Rita Coolidge

Rita Coolidge - Rita Coolidge - 1971 - A & M

Born in Lafayette, near Nashville in 1945, the daughter of a Baptist minister, Rita Coolidge originally established herself as a backup vocalist. With her smoky sweet voice, intelligence, and her funky Dusty Springfield/Memphis like soul vocals, she soon became a session vocalist for artists like Delaney & Bonnie and Leon Russell. Her first important public appearance was in 1970 when she was invited to tour with Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs And Englishmen entourage, where she became the vocal anchor of Cocker's space choir. Rita even got a showcase spot on these Joe Cocker concerts, singing the great Leon Russell/Bonnie Bramlett song, "Superstar." She was eventually signed by the great A&M label. She eventually achieved worldwide acclaim in 1977, with her "Anytime-Anywhere album", which produced three Top 20 hits. Later albums became more commercial and she drifted away from her great roots music background. However, in 1971 all the elements were firmly in place. Her debut self-titled album posted here received much critical acclaim, but was not a commercial success. It's a great album full of jazzy soul blues and folk, with songs composed by artists including Van Morrison, Otis Redding, and Neil Young. Some of the artists on the album include Leon Russell, Marc Benno, Jim Keltner, Stephen Stills, Booker T. Jones, Bobby Womack, Ry Cooder, Peter Christlieb, The Blackberries, and Jim Horn. This Delta Lady is one of the really great female vocalists of that era. Listen to her "Out of the Blues" album

TRACKS / COMPOSERS / MUSICIANS

1 That Man Is My Weakness - Donna Weiss, Craig Doerge

Leon Russell – Piano, Organ
Spooner Oldham – Electric Piano
Clarence White – Guitar
Marc Benno – Guitar
Chris Ethridge – Bass
Jim Keltner – Drums

2 Second Story Window - Marc Benno

Stephen Stills – Acoustic Guitars
Booker T. Jones – Bass
Jim Keltner – Percussion

3 Crazy Love - Van Morrison

Booker T. Jones – Piano, Organ
Stephen Stills – Guitar
Bobby Womack – Guitar
Donald "Duck" Dunn – Bass
Jim Keltner – Drums
Bobbye Hall Porter – Tambourine

4 The Happy Song - Otis Redding, Steve Cooper

Booker T. Jones – Organ
Spooner Oldham – Electric Piano
Clarence White – Guitar
Jerry McGee – Guitar
Chris Ethridge – Bass
Jim Keltner – Drums
Bobbye Hall Porter – Tambourine

5 Seven Bridges Road - Steve Young

Booker T. Jones – Piano
Spooner Oldham - Organ
Clarence White – Acoustic Guitar
Jerry McGee – Dobro, Electric Sitar
Chris Ethridge – Bass
Jim Keltner – Drums
Bobbye Hall Porter – Bongos
Plas Johnson – Alto Saxophone

6 Born Under A Bad Sign - Booker T. Jones, William Bell

Booker T. Jones – Electric Piano
Spooner Oldham – Organ
Clarence White – Guitar
Ry Cooder – Bottleneck Guitar
Chris Ethridge – Bass
Jim Keltner – Drums
Bobbye Hall Porter – Congas
Clifford Scott – Tenor Saxophone

7 Ain’t That Peculiar - W. Robinson, W. Moore, Rogers

Booker T. Jones – Electric Piano
Clarence White – Guitar
Jerry McGee – Guitar
Chris Ethridge – Bass
Jim Keltner – Drums
Bobbye Hall Porter – Tambourine, Congas

8 (I Always Called Them) Mountains - Marc Benno

Clarence White – Guitar
Jerry Mcgee – Acoustic Guitar
Spooner Oldham – Organ, Piano
Chris Ethridge – Bass
Jim Keltner - Drums

9 Mud Island - Weiss, Mary Unobsky

Booker T. Jones – Organ, Guitar
Spooner Oldham – Electric Piano
Clarence White – Guitar
Ry Cooder – Bottleneck Guitar
Fuzzy Samuels – Bass
Jim Keltner – Drums, Percussion
Bobbye Hall Porter – Tambourine, Congas

10 I Believe In You - Neil Young

Spooner Oldham – Electric Piano
Clarence White – Acoustic Guitar
Jerry McGee – Acoustic Guitar
Booker T. Jones– Bass
Jim Keltner – Drums

Horns

Jim Horn- Baritone, Alto & Tenor Saxophone
John Kelson – Tenor Saxophone & Bass Clarinet
Don Menza – Tenor & Alto Saxophone & Bass Clarinet
Clifford Scott – Tenor Saxophone
Peter Christlieb – Tenor Saxophone
Plas Johnson – Tenor & Alto Saxophone
George Bohanon – Trombone & Baritone Horn
Lew McCreary – Trombone
Ernie Tack – Trombone
Jack Redmond – Trombone
Dick Hyde – Trombone
Oliver Mitchell – Trumpet & Flugal Horn
Charles Findley – Trumpet & Flugal Horn
Al Aarons – Trumpet & Flugal Horn
Dalton Smith – Trumpet & Flugal Horn
Vince De Rosa – French Horn
Bill Hinshaw – French Horn
Arthur Maebe – French Horn
David Duke – French Horn

Strings

Jesse Ehrlich – Cello
Jerome Kessler – Cello
Leonard Malarsky – Violin
William Kurasch – Violin
Wilbert Nutycomb - Violin
James Getzoff – Violin
Harry Bluestone – Violin
Ralph Schaeffer – Violin
Gareth Nuttycombe – Viola
Samuel Boghossian – Viola
Background Vocals

The Blackberries – Clydie King, Venetta Fields, Sherlie Matthews, Priscilla Coolidge, Donna Weiss, and Rita Coolidge with Graham Nash, Bob Segarini and Randy Bishop on “Crazy Love"



BIO

A versatile singer blessed with a clear, pure voice, Rita Coolidge was a capable stylist in rock, pop, R&B, country, and folk, and was a hugely in-demand session vocalist outside of her own solo recording career. Born near Nashville, TN, in the town of Lafayette in 1945, Coolidge was part Cherokee and first sang in the church where her father was a minister. She studied art at Florida State University, but also sang and wrote songs on the side, and decided to give music a shot before settling into teaching. She moved to Memphis after graduation and worked singing commercial jingles, sometimes with her sister, Priscilla, and soon landed a job touring with Delaney & Bonnie as a backup vocalist. She subsequently relocated to Los Angeles, where she sang on recording sessions by the likes of Eric Clapton, Stephen Stills, Leon Russell, and Joe Cocker, among others. After returning from the supporting tour for Cocker's Mad Dogs & Englishmen, Coolidge landed her own solo contract with A&M. Coolidge's self-titled debut album was released in 1971, but despite critical acclaim for it and the follow-up, Nice Feelin', she failed to break through commercially. Over the course of the next few years, she moved into country-rock and Southern California soft rock, working territory not too dissimilar from Linda Ronstadt. She also married progressive country singer/songwriter Kris Kristofferson in 1973, the same year she recorded a duet album with him titled Full Moon. Full Moon topped the country charts, and "From the Bottle to the Bottom" won a Grammy for Best Country Vocal by a Duo or Group. The following year, the couple released a follow-up, Breakaway, whose "Lover Please" won them another Grammy in the same category. Coolidge finally broke through in her own right with 1977's Anytime, Anywhere, a collection of well-chosen covers with a strong R&B bent. Paced by the hit singles "(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher" (a Jackie Wilson cover that went to number two pop), "We're All Alone" (Top Ten), and "The Way You Do the Things You Do" (a Top 20 Temptations cover), Anytime, Anywhere climbed into the Top Ten and sold over a million copies. Coolidge and Kristofferson released one final duet album, Natural Act, in 1979, but their marriage was on the rocks, and they separated by the end of the year. Coolidge never repeated the pop success of Anytime, Anywhere, but she did continue to land hits on the adult contemporary charts through the early '80s, including "You," "I'd Rather Leave While I'm in Love," and "All Time High" (the theme for the James Bond flick Octopussy). She parted ways with A&M after 1984's Inside the Fire, and spent some time away from the music business to devote herself to various social causes. She returned to recording with 1992's Love Lessons, on Critique, and went on to cut several albums for other small labels during the latter half of the '90s. 1995's Cherokee, in particular, signaled a renewed interest in her Native American musical heritage, and she teamed up with her sister, Priscilla, and her niece, Laura Satterfield, to form Walela, which explored those roots in greater detail over two albums in 1997 and 2000, respectively. Several anthology collections were released in the early 2000s; And So Is Love, an album of traditional jazz standards, marked Coolidge's first release for Concord in 2005. © Steve Huey © 2010 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:difyxqw5ldte~T1