I’ve been in love with her since first seeing her on stage with Joe C Mad Dogs and Englishmen in 1970. Also denied credit for piano part of Layla, as well. A lady throughout life’s tragedies, as well.
I always liked this song very much Mark, there is an intensity in the melody and both Karem and Rita have been able to print this in their way of singing that is a touching honesty.
On a Sirius/Xm 70's radio show, as a guest host, Rita actually claims she wrote this song after watching girls swoon over Eric Clapton whom she was on tour with on the Delaney and Bonnie and friends tour. She admits that Bonnie Bramlett helped her finish it, but Leon Russell only arranged it, then took the songwriting credit, with Bonnie.Wikipedia does show that it was Rita's idea, but only credits Russell and Bramlett as composers. This isn't a harmless claim, there is a lot of royalty money at stake.
It seems this struggle over who had the idea, who wrote, and whether a member of a band stole the credit for a song happens frequently. Also, when you mix in the male/female issues and alliances between lovers, friends and spouses...there can be a lot of intrigue. And some will outright lie. Some men dominate when women are involved. Rita Coolidge lived with Leon Russell. Delaney abused his wife Bonnie. Did he lie, also? Various women have claimed that one of Leon Russell's songs was written about them. Plus, people forget, get confused, or make assumptions about the truth.
I think the mad dogs and englishmen preformance establishes it as her song at the time anyway. But clearly leon was intrumental to making it what it is to.
No one sings this song as well as Rita Coolidge. The version from Mad Dogs And Englishmen is the best version and I don’t think even Rita herself could recreate the feeling of that live performance.
It's very hard to cover a song so strongly identified with a singularly talent and sadly gone too soon superstar like Karen Carpenter. However, because Rita also has such a richer, fuller voice like Karen, I think she does a great cover. I've always heard Karen (& her bro Richard) do this song, this was a great addition to that legacy Carpenters have made, not a replacement at all. Great singer Rita!
circe801, First thank you for letting me know the true chronology of the song. I'd always heard Karen/Carpenters version, then later I heard Rita's and thought that was how it originally was. I love learning more about music, appreciate you educating me. I can understand why Rita felt this, so were these lyrics supposed to be Rita's feelings for Eric as he performed & played his guitar? Because boy can he make them sing, in all sorts of moving ways! Being a huge music lover I really get the story of this song...falling in love with a musician, singer, performer who just takes your breath away! I particularly enjoy women's voices, though not at all exclusively, but Karen & Rita's interpretations of this huge fan favorite, intimate song is moving beyond words!!
Bonnie did sing, but not aware of a recording of this song. She co-wrote it with Leon Russell. She & her husband Delaney Bramlett formed a loose group of musicians in the late 60s. One was Leon Russell, who met Delaney in LA when they both played in the Shindogs - the band for TV show Shindig! The three of them discovered Rita in Memphis in the late 60s & she followed them to LA. Delaney & Bonnie also became friends with Eric Clapton. He toured with them, they played on his first solo album (Coolidge was a backup singer on it) and several of their band became part of 'Derek & the Dominoes'. When Leon Russell was forming the 'mad Dogs & Englishmen' band for Joe Cocker he also used several of their band members, including the ones who later played with Clapton. Coolidge helped to recruit the backup singers. Russell had an affair with Coolidge and wrote 'Delta Lady' for her - a hit for Joe Cocker. :)
Charlotte Camp If you read Rita Coolidge's book, she said that she wrote this song and Layla. Because she was a female composer, she never got her copyrights.
I usually like Rita's covers but not a fan of this one. I more use to her late 1970s produced and arranged music. I still think that The Carpenters Version is the definitive standard.
It’s not a fucking cover! The song was Rita’s idea and she was an uncredited cowriter - it’s detailed on Wikipedia. The Carpenter’s version has the taint of being sung and produced by AI. Well, all the Carpenter’s crap sounds synthetic.
The divine miss m ( before she became Bette midler) and Barry manilow produced the definitive version af this great song. Though Bonnie's version is tremendous, especially as she co wrote it.
It was not composed by Rita. It was composed by Leon Russell and Bonnie Bramlett. Leon got the idea when Rita used the word superstar for Dionne Warwick. That word was not used, like it was later on. He did write it with the idea of Rita singing it and gave it to her to sing solo in Mad Dogs and Englishmen, even though they had broken up by then.
+Cheryl Beddow Rita Coolidge: No, I didn’t get credit. I actually had started writing the song and went down to Delaney and Bonnie’s room. As Bonnie said to me maybe a month ago, “Honey, I remember when you came in the room with that song and you had half of it written. You sat down and you started playing it and we worked on it. And then Delaney came in.” - See more at: www.rockcellarmagazine.com/2016/07/08/rita-coolidge-qa-interview-delta-lady-leon-russell-layla/#sthash.SmKO4j28.dpuf
Patricia Johnson. I happen to believe Bobby Whitlock. Rita has given a couple different versions of her story. See more here: www.austinchronicle.com/music/2011-07-15/superstar/
+Cheryl Beddow Hi Cheryl, here is excerpt from Rita's book:one night during the tour with Eric, I looked at the audience of women and thought they all think that Eric will pick them to go home with. It gave me the idea for a song I called superstar.bonnie and Leon came clean in a blender article and acknowledged that the song was my idea.usher covered it and included me in the credits. Rita also wrote Layla, calling it time. Regardless I like bonnie bramletts version of superstar best. She sang it at Leon's funeral.
Well I don't think Bonnie would have sang that if it had not been with Leon. The melody sounds just like a Leon one. I read Rita's book and there is a few things I don't think are right but it doesn't really matter. Leon did say that he got the idea from Rita, the word superstar. That she used it in regards to Dionne Warwick whom was coming to Memphis (when Rita lived there and met Leon) Just last year, Rita said Leon did acknowledge he got the idea from me. Okay, but that is not composing or writing the lyrics.
