Rita Coolidge

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About Rita Coolidge

Rita Coolidge’s crystal-clear vocals have topped pop, rock, country, and adult-contemporary charts since the ’60s. Born near Nashville, TN, in 1945 to Cherokee and Scottish ancestry, she first sang in her minister father’s choir. After graduating from Florida State University, she sang in Memphis with sibling Priscilla as the Coolidge Sisters. Southern rockers Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett heard an early jingle and enticed her to Los Angeles to sing on their 1969 debut. She soon became a consummate vocal collaborator for the likes of Bob Dylan, Dave Mason, and, most notably, Joe Cocker, who gave her a star turn singing Leon Russell and the Bramletts’ “Superstar” on his Mad Dogs and Englishmen album and tour. Coolidge released her own self-titled debut in 1971 and had a country hit two years later with Full Moon, the first of three down-home collections with husband Kris Kristofferson. She found her true sweet spot, however, in the soulful AC sound that sent 1977’s Anytime… Anywhere platinum. In 1997, Coolidge mixed Native American rhythms with close harmonies alongside her sister and niece in the trio Walela (Cherokee for hummingbird). Later albums focused on Christmas, the Great American songbook, and, with 2018’s Safe in the Arms of Time, Coolidge’s own reflective songwriting.

HOMETOWN
Lafayette, TN, United States
BORN
May 1, 1945
GENRE
Pop

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