Rita Coolidge quotes

Rita Coolidge is an American singer and songwriter known for her soothing voice and genre-spanning career. Her music blends pop, rock, country, and jazz, earning her multiple Grammy Awards. She has collaborated with notable artists and remains an influential figure in American music. Here are 23 of her quotes:

There was a subtlety about Peggy Lee. It was powerful. There was a valuable use of space. Everything was not cluttered. Her voice was out front and was the key instrument. (Rita Coolidge)
I choose things by how they resonate in my heart. View quote
Rita Coolidge
It seems that jazz is more cerebral and more mathematical in a sense. View quote
Rita Coolidge
Too often, the opportunity knocks, but by the time you push back the chain, push back the bolt, unhook the two locks and shut off the burglar alarm, it's too late. View quote
Rita Coolidge
I think you have to have a jazz pedigree to be on jazz radio. View quote
Rita Coolidge
The month of September is Women in Jazz, so I'm doing jazz there in September. I'm in for the duration. View quote
Rita Coolidge
Possibly, I should have been a jazz singer from the beginning. View quote
Rita Coolidge
If I'm driving to L.A. and have anxiety about making the drive, if I've got Peggy with me, we're cool. View quote
Rita Coolidge
I've got my whole life. There's a lifetime of experience, a lifetime of experiencing the road and the music and different players. It makes me a richer human being. I have a greater source of information to tap into, a wealth of life. View quote
Rita Coolidge
I was kind of known as a ballad singer. People would send ballads. Some of them would go over my shoulder and float off the top of my head, and I just didn't feel anything. Then I would hear a song that would absolutely shake me. View quote
Rita Coolidge
I recorded my first jazz record in the '70s. (Rita Coolidge)
I wanted to make a jazz record. I didn't want it to be a standards record. View quote
Rita Coolidge
Jazz radio is not very friendly to pop singers who decide to make a jazz record. But a lot of people have been. A lot of the people I've talked to like the record. View quote
Rita Coolidge
My grandmother passed at 104. She sang and wrote songs until she passed. View quote
Rita Coolidge
I say what's in my heart, and I do it in my concerts. View quote
Rita Coolidge
I'm not stopping. My dream has come true, and I'm staying. View quote
Rita Coolidge
I think the challenges for me was to go into the studio with these incredible jazz players and come up to their level of excellence. That's always a challenge. View quote
Rita Coolidge
I've always wanted to record a jazz record. I did one in the '70s with Barbara Carroll. It's been a journey. View quote
Rita Coolidge
I don't think I was considered to be a cabaret singer because I didn't have patter that was written. View quote
Rita Coolidge
I've always loved jazz. View quote
Rita Coolidge
You know, I'm pretty much an open book. (Rita Coolidge)
When I sang that song, I felt it was almost as if some force had moved into my body. Things like that have only happened to me singing jazz. It doesn't happen when singing pop. I get so deeply into the music, it feels like I've become someone else. View quote
Rita Coolidge
Universal was absolutely marvelous about sitting down with me and listening to my input. It wasn't something where they chose a bunch of songs that were best sellers. They did a marvelous job on the packaging. It's a beautiful tribute. View quote
Rita Coolidge

Rita Coolidge

Rita Coolidge - Image
Photo: Seattle Municipal Archives from Seattle, WA; crop by Jmabel, CC BY 2.0
Occupation: American Musician
Born: May 1, 1945
Quotes count: 23