Paula Cole
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| Paula Cole | |
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 Cole performing in 2009 |
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| Background information | |
| Born | April 5, 1968 |
| Origin | Rockport, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Genres | Adult contemporary, pop rock, experimental music, art rock |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Labels | Imago / Warner Bros. (1993–2003) Columbia (2003–2005) Decca (2006–present) |
| Website | Official Site |
Paula Cole (born April 5, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter. Her single "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone" reached the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1997, and the following year she won a Grammy Award for Best New Artist.
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[edit] Early life
Cole was raised in Rockport, Massachusetts; her mother was an elementary school art teacher, and her father was a professor of biology and ecology at Salem State College and a polka musician.[1] She attended Rockport High School, where she was president of her senior class and performed in school theatrical productions such as South Pacific.[2] Cole then attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she studied jazz singing and improvisation. She was offered a record deal by a jazz label, but decided to turn it down.[1]
[edit] Recording career
Cole got her first big professional break when she was invited to perform on Peter Gabriel's 1993-1994 Secret World Live tour. Shortly after this, she was signed on with her first record company Imago Records. Through this record company, she released her first album Harbinger in 1994. Within that year of Harbinger's release, Imago Records went out of business. In 1995, she was signed on to Warner Bros. Records. The record company reissued Harbinger in the Autumn of 1995.
[edit] Harbinger
Cole released her debut album, Harbinger, in 1994 with Imago Records. She appeared with Melissa Etheridge to sing a duet on VH1 though she was not well known at the time.
Harbinger featured songs dwelling on Cole's personal thoughts on discrimination and unhappiness.[citation needed] The songs were musically lush but driven and bleak. The accompanying artwork featured photographs of Cole with a boyishly short haircut, wearing loose fitting black sweatclothes, combat boots and nose ring. The Imago label folded and promotion of Harbinger was limited, affecting its sales.[citation needed] A single, "I Am So Ordinary", was released with a black and white video that reflected the album's artwork.
[edit] This Fire
In late 1996, Cole released her second album on Warner Bros. Records, This Fire, which was entirely self-produced. The albums' debut single, "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone", became an instant smash radio (reaching #8 on Billboard magazine's pop chart) and MTV hit. The follow-up single, "I Don't Want to Wait," was a #11 pop hit single, its popularity in part due to its usage as the theme song for the hit teen drama series Dawson's Creek.[citation needed] The single "Me" (#35) was also released. The title "Hush, Hush, Hush," a duet with Peter Gabriel, talks about AIDS and about a young man dying in his father's comforting arms. "Feelin' Love" was a single that was included on the soundtrack to City of Angels.
Cole toured with Sarah McLachlan's Lilith Fair and garnered even more critical acclaim due to her live performances.[citation needed] Cole was nominated for several Grammy awards in 1997. Among them was "Producer of the Year" (Cole was the second woman to ever be nominated in this category); she did not win, but she did go on to win "Best New Artist" that same year.
[edit] Amen
Cole took a hiatus to have and begin raising her daughter Sky. In 1999 Cole released Amen with the newly formed "Paula Cole Band". The album's debut single "I Believe In Love" was initially not a success but was remixed by producer Jonathan Peters into a successful dance song. The album which had guest appearances by DJ Premier and long-time Cole fan Tionne Watkins featured some R&B and hip-hop influences but failed to match the success of This Fire. A fourth album was recorded with Hugh Padgham but the label refused to release it; in 2005 Cole uploaded one of the tracks, "Singing Out My Life," to her own website to get her sound out there. She also recorded a song called "It's My Life" during these sessions, which can be heard in Mercury automobile commercials. Cole also made a home recording of a politically charged "country-esque" song called "My Hero Mr. President".[citation needed]
[edit] Courage
Cole returned in June 2007 with her fourth studio album Courage, which was released on Decca Records and produced by Bobby Colomby at the Capitol Studios in Hollywood.
[edit] Ithaca
Cole's fifth studio album, Ithaca, was released September 21, 2010. She wrote and co-produced all of the songs on the album. Cole says it "represents that inner fortitude and the journey I’ve been on."[3]
[edit] Instruments
In addition to singing, Cole performs on numerous instruments, including her main instrument, piano, as well as a Roland Juno synthesizer, Juno bass, tube Wurlitzer, harmonium, beat boxing vocals, toy xylophone, didjeridoo, clarinet, Fender Rhodes electric piano, Rhodes bass, Moog synthesizer, and low tuned-electric guitar in different songs.
[edit] Current status
Cole performed a two-hour set at Berklee Performance Center in Boston, Massachusetts on February 16, 2007 during which she debuted several songs from her then yet to be released fourth studio album, Courage. The set began with a solo piano version of "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone" which was replayed toward the end of the concert by the full band. Her performance was reviewed favorably in The Boston Globe on February 19, 2007.[4] In March 2007, her official myspace previewed three new songs from Courage, which include "Comin' Down", "El Greco", and the album's first single entitled "14".
