Patsy Garrett a dance recital at age four, Garrett had her own children's radio show in Richmond, Virginia by age seven. At the age of seventeen, Garrett was a regular on Fred Waring's national radio show ""Pleasure Time"" as a comic singer from 1938 to 1945. During this time, she was approached by Cole Porter to promote a ballad ("Begin the Beguine") which he had written for a new musical. In 1981, Garrett was honored by the Young Artist Foundation with its Former Child Star "Lifetime Achievement" Award recognizing her achievements within the entertainment industry as a child actress and singer. In
Begin the Beguine After Shaw introduced the song to dance halls, MGM brought out the musical film "Broadway Melody of 1940", in which Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell danced to "Begin the Beguine". In short order, all the major big bands recorded it, including Harry James, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller, often as an instrumental, as in the film. As a vocal song, it also became a pop standard, beginning with Porter and Tony Martin; new interpretations are often still measured against renditions by Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, and Elvis Presley did an adaptation of his own. "Begin the Beguine"