Rita Coolidge

Rita Coolidge is an American singer who began her career singing around Memphis before Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett brought her to Los Angeles, where she became a backing vocalist for artists such as Leon Russell, Joe Cocker, Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton. She sang on the Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour and record with Joe Cocker and picked up the nickname the Delta Lady. Duet recordings with Kris Kristofferson won her two Grammy Awards, in 1974 and 1976, and she took a credited film role as Maria in Sam Peckinpah's Western Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973). Her biggest pop chart success came in the late 1970s with four straight top 25 covers, among them (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher and We're All Alone. She later sang with Roger Waters, hosted on VH1, recorded the 2006 standards album And So Is Love and helped found the Native American trio Walela in 1997.