Patti Austin made her Apollo Theater debut at the age of 4 on a dare.
“We went to see the Apollo to see Dinah Washington,” said Austin, who often met renowned musicians growing up through her musical father, a professional trombone player. With some precociousness, Austin ended up on stage. “Dinah dared me to sang, I sang, and I finished singing and ran off the stage. The audience liked it, and I liked that they liked it, and I ran into the arms of a guy who was on one knee in the wing.”
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