Rita Coolidge

"Not only did I want a record deal, but I wanted it at A&M. It was perfection. It was such a family. There was not a day that I went on the lot that I didn't see fellow artists. Karen Carpenter and Cat Stevens were friends of mine. Nobody ever felt like we were going into a place of business. A&M had something there for a while that was just a complete circle of love. When I signed with A&M, they actually said, 'We're not here for a one-hit wonder, if that should happen. We're here for the longevity. We want to build your career and be a part of that. They certainly fulfilled that. They trusted us, and we trusted them."--Rita Coolidge

Rita Coolidge had one of the most diverse careers during her time with A&M Records. From the beginning, she couldn't be slotted as a pop artist because many of her songs appeared on the country and adult contemporary charts. She was not only a solo artist but teamed with Kris Kristofferson on two albums and worked extensively in the studio and touring with Booker T. Jones. Booker was also an A&M artists and with Priscilla Coolidge recorded two albums for A&M Records.

RITA COOLIDGE, NICE FEELIN' (1971)

Producer David Anderle irst saw her during Joe Cocker's "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" tour. He signed Rita Coolidge to A&M Records in early 1971. 

On March 27, 1971 the album Rita Coolidge was #230 on Billboard's Bubbling Under the Top LPs. By April 1971 her self-titled debut album was gaining airplay on KSMU, Southern Methodist University's radio station. In May she toured Britain with Marc Benno and the Byrds.

In May Coolidge toured in England. Following that tour she was to do a U.S. tour with The Byrds and begin recording her second album, Nice Feelin'.

Rita Coolidge 4-page ad, billboard at A&M Records

By September 1971 Rita's single "I Believe In You" was doing well in several of Canada's western markets. A&M Canada gave it a promotional push in the eastern provinces. The single had not charted in the US. In November, Coolidge did a cross-Canada tour.

THE LADY'S NOT FOR SALE (1972)

Rita's first A&M Records single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 was "Fever" in 1972.

Coolidge was a 1972 NARM award nominee in the new female artists category in 1972.

FALL INTO SPRING (1974) 

"Mama Lou" spent five weeks on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart in 1974.

IT'S ONLY LOVE (1975)

In 1975 Rita recorded a jazz album with nine songs at A&M with Barbara Carroll, Chuck Delmanico and Colin Bailey. A&M never released it. Coolidge bought the masters in the 1990s and released under the title Out Of the Blues with two new tracks. 

ANYTIME...ANYWHERE (1977)

For 1977's Anytime...Anywhere album, Rita Coolidge told Ed Harrison, "Jerry [Moss] suggested I change my musical direction to appeal more to the adult rock crowd. I tried to do more familiar material. The other albums contained too many new songs." David Anderle added, "Jerry Moss suggested changing the material so it would be more familiar to radio. The initial Coolidge album had material by unknown songwriters." The album turned out to be the biggest commercial success for either of them to date.

Dale O’Brien Z93/Atlanta, Rita Coolidge, Johnny Shuler gold for “Higher and Higher” in October 1977

As the song "Higher and Higher" rose on the Billboard chart (a 27 week run and peaking at #2), "We're All Alone" was released in Great Britain. "We're All Alone", "Higher and Higher" and "Words" were all hits in England. That success prompted A&M Ltd. to use television ads to promote her. It was only the third time A&M had used TV ads. The first two campaigns to use them were Burt Bacharach and and Carpenters. The campaign for Anytime...Anywhere occurred in April 1978 and cost $135,450.

"Higher and Higher" was banned in Singapore when authorities decided the song was about drugs.

"We're All Alone" spent 20 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1977 peaking at #7.

LOVE ME AGAIN (1978)

"The Way You Do the Things You Do," "You" and  "Love Me Again," kept Coolidge on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for 29 weeks in 1978.

SATISFIED (1979)

Rita's performance of "Don't Cry Out Loud" won the grand prize at the Tokyo International Music Festival on June 17, 1979. There were 11 international contestants who performed for an audience of 10,000. Of the Americans, Coolidge defeated A Taste Of Honey and Al Jarreau. Former label mate Sergio Mendes with Brasil '88 represented Brazil.

"One Fine Day" and "I'd Rather Leave While I'm In Love" were Coolidge's singles that made the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1979. They spent a combined 14 weeks on the chart.

BEAUTIFUL EVENING (1980)

Rita's September 1980 performances in Tokyo were recorded for the album Beautiful Evening--Live In Japan that A&M released only in Japan, Australia and Hong Kong. In 2017, the album was expanded with five studio tracks and released on CD internationally.

GREATEST HITS (1981), HEARTBREAK RADIO (1981)

In 1981, A&M in the U.S. created 30-second television ads for Rita's Greatest Hits album. A&M Records, Ltd. used the ads throughout Britain to support The Very Best Of Rita Coolidge.

NEVER LET YOU GO (1983)

During her tenure with A&M, three of Coolidge's songs were placed in motion pictures. In 1980, "Fool That I Am" appeared in the film Coast to Coast. "All Time High" was the theme to the James Bond movie Octopussy in 1983, and in 1984 "Love Came for Me" was in the motion picture Splash. 

OFFICIAL PROMOTION BY A&M RECORDS

Rita Coolidge New Music On A&M Records
Anytime...Anywhere New Music On A&M Records
Rita Coolidge: Satisfied
Anthology press release
The Best of Rita Coolidge press release
Rita Coolidge biography 1971
Rita Coolidge biography 1981

Official website: ritacoolidge.net