On July 10, 2007 Cole sang "God Bless America" during the seventh-inning stretch of the 2007 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.[5][6] In August 2007, Cole toured with Mandy Moore, playing mid-size venues in the western United States.[dated info]
On June 17, 2008 she sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Game 6 of the NBA Finals in Boston.[7] In August 2008 and 2009, Cole continued to tour and promote her CD Courage.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio albums
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [8] |
NZ [9] |
UK [10] |
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| Harbinger |
|
— | — | — | |||||
| This Fire |
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20 | 26 | 60 | |||||
| Amen |
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97 | — | — | |||||
| Courage |
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163 | — | — | |||||
| Ithaca |
|
— | — | — | |||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
[edit] Compilation albums
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Greatest Hits: Postcards from East Oceanside |
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[edit] Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [11] |
US AC [12] |
US Adult [13][14] |
US Alt [15] |
US Dance [16] |
US Pop [17] |
AUS [18] |
CAN [19] |
UK [20] |
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| 1997 | "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone" | 8 | 27 | 4 | 32 | 10 | 5 | 32 | 7 | 15 | This Fire | |||
| "I Don't Want to Wait" | 11 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 5 | 27 | 5 | 43 | |||||
| 1998 | "Me" | — | — | 17 | — | — | 25 | — | 20 | — | ||||
| 1999 | "I Believe in Love" | — | — | 22 | — | 18 | 39 | — | 37 | — | Amen | |||
| 2000 | "Be Somebody" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Amen" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| 2007 | "14" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Courage | |||
| "Coming Down" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||||||||||
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Paula Cole", Northshore Magazine (Mass.), July 10, 2010.
- ^ Gail McCarthy, "Paula's homecoming: Rockport's Cole wows sold-out crowds", Gloucester Daily Times, August 8, 2010.
- ^ McLaughlin, Moira E. Washington Post, 16 October 2009. "With a balanced life, Cole is ready to return to the spotlight". Accessed 23 January 2010.
- ^ Rodman, Sarah (February 19, 2007). "Returning to the limelight, Cole is as striking as ever". The Boston Globe, Living/Arts [1]
- ^ press release from MLB
- ^ this article from Broadcast News
- ^ "Celtics win NBA title: Game 6 scene at the Garden". The Boston Globe. June 17, 2008. http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/gallery/06_17_08_game_six_scene?pg=15.
- ^ "Paula Cole Album & Song Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/paula-cole/chart-history/36739?f=305&g=Albums. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
- ^ "charts.org.nz - New Zealand charts portal". Hung Medien. http://charts.org.nz/search.asp?cat=a&search=Paula+Cole. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
- ^ "Chart Stats - Paula Cole". chartstats.com. http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php?id=8142. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
- ^ "Paula Cole Album & Song Chart History - Hot 100". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/paula-cole/chart-history/36739?f=379&g=Singles. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
- ^ "Paula Cole Album & Song Chart History - Adult Contemporary". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/paula-cole/chart-history/36739?f=341&g=Singles. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
- ^ "Paula Cole Album & Song Chart History - Adult Pop Songs". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/paula-cole/chart-history/36739?f=343&g=Singles. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
- ^ "Paula Cole - AllMusic". AllMusic. http://allmusic.com/artist/paula-cole-p44869/charts-awards/billboard-singles. Retrieved June 26, 2011.
- ^ "Paula Cole Album & Song Chart History - Alternative Songs". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/paula-cole/chart-history/36739?f=377&g=Singles. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
- ^ "Paula Cole Album & Song Chart History - Dance/Club Play Songs". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/paula-cole/chart-history/36739?f=359&g=Singles. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
- ^ "Paula Cole Album & Song Chart History - Pop Songs". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/paula-cole/chart-history/36739?f=381&g=Singles. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
- ^ "australian-charts.com - Australian charts portal". Hung Medien. http://www.australian-charts.com/search.asp?search=Paula+Cole&cat=s. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
- ^ "RPM search results - Paula Cole". RPM. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-110.01-e.php?PHPSESSID=n28dq5e6leqv8e5pcaat000l72&q1=Paula+Cole&q2=Top+Singles&interval=50. Retrieved June 26, 2011.
- ^ "Chart Log UK: Chris C- CZR". The Official Charts Company. http://www.zobbel.de/cluk/CLUK_C.HTM. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
[edit] External links
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| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by LeAnn Rimes |
Grammy Award for Best New Artist 1998 |
Succeeded by Lauryn Hill |
- 1968 births
- Living people
- Grammy Award winners
- American pop pianists
- American female singers
- American record producers
- American singer-songwriters
- Berklee College of Music alumni
- Musicians from Massachusetts
- People from Rockport, Massachusetts
- Warner Bros. Records artists
- Columbia Records artists
- Decca Records artists
