Rita Coolidge, an eternal star in the galaxy of Rock and Roll, has proven herself and enduring talent blessed with radiant Native American beauty and what has been described as "the sexiest voice in the world." Rita, a two time Grammy winner, launched her singing career in 1970 with Delaney & Bonnie and Friends and went on to share the stage with such greats as Joe Cocker, Eric Clapton, George Harrison and Leon Russell, just to name a few. Her recording career has spawned over several dozen albums worldwide including her multi-platinum disc Anytime...Anywhere, which featured three of her biggest hit singles -- "Higher & Higher," "The Way You Do The Things You Do," and "We're All Alone" to her present musical work, the recently released return to her musical roots "Thinking About You" on 404 Records. Rita's commitment to social issues has consistently reverberated through her music and her life on such issues as teen suicide, AIDS and homelessness. Yet her most heartfelt commitment remains to the Native American community. The commitment to her Cherokee heritage carries through her life, "If we have the vision and the dream, anything can come true."

Priscilla Coolidge, who for two years running was voted the best female vocalist by Billboard Magazine, has truly carved out a deep niche in modern music. She has recorded with a Who's Who of music including Bob Dylan, Luther Vandross, Robbie Robertson and has penned tunes recorded by her sister Rita, Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, and Maurice White of Earth, Wind and Fire. Never one to compromise, Priscilla recorded for A&M and Capricorn Records the music that reflected the deep spiritual nature of herself and her father, a minister of full-blooded Cherokee descent. She continues to write what many call some of the most beautiful music in the world today.

Laura Satterfield, born into this musical family, grew up listening to the many talents that surrounded her. Having fallen in love with their spirit, she began her own journey of musical discovery. In the tradition that came before her, Laura has made her own place in the recording industry. Well known for her writing abilities, Laura has found her own style which can be distinctively heard in the box office hit movie MADE IN AMERICA where she performs her creation "I Don't Walk on Water." Robbie Robertson has described Satterfield as "one in five million," as is the sacred Native American White Buffalo, a true gift and blessing.

As a group, Walela continues to disperse the energy and spirit which has brought them to this juncture in their lives. Featured as part of Robbie Robertson'd Red Road Emsemble album "Music for Native Americans," their distinctive vocal blend brings to life "The Cherokee Morning Song" and has allowed them to tour to an international audience. During the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Walela had the great opportunity to represent their nations -- both Cherokee and the United States -- as they performed extensively in the Olynpic Park. Their 1998 debut release on Triloka Records earned them the recognition of the Nammy Awards (Native American Music Awards) where they took home the award for Debut Artist of the Year and Song of the Year for "The Warrior". Walela, like the eagle, is set to spread their wings and fly......

We made that WALELA album to honor our grandmothers, who had strong musical voices, and we were definitely guided through the process, Coolidge said. ‘We could feel them around us in the studio as we gave voice to some of the things those old women could never express when they were alive.”

Walela built one track, I’ll Turn My Radio On, around a recording their Grandma Stewart made when she was 90 years old. “Priscilla and Booker T. recorded her singing her own songs before she died,” Coolidge said, “so 14 years after she passed, her dream of making a record of her songs has finally come true.”

At the same time she was recording Walela’s debut, Coolidge was working on her own solo album, THINKING ABOUT YOU, a collection of love songs on the Indie Four O Four label. “I’d just finished making the pop record and had three days of pre-production before starting recording WALELA,” the singer said. “I’d finish a take with the girls, and we’d all be in an almost spiritual trance, then have to go listen to a rough mix of the pop album. It was pretty hectic.” Coolidge has always maintained a heavy touring schedule. She has to balance the dates she has with her regular touring band, as well as her dates and recording sessions with Walela.

On February 9, 2002, Walela-the trio of Rita Coolidge, her sister Priscilla Coolidge and Priscilla's daughter Laura Satterfield-sang for their biggest audience, an estimated 4 billion people worldwide, at the opening ceremonies of the Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games, alongside musicians Robbie Robertson and Jim Wilson. "When we walked out onto the ice, I was standing next to Rita," Priscilla recalls. "It looked like thousands of Indians were there, dancing and singing, and with the snow falling through the lights that surrounded us, I felt like my feet had left the ground. I grabbed Rita's hand and had tears in my eyes. There was so much love and joy coming out of everyone that I felt like we'd been suspended in a glass bubble as big as the world."

