Delta Lady: Memoir

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 songsamp;#8212;Leon Russell wrote amp;#8220;A Song for Youamp;#8221; and amp;#8220;Delta Ladyamp;#8221; for her, Stephen Stills wrote amp;#8220;Cherokee.amp;#8221; She co-wrote songsamp;#8212;amp;#8220;Superstaramp;#8221; and the piano coda to amp;#8220;Layla,amp;#8221; uncredited. She sang backup for Eric Clapton, Joe Cocker, and Stills, before finding fame as a solo artist with such hits as amp;#8220;Weamp;#39;re All Aloneamp;#8221; and amp;#8220;(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher.amp;#8221; 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 Coolidgeamp;#8217;s fascinating journey throughout the amp;#8217;60s-amp;#8217;70s pop/rock universe.

A muse to some of the twentieth centuryamp;#8217;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 amp;#38; 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 generationamp;#8217;s epic love stories. Throughout it all, her strength, resilience, and inner and outer beautyamp;#8212;along with her strong sense of heritage and devotion to her familyamp;#8212;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.