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 became such a classic during World War II that Max Beckmann adopted the title for a painting in 1946 (now at University of Michigan Museum of Art). Begin the Beguine "Begin the Beguine" is a popular song written by Cole Porter. Porter composed the song between Kalabahi, Indonesia, and Fiji during a 1935 Pacific cruise aboard Cunard's ocean liner "Franconia". In October 1935, it was introduced by June Knight in the Broadway musical "Jubilee", produced at the Imperial Theatre in New York City. Musicologist and composer Alec Wilder described it in his book "American Popular Song: The Great Innovators 1900–1950"