People say I sound like a 20-year-old on the record ... well, I’m not 20 any more
American singing star Rita Coolidge tells MARION McMULLEN why she returned to her musical roots for her new album
R ITA COOLIDGE is surrounded by packing crates and busy moving from her home in California to Florida. “We’ve been here 22 years so there’s a lot to pack,” admits the two-time Grammy winner, known affectionately as the Delta Lady by friends and fans. “It’s got to go all the way across the country.”
If such a major upheaval is not enough, she is also counting down to the release of new album Safe In The Arms Of Time and preparing for a four-night residency next month at the Boisdale Club in London.
“The album comes out on May 4 so I can say May the 4th be with you,” Rita says with a delighted laugh. “It’s been two years in the making and I think this is the best record I’ve ever done. I’m extremely proud of it. It’s important to me. It’s personal.”
It’s a claim that needs to be taken seriously. Rita has been a driving force in music since the 1970s and has captivated audiences during her astonishing 50-year career, selling millions of copies of signature hits such as We’re All Alone, The Way You Do The Things You Do, (Your Love Has Lifted Me ) Higher And Higher and the 1983 James Bond movie theme for Octopussy, All Time High.
Her eight-year relationship with former husband Kris Kristofferson also yielded three top-selling albums and multiple Grammy Awards. Rita discovered her true calling as a musician as an art major at Florida State University and her career took flight during the heyday of the 70s LA music scene when she sang backup on Stephen Stills’ Love The One You’re With and Eric Clapton’s After Midnight. She also contributed the classic – and uncredited – piano coda to Derek & The Dominoes hit Layla. She says she feels like the new album is a return to her own musical roots and it features the song writing talents of Graham Nash, Chris Stapleton, Stan Lynch and Grammy-winning blues star Keb’ Mo’. “I had the honour to go to Nashville to work with Keb’. I love the way he writes and I have everything he has ever recorded.
“He’s one of my favourite artists,” declares Rita. “I’ve been a fan for decades.”
She and producer Ross Hogarth also recorded at LA’s famed Sunset Sound – the recording studio where Rita recorded her first solo albums on A&M records 30 years ago.
“Having Ross in place as producer was the first step and then everything else just followed,” she says. “We had guitarist Dave Grissom, bassist Bob Glaub, keyboardist John ‘JT’ Thomas and drummer Brian MacLeod.
“Going back to Sunset Sound was taking a journey into the past. There was a memory down every hallway.
“I recorded a couple of albums there with Kris and it’s always been my favourite studio in LA. It’s one of only two recording studios from the 1970s still in business in LA.
“I really wanted to make an album that was more ‘rootsy’ – almost like the way I used to record albums in the 70s. I didn’t want something over-produced.
“The idea was making an album that had the same appeal of my early records – to make a roots album about my own roots.
“I’ve written so many songs assuming a role like an actor, but this time I got to write from experience.”
Safe In The Arms Of Time marks the first new music Rita has recorded since the tragic death in 2015 of her beloved sister, Priscilla.
She was killed at her home by her husband Michael Seibert who then turned the gun on himself in what was ruled a murder-suicide.
She and Priscilla formed and sang together in Native American trio Walela with Priscilla’s daughter Laura Satterfield.
Rita wrote in her 2016 memoir, Delta Lady: “Sometimes the path is surrounded by rainbows and sometimes it’s buried in the music.
“I’m still here and I still have a lot of gratitude for the whole process of being able to make music.”
The book was dedicated to her sister.
Youthful-looking performer Rita turns 73 on May 1 and says she believes her voice is stronger than ever.
“People have said I sound like a 20-yearold on the record. Well, I’m not 20 any more,” she smiles.
“Everyone’s voices changes, it’s the nature of ageing. I’m very grateful that I still have a voice and can still sing.
“Do I have any beauty secrets? Well, being in love helps a lot. It makes everything better,” says Rita, who married retired academic Tatsuya Suda in the Cook Islands in 2004.
“I would not let a plastic surgeon near me with a knife. I think being happy is the most important thing.
“People need to have an awakening that you can fall in love at any age and it will feel right, like you’re 15. I really wanted to have that message come across on the record.”
See ritacoolidge.net for album and concert details. Ticket information from boisdale.co.uk