Rita Coolidge

Rita Coolidge (born May 1, 1945) is a multiple Grammy Award-winning American vocalist. During the '70s and '80s, she charted hits on Billboard's Pop, Country, Adult Contemporary and Jazz charts.

Coolidge began her career as a backing vocalist for artists such as Delaney & Bonnie, Joe Cocker, Eric Clapton and Leon Russell. Her first single was recorded in 1968, after she was discovered by former Elvis Presley Chief Personal Aide and close friend, Marty Lacker, who started a record company, Pepper Records, for a major Memphis bartering company. Lacker produced a few records for Coolidge; one, "Turn Around And Love You," became a regional hit in Los Angeles and the West Coast. She then worked with Leon Russell and both became members of Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour. Her performance of "Superstar" on the Cocker/Russell "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" album helped her gain 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 while filming "Pat Garret and Billy the Kid;" 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."

After several years as a highly sought after session vocalist, Coolidge began to release albums as a solo artist. In 1977, she scored what would be the most successful album of her career, the platinum-certified "Anytime...Anywhere." The album spawned many hit singles. Her first hit was "(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher," a cover of the Jackie Wilson song. Wilson's version reached No. 6 on the Billboard charts, while the Coolidge single became one of her best sellers, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 1977. She followed that success with another gold-certified single, "We're All Alone," which reached No. 7 later that year on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and No. 1 on the Cashbox chart. In 1979, Rita Coolidge travelled to Havana, Cuba, to participate in the historic Havana Jam festival alongside Kris Kristofferson, Stephen Stills, Mike Finnegan, Weather Report, and Billy Joel, plus an array of Cuban artists.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s she scored other hits with "One Fine Day" (written by Carole King and a hit for the 1960s girl group the Chiffons), "Words" (The Bee Gees), "I Don't Want to Talk About It" (written by Danny Whitten), "The Way You Do the Things You Do" (The Temptations), "I'd Rather Leave While I'm in Love" (Carole Bayer Sager), and "You." In 1980, Coolidge was the voice of Melissa Raccoon in the Christmas Raccoons, and reprised the role for a subsequent special The Raccoons on Ice in 1981. Both of these specials served as a predecessor to the critically acclaimed Canadian animated series The Raccoons. Coolidge also sang several songs for the specials, all of which were on the 1983 album "Lake Freeze."

In the mid 1980s, Coolidge found success vocalizing for movie soundtracks. In 1983, she recorded the song "All Time High" for the James Bond film "Octopussy." The single was one of her two #1 hits on Billboard's Adult Contemporary charts. Coolidge also recorded the love theme from the movie Splash, "Love Came For Me".