Grammy Award winning singer and songwriter Paula Cole is an artist of exceptional talent and delivers a performance that is both powerful and emotional. She was one of the many female singer/songwriters who rose to prominence in the mid-1990s in the wake of alternative music's commercial breakthrough.
Drawing heavily from the ethereal, pretty sound of Sarah McLachlan and Tori Amos, Paula created songs that relied equally on dreamy melodies and poetic, introspective lyrics.
Paula's first big break arrived when Peter Gabriel invited her to perform on his 1992-1993 world tour. Shortly afterward, she signed to Imago Records, where she released her debut album, Harbinger, but within a year, Imago went out of business, which prevented the record from getting exposure on radio and in the press. In 1995, she signed to Warner Brothers, who reissued Harbinger. She returned with her second album in October of 1996. Titled This Fire, the album was sensual and sincere with melodies that fueled two hit singles, "Where Have All the Cowboy's Gone?" and "I Don't Want to Wait," popularized as the theme to the television hit series "Dawson's Creek." The album, and its accompanying singles, became word-of-mouth hits, breaking through into the mainstream in the spring of 1997.
The remarkable album earned seven Grammy nominations, including one for Producer of the Year, making Paula the first woman in Grammy history to receive that honor. That summer, Paula participated in the first Lilith Fair, a traveling festival Sarah McLachlan designed to showcase female artists.
In 1998, Paula won the Grammy for Best New Artist, despite the fact that she released her debut album in 1994 and therefore was technically ineligible. Her much-anticipated third album, Amen, followed in 1999. Eight years passed before she returned with the single "14" and a new album, Courage, in 2007. Paula has appeared on all the major television talk shows and tours constantly in both Europe and the United States and has entertained U.S. troops stationed in the Persian Gulf.
This performance by Paula Cole, as part of the Fitz's Jazz Cafe series at the McCallum Theatre, is sponsored by Desert Lexus, Pacific Western Bank, La Quinta Resort, Century 21 Mirage Realty, Masters Financial Group, and KJJZ 102.3-FM.
Paula Cole will appear at the McCallum Theatre on Sunday, March 16, 2008, at 7:00pm. Tickets are priced at $75, $55, $45 and $35. -- www.mccallumtheatre.com
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