Rita Coolidge is a musician who gained notoriety during the 1970s-1980s with her songs that spanned the Billboard charts for multiple genres.
She was born in Tennessee and moved to Florida at the end of high school, graduating in Jacksonville. She then graduated Florida State University before moving to Memphis to find gigs. She was discovered by a recording agent who flew her out to Los Angeles, where she worked with artists such as Leon Russell, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and many others.
During the 1970s, she worked with her then husband Kris Kristofferson to release several duet country albums that topped the charts. She won two Grammys for “From the Bottle to the Bottom” and “Lover Please.” Her sixth album Anytime…Anywhere released in 1977 was certified platinum by RIAA, ARIA, and MC. In the late 1970s, she moved towards other genres, where she continued to chart with tracks such as “(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher” and “We’re All Alone.” In 1983, she recorded the theme song for Octopussy “All Time High.”
In the late 1990s, she created the vocal trio Walela, who wrote and performed Native American inspired music. They performed at the 1997 Olympics and received a Native American Music Award Best Debut Group and Song of the Year in 1998 for “The Warrior.”
In the late 2010s, she reconnected with her former college boyfriend, wildlife artist and naturalist Joe Hutto, and the two now live in Tallahassee.