"It was so emotional and beautiful, I could feel the hearts of the people around me flying," Rita agrees. "It was so cold that we all had frozen tears in our eyes. The next day Robbie said, 'It felt like the arms of the world had wrapped themselves around us.'"

For Walela, the Olympic performance was a magical moment, but as moving as it was, it was just another step on the long musical journey of these three talented women.

"We first recorded together on one of Rita's albums," Laura recalls. "We did 'Cherokee' (which is also found on their first group album). Robbie heard it and asked us to sing on the sessions for his album Music for the Native Americans (Capitol, 1994), which was the real beginning of us as a group. Since then, the music has been calling us on. I know we're making the music, but the music is making us, too, and it's thrilling to be part of the process."

Walela's self-titled debut album (Walela means "hummingbird" in Cherokee), produced by Jim Wilson and released in 1997, mixed Native, pop and New Age forms in its uplifting message. The recording garnered them the Best New Artist award at the 1998 Native American Music Awards (and Laura the best songwriting award for "The Warrior"), but for their next album, Unbearable Love (2000), the trio decided to produce themselves. "Having three strong women in the control booth did create some struggles," Rita admits. "There were days we weren't talking to each other and days when we couldn't let go of each other, but it made the music better. The struggle produces an energy that pushes the music and our lives to new places." "The songs come to us 'cause we're family," Priscilla adds. "We listen to what each other has to say, collectively and individually, since we're all standing on the same spiritual ground and our view of the world and our planet is so much the same."

Take, for example Unbearable Love, which won the Best Recording by a Duo or a Group award at the 2001 Native American Music Awards. It could be called a Native gospel album, a natural category given the background of the Coolidge family. "Our father is a preacher and spiritual leader who saw no conflict between the traditional ways and the teachings of Jesus Christ," Priscilla says. "He opened the doors of the churches he pastored to African Americans, Indians and whites-this was in the segregated '50s-and he blew people away with the purity of his spirit. He also ministered in many black churches, and we grew up singing black gospel music, as well as the country and R&B on the radio, and listening to the sounds of nature that were all around us, so the music comes naturally." Rita jokes, "There are a lot of Indians in that same place, a lot of Cherokee hillbillies."

"I have a home studio," Rita says, "and although I can read and write music, for getting stuff down and not losing the moment I usually make a quick recording, so I have some kind of map. When the three of us come together it will always change-a chord here, a melody there. And we all have our own stash of songs, but Priscilla is my hero as far as writing goes. She's always at it. Not a day goes by without her putting a poem in her journal."

"I've been writing for two years," Priscilla says. "When we get together, we'll throw everything in the pot and then decide what the ingredients are going to be. We work individually, but it takes the three of us before the picture gets clear enough to see." Laura agrees. "There's no Walela without the three of us."

Walela also has to work around Rita's busy solo career. She often lends her voice to outside projects, such as the recent Shaman's Way, a techno/tribal dance music album on the Soul Food label. And, in fact, Rita's place in musical history would be secure even without her work with Walela. She began singing professionally at Florida State University, where she was pursuing an art degree, playing at frat parties and with a folk group. After moving to Memphis, she landed a job at a "jingle factory" that produced radio ads, where she learned to read music. She then hooked up with some musicians in California, Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett, and appeared on their seminal LP, Delaney and Bonnie and Friends. They introduced her to Joe Cocker and Leon Russell, who invited her to join the "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" tour. Her solo rendering of "Superstar" rocketed her into the international spotlight, playing alongside Eric Clapton, George Harrison and other major rock figures.

In the early 1970s she signed with A&M Records and became a star in her own right with a trademark sound blending pop, blues, rock, country and gospel, with hits like "Higher and Higher" and "The Way You Do The Things You Do." In the mid-'70s, she met and married Kris Kristofferson, playing alongside him on albums and in films (including the wonderful Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid), amassing an armload of gold and platinum records, and two Grammys for Best Country Duet. While she never incorporated the Cherokee language or Native rhythms in her music of this period, she notes, "I looked Native and never downplayed it. To this day, Native women come up to me and tell me my visibility was an inspiration."

Priscilla too can look back on a long and illustrious early career. She recorded with Bob Dylan, Stephen Stills and many other well-known artists, and songs she penned have been recorded by the likes of Willie Nelson and Emmylou Harris. Laura is also busy with her solo career, writing songs with Robert Mirabal and discussing a collaborative effort with poet/musician John Trudell.