About the Book
The two-time Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter bares her heart and soul in this intimate memoir, a story of music, stardom, love, family, heritage, and resilience.
She inspired songs--Leon Russell wrote "A Song for You" and "Delta Lady" for her, Stephen Stills wrote "Cherokee." She co-wrote songs--"Superstar" and the piano coda to "Layla," uncredited. She sang backup for Eric Clapton, Joe Cocker, and Stills, before finding fame as a solo artist with such hits as "We're All Alone" and "(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher." Following her story from Lafayette, Tennessee to becoming one of the most sought after rock vocalists in LA in the 1970s, Delta Lady chronicles Rita Coolidge's fascinating journey throughout the '60s-'70s pop/rock universe.
A muse to some of the twentieth century's most influential rock musicians, she broke hearts, and broke up bands. Her relationship with drummer Jim Gordon took a violent turn during the legendary 1970 Mad Dogs & Englishmen tour; David Crosby maintained that her triangle with Stills and Graham Nash was the last straw for the group. Her volatile six-year marriage to Kris Kristofferson yielded two Grammys, a daughter, and one of the Baby Boom generation's epic love stories. Throughout it all, her strength, resilience, and inner and outer beauty--along with her strong sense of heritage and devotion to her family--helped her to not only survive, but thrive. Co-written with best-selling author Michael Walker, Delta Lady is a rich, deeply personal memoir that offers a front row seat to an iconic era, and illuminates the life of an artist whose career has helped shape modern American culture.
About the Author :
Rita Coolidge is an American recording artist and songwriter. During the 70s and 80s, she charted hits on Billboard's pop, country, adult contemporary and jazz charts and won two Grammy Awards with fellow musician and former husband Kris Kristofferson. Coolidge was born in Lafayette, Tennessee. After singing around Memphis (including a stint singing jingles), she was discovered by Delaney & Bonnie, who took her to Los Angeles where, besides her work with Delaney & Bonnie, she became a popular background singer on many other people's albums. She sang for Leon Russell, Joe Cocker, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Dave Mason, Graham Nash, and Stephen Stills. She was featured in Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour and album, singing Russell's and Bonnie Bramlett's song "Superstar." She became known as "the Delta Lady" and inspired Russell to write a song of the same name for her. She lives in Fallbrook, California.
Rita Coolidge is an American recording artist and songwriter. During the 70s and 80s, she charted hits on Billboard's pop, country, adult contemporary and jazz charts and won two Grammy Awards with fellow musician and former husband Kris Kristofferson. Coolidge was born in Lafayette, Tennessee. After singing around Memphis (including a stint singing jingles), she was discovered by Delaney & Bonnie, who took her to Los Angeles where, besides her work with Delaney & Bonnie, she became a popular background singer on many other people's albums. She sang for Leon Russell, Joe Cocker, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Dave Mason, Graham Nash, and Stephen Stills. She was featured in Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour and album, singing Russell's and Bonnie Bramlett's song "Superstar." She became known as "the Delta Lady" and inspired Russell to write a song of the same name for her. She lives in Fallbrook, California.
Michael Walker is the bestselling author of Laurel Canyon: The Inside Story of Rock-and-Roll's Legendary Neighborhood and What You Want Is in the Limo: On the Road with Led Zeppelin, Alice Cooper, and the Who in 1973, the Year the Sixties Died and the Modern Rock Star Was Born. He has written about popular culture for the New York Times and is a contributing editor at the Hollywood Reporter. He lives in Los Angeles.
Michael Walker is the bestselling author of Laurel Canyon: The Inside Story of Rock-and-Roll's Legendary Neighborhood and What You Want Is in the Limo: On the Road with Led Zeppelin, Alice Cooper, and the Who in 1973, the Year the Sixties Died and the Modern Rock Star Was Born. He has written about popular culture for the New York Times and is a contributing editor at the Hollywood Reporter. He lives in Los Angeles.
Review :
"Delta Lady is so intimate, you feel you are in a room with Rita Coolidge as she confides her experiences as backup singer, songwriter, star--and muse to some of rock's greatest talents. An extraordinary, moving, and insightful journey through the minefields of musical talent, ego, and glamour."
-- "Sheila Weller, author of Girls like Us"
"A positive, uplifting life story, one which ends with its author thanking God and appearing genuinely to mean it. For Coolidge's legion of fans, this is a must-read."
-- "Booklist"
"A surprisingly rich memoir from a two-time Grammy winner ...In a manner that rarely seems gossipy and never salacious, the author presents her perspective on the sea changes that rock underwent in the early 1970s, an era in which she played a key role...This illuminating autobiography exceeds expectations."
-- "Kirkus Reviews"
"Coolidge's backstage stories of her sessions with Clapton and Cocker, the drug-fueled orgies of the infamous Mad Dog and Englishmen tour, and her romances with Graham Nash and Kris Kristofferson are authentic and intimate."
-- "Publishers Weekly"
"It's funny how one person's memory can wake yours, transporting you instantly to that particular time in your life. The story of this beautiful, strong, elegant woman takes me back to a happier place in my past and I hope others get the same feeling reading Delta Lady."
-- "Graham Nash"
