Paula Cole

For the actress, see Paula Cale.

Paula Cole
close-up of Paula Cole from profile, wearing a denim jacket, singing into a microphone with eyes closed
Cole performing in 2009
Background information
Born (1968-04-05) April 5, 1968 (age 56)
OriginRockport, Massachusetts, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • producer
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • piano
  • guitar
Years active1992–present
Labels

Paula Dorothy Cole (born April 5, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter and producer.[2] After gaining attention for her performances as a vocalist on Peter Gabriel's 1993–1994 Secret World Tour, she released her first album, Harbinger, which suffered from a lack of promotion when the label, Imago Records, folded shortly after its release. Her second album, This Fire (1996), brought her worldwide acclaim, peaking at number 20 on the Billboard 200 album chart and producing two hit singles, the triple-Grammy nominated "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?", which reached the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1997, and "I Don't Want to Wait", which was used as the theme song of the television show Dawson's Creek. Cole was a featured performer in the 1996 prototype mini-tour for Lilith Fair,[3] and also was a headliner for Lilith Fair in 1997[4] and 1998.[5] She won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1998, and also became the first woman ever to be nominated for "Producer of the Year" in her own right in that same year.[2]

Her third album, 1999's Amen, marked a major stylistic departure for Cole, and this alienated many of her former fans; the album sales were disappointing compared to the multi-Platinum sales of her prior effort. She has since released several more albums, including the jazz-influenced Courage (2007) and Ithaca (2010), which marked a return to her 1990s folk-rock sound. Her most recent release was titled American Quilt, and came out in May 2021. Cole's music sometimes addresses social issues, such as gender stereotypes,[6] environmental issues,[7] the history of slavery in the United States,[8] and the Iraq war.[9][10] Besides recording and performing, Cole has also served on the faculty at Berklee College of Music since 2013.

  1. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Paula Cole | Biography". AllMusic.
  2. ^ a b Kennedy, Mark (January 19, 2018). "Paula Cole, a best new artist Grammy winner, looks back". Associated Press. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
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  6. ^ Parker, Lyndsey (October 13, 2021). "Paula Cole recalls how her biggest '90s hit was misunderstood: 'It was horrific'". Yahoo Entertainment. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
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