Paula Cole

Template:Short description Template:For Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox musical artist Paula Dorothy Cole (born April 5, 1968) is an American singer and songwriter. 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,<ref name=CBC /> and also was a headliner for Lilith Fair in 1997<ref name=CNN /> and 1998.<ref name=VF /> 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.<ref name=AP>Template:Cite news</ref>

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 album was Lo, released in 2024. Cole's music sometimes addresses social issues, such as gender stereotypes,<ref name=Yahoo>Template:Cite news</ref> environmental issues,<ref name="billboard"/> the history of slavery in the United States,<ref name=USA /> and the Iraq war.<ref name=SFG /><ref name=Argus /> Besides recording and performing, Cole has also served on the faculty at Berklee College of Music since 2013.

Early life

Cole was raised in Rockport, Massachusetts. Her mother, Stephanie Cole, a mixed media artist, was an elementary school art teacher; her father, Jim Cole, was a professor of biology and ecology at Salem State College and played bass in the