dedae patrise2

Who Is Dedae' Patrise? Even as a child Dedae' Patrise, (pronounced Dee-day) was destined to become an entertainer. Having been raised as the youngest of two children in Newark, NJ by musical parents who both played piano, (her mother studied classical piano and voice, her father studied jazz), it was certainly assured that Dedae’ then named Diane Patrise Spann would have a musical foundation that would garner success. As early as age 4, Diane began to demonstrate her talent by singing and dancing around the house with her sister Denise (now named Niyonu). Seeing this, her parents immediately started Diane and her sister with piano and voice training. They both then began singing duets at various church functions in the Newark area. "My parents’ musicality was strong at home and there was always some kind of music going on around the house but it was the urging of my sister to take my interest in music more seriously that incouraged me to pursue it as a career.
Upon graduating grammar school, Diane was then accepted into Newark’s' prestigious Arts High School of Performing Arts, the high school of such great entertainers as singers Sarah Vaughn, Melba Moore; Connie Francis, Tawatha Agee (From Mtume' fame) musicians Wayne Shorter, Kevin Eubanks, actor Tisha Campbell, dancer Savion Glover and even her father Roosevelt Spann Jr. There Diane honed her music theory, singing and writing skills and became especially known for her background arrangements while performing with other students in the school. Upon graduating from Arts High, Dee Dee (as her friends then knew her) followed her sister to the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. There she soaked up all the musical diversity and culture the school had to offer. "I got all the benefits of the school and faculty along with being able to hang out with the top music students because my sister was "The Shit" and I received all the perks of being her little sister”. There she also met pianist Wesley Naylor who would become a very important person in her life. After Oberlin, Dee Dee went back to Newark to become involved with the New Jersey/ New York music scene.
With disco on the way out, New York in the mid-eighties had now become very tight and cliquish allowing very few newcomers to enter its’ musical enclaves. In her efforts to meet people and find work, Diane re-established contact with Wesley Naylor who now had become a staple in the New York music scene. Diane and Wesley began writing and recording demo songs for other artists and received a couple of those" No promises" record deals that record companies were offering at the end of the eighties. 'None of those deals (Quincy & Patrise, their middle names and The Splash Band) ever panned out she says. Being disappointed in the music industry, Diane went on a 2-year hiatus until once again she received a phone call from Naylor. This time offering her a job as a background singer with D'atra Hicks who was going on a short tour to Japan. Without hesitation, she took the job. Shortly after their return to the states, Diane received another call from Naylor. “Wesley said he was composing the music for a Broadway musical called "Mama I Want to Sing" part II starring D'atra and he would also be the musical director for the tour. He wanted me to become a part of it and I said, "Hell Yeah,” says Diane. After touring with "Mama" for a few years, Diane then sang background for various artists that came in and out of the NY/ NJ area. She also began working with the group "Tribe 1" which was a band started by her sister Niyonu. They recorded a CD and toured the east coast and Central America until she answered a chance audition that turn out to be for the legendary group "The Shirelles". “I was very nervous because this group is an icon in music history and although I was a little girl when their songs were popular, I was still familiar enough with their many hits to sing through the audition because this I felt was a chance of a lifetime. Beverly Lee (an Original Shirelle) made me very comfortable at the audition and that is what made the difference in me acquiring the job”. In 2000, Diane moved to Las Vegas and there she began singing in the corporate circuit which then landed her a job singing background with "The Righteous Brothers". Diane managed to juggle working with The Shirelles, The Righteous Bros. and the Corporate shows until unfortunately Bobby Hatfield of The Righteous Bros. died and Bill Medley stopped working the act."That's when I began working with the band Fahrenheit 702" and writing my songs" says Diane. Now after still touring around the world with the Shirelles and writing with Fahrenheit 702, Dee-dee (now Dedae' Patrise after changing the spelling and adding here middle name) is ready to claim her stake in the music business. Having collaborated with producer-writer Greg Radford, (whom she met through a mutual acquaintance while gigging in New York in 1995) she has finally recorded her long overdue self-titled cd, which is scheduled to be released summer 2008. "Dedae's star is still rising" says Greg "and will soon shine brightly for the whole world to see".