Patrice Rushen, she sounds incredibly refined vocally – sophisticated.  Rushen never breaks a sweat, singing coolly yet still bringing the heat. Her modest approach speaks volumes as she tackles the universal topic of L-O-V-E. “Was it the simple things / That made me so crazy about you,” she sings in the first verse, continuing, “Was it your charm or your passion / It’s not hard to believe / I love you and I need you…” WOO! Unfortunately, Rushen and her lover ended up as friends, we learn in the second verse, though Patrice wants more, hence sending those “forget me nots” and reminding him of “Good times we had.” Perhaps 🎵 “Forget Me Nots” is underrated compared to bigger R&B hits of the 1980s.  It shouldn’t be. Just like that bass 🎸, it still totally slaps! Rushen, Washington, and 🎼✍ Terri McFaddin penned a good one!

🎙 Patrice Rushen • 💿 Straight from the Heart • 🏷 Strut • 🗓 1982

Patrice Rushen, Forget Me Nots: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 139 (2023) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Strut; John Alan Sperry, PIRO via  Pixabay]