Rita Coolidge

Born and raised in Tennessee, Rita Coolidge is a singer/songwriter with a sound that blends country pop and soft rock music. Though she released her first two albums in 1971, she broke into a mainstream pop audience after marrying her husband Kris Kristofferson, in 1973. The two artists began recording and performing together as a duet, winning multiple Grammy Awards for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group for songs including the 1976 track "From the Bottle to the Bottom." The partnership gave life to her solo career, which took off into the 1970s and peaked with her 1977 album Anytime...Anywhere. In the late 1990s she founded a Native American music trio called Walela, along with her sister and niece, and released the group's self-titled record in 1997 followed by 2000's Unbearable Love. Coolidge continues to release records today, including the 2012 holiday album, A Rita Coolidge Christmas.