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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZCOOLIDGE, Rita(b 1 May '45, Nashville TN) Sultry country-pop singer. Daughter of Baptist minister, sang regularly in church; family moved to Florida; during college years formed group called R. C. and the Moonpies. Worked in Memphis as backing vocalist, then in LA singing with acts such as Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett. Toured with Joe Cocker and Leon Russell, who wrote 'Delta Lady' about her ('69 hit for Cocker); she signed to A&M for pop/country hits: 'A Song I'd Like To Sing' '73, 'Mama Lou' '74, 'Higher And Higher' '77, 'We're All Alone' '77, 'The Way You Do The Things You Do' '78, 'I'd Rather Leave While I'm In Love' '79. 'Higher' was a cover of the Jackie Wilson hit and made all the charts; her real love was soul music. Married Kris Kristofferson '73, had hit duets with him ('A Song I'd Like To Sing', 'Loving Arms' etc; 'From The Bottle To The Bottom' '73 and 'Lover Please' '75 won Grammys). Her LPs (all on A&M) incl. Breakaway '75, It's Only Love '76, Anytime, Anywhere '77, Full Moon '74, Natural Act '78 with Kristofferson, Satisfied '79, Heartbreak Radio '81. They were divorced '80 but remained close, toured together '86. She appeared in film Club Med '83. When her record sales fell off she toured doing everything from straight-ahead rock shows to symphony pops and continued to draw crowds. Out Of The Blues '75 was a jazz-oriented set backed by a quintet incl. Barbara Carroll on piano, unreleased until a Beacon CD with two similar 'late night rock and soul' tracks added from '95, also backed by a quintet; the set brings out the soul side of her voice, incl. standards and two songs by Kristofferson, and reminds us that she is an artist who can sing just about anything she wants. |