Speak/Sing Native™ Artist Archive
Rita Coolidge
ancestry
Rita Coolidge is a two-time Grammy-winning American singer, songwriter and recording artist with Cherokee ancestry.
She has released 31 albums as a leader, 71 Singles & EPs, and 29 compilation albums.
Growing up, she first sang in her minister father's choir and discovered her calling as a musician while studying art at Florida State University in the 1960s. She gained fame in the 1970s with hits like Higher and Higher, We're All Alone, and The Way You Do the Things You Do.
During the 1970s and 1980s, her songs were on Billboard magazine's pop, country, adult contemporary, and jazz charts, and she won two Grammy Awards with fellow musician and then-husband Kris Kristofferson.
Professional Information
Albums:
1971 - Rita Coolidge and Nice Feelin'
1972 - The Lady's Not for Sale
1973 - Full Moon (with Kris Kristofferson)
1974 - Fall Into Spring and Breakaway (with Kris Kristofferson)
1975 - It's Only Love
1977 - Anytime...Anywhere
1978 - Love Me Again and Not An Act (with Kris Kristofferson)
1979 - Satisfied and All About Rita Coolidge
1980 - Greatest Hits
1981 - Heartbreak Radio and The Very Best of Rita Coolidge
1983 - Never Let You Go
1984 - Inside the Fire and Love from Tokyo
1987 - Classics Volume 5
1989 - A&M Gold Series
1990 - Fire Me Back
1991 - Dancing with an Angel
1992 - Love Lessons
1993 - For You
1994 - All Time High Best of Rita Coolidge
1995 - Behind The Memories and The Collection
1996 - Out of the Blues and Cherokee
1998 - Thinkin' About You
1999 - Master Series
2000 - 20th Century Masters – The Millenium Collection
2001 - Universal Masters Collection
2004 - Delta Lady – The Rita Coolidge Anthology
2005 - And So Is Love
2012 - A Rita Coolidge Christmas
2018 - Safe in the Arms of Time
Joe Cocker, Eric Clapton, Kris Kristofferson, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix and many others
Albums:
1971 - Rita Coolidge and Nice Feelin'
1972 - The Lady's Not for Sale
1973 - Full Moon (with Kris Kristofferson)
1974 - Fall Into Spring and Breakaway (with Kris Kristofferson)
1975 - It's Only Love
1977 - Anytime...Anywhere
1978 - Love Me Again and Not An Act (with Kris Kristofferson)
1979 - Satisfied and All About Rita Coolidge
1980 - Greatest Hits
1981 - Heartbreak Radio and The Very Best of Rita Coolidge
1983 - Never Let You Go
1984 - Inside the Fire and Love from Tokyo
1987 - Classics Volume 5
1989 - A&M Gold Series
1990 - Fire Me Back
1991 - Dancing with an Angel
1992 - Love Lessons
1993 - For You
1994 - All Time High Best of Rita Coolidge
1995 - Behind The Memories and The Collection
1996 - Out of the Blues and Cherokee
1998 - Thinkin' About You
1999 - Master Series
2000 - 20th Century Masters – The Millenium Collection
2001 - Universal Masters Collection
2004 - Delta Lady – The Rita Coolidge Anthology
2005 - And So Is Love
2012 - A Rita Coolidge Christmas
2018 - Safe in the Arms of Time
1969- Present
pop, country, adult contemporary, jazz
Singer, songwriter, recording artist
Vocals
Video
-
Rita Coolidge ft Keb Mo -
Venue:
Format: Official
Duration: 3:48
-
Rita Coolidge interview: New book Delta Lady: A Memoir -
Venue:
Format: Interview
Duration: 6:23
-
KRIS KRISTOFFERSON & RITA COOLIDGE - Me And Bobby McGee -
Venue:
Format: Live
Duration: 3:16
-
Fever -
Venue:
Format: Audio
Duration: 3:29
-
I Never Had It So Good - Rita Coolidge | The Midnight Special -
Venue:
Format: Live
Duration: 4:01
Tribal Information
Cherokee Nation
also known as "Cherokee"
Traditional lands and Reservation
When first contacted by Europeans, “the Nation held dominion over a sprawling territory comprised of much or most of the modern states of West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama.” A forced removal, the “Trail of Tears” relocated them to what is now a 14-county reservation in Oklahoma, with many At Large tribal members located all over the world.
Languages
Tsalagi (Cherokee) is the traditional language of the Cherokee Nation. Fluent speakers are dwindling and the tribe is making massive efforts to ensure that the next generations will be able to speak the language that expresses so much in a way that English does not capture.
Tsalagi has a written form that is based on a syllabary rather than an alphabet. Each spoken syllable in the language is represented by one of 85 distinct characters.