Rita Coolidge

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Rita Coolidge
Rita Coolidge photo.
Background information
Birth name	Rita Coolidge
Born	May 1, 1945
Origin	Lafayette, Tennessee
Genre(s)	Pop, Adult Contemporary, Country
Occupation(s)	Singer
Instrument(s)	Vocals
Years active	1969–Present
Label(s)	A&M Records
Associated acts	Eric Clapton, Leon Russell, Kris Kristofferson
Website	Rita Coolidge Official Site

Rita Coolidge (born May 1, 1945, in Lafayette, Tennessee) is an American Singer.

Coolidge's early career was as a backing vocalist, for artists such as Joe Cocker, Eric Clapton, and Leon Russell. Her performance of "Superstar" on the Cocker/Russell Mad Dogs and Englishmen album helped gain her attention. She became known as "The Delta Lady" and inspired Leon Russell to write a song of the same name for her. It was during this time that she met Kris Kristofferson; the two married in 1973. With him, she recorded several duet albums which sold well, and earned them a Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1974 for From the Bottle to the Bottom, and in 1976 for Lover Please.

She had several solo hit singles during the late 1970s with cover versions. Her first hit, "(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher," a cover of the Jackie Wilson song, was also her highest seller, reaching number two on the U.S. charts in 1977.

Other hits were "One Fine Day" (written by Carole King and a hit for the 1960s girl group the Chiffons, "We're All Alone" (originally recorded by Boz Scaggs and also covered by Frankie Valli), "I Don't Want to Talk About It" (written by Danny Whitten), "The Way You Do the Things You Do" (The Temptations), and "I'd Rather Leave While I'm in Love" (Carole Bayer Sager).

She scored her last hit in 1983, with "All Time High" for the James Bond film Octopussy. Another well-known movie song, although not really a hit for Coolidge, was the love theme from the movie Splash, entitled "Love Came For Me".

Her marriage to Kristofferson ended in 1980.

In 1997, Coolidge was one of the founding members of Walela, a Native American music trio, that also includes Coolidge's sister Priscilla and Priscilla's daughter Laura Satterfield. The trio released albums in 1997 and 2000. Walela means hummingbird in Cherokee.

In 2004, Coolidge released an anthology of her complete career, entitled Delta Lady — The Rita Coolidge Anthology.

In 2006, Coolidge released a jazz CD, And So Is Love. That same year, she toured the United Kingdom on the "Once in a Lifetime Country Tour" with Don Williams and Kenny Rogers.

[edit] Hit singles

Year	Song	UK	US Hot 100	US AC
1969	"Turn Around and Love You"	-	96	-
1972	"Fever"	-	76	-
1973	"My Crew"	-	-	38
1973	"Whiskey, Whiskey"¹	-	106	-
1973	"A Song I'd Like to Sing" (with Kris Kristofferson)	-	49	12
1974	"Loving Arms" (with Kris Kristofferson)	-	86	25
1974	"Rain" (with Kris Kristofferson)	-	-	44
1975	"Lover Please" (with Kris Kristofferson)	-	-	42
1977	"(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher"	48	2	5
1977	"We're All Alone"	6	7	1
1978	"The Way You Do the Things You Do"	-	20	9
1978	"Words"	25	-	-
1978	"You"	-	25	3
1978	"Love Me Again"	-	68	20
1979	"One Fine Day"	-	66	15
1979	"I'd Rather Leave While I'm in Love"	-	38	3
1980	"Somethin' 'Bout You Baby I Like" (with Glen Campbell)	-	42	39
1980	"Fool That I Am"	-	46	15
1981	"The Closer You Get"²	-	103	-
1983	"All Time High"	75	36	1
1983	"Only You"	-	-	37
1984	"Something Said Love"	-	-	15

¹"Whiskey, Whiskey" did not chart on the Hot 100, but reached number six on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.
²"The Closer You Get" did not chart on the Hot 100, but reached number three on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.

[edit] External links

Preceded by Sheena Easton For Your Eyes Only, 1981	James Bond title artist Octopussy (All Time High), 1983	Succeeded by Duran Duran A View to a Kill (song), 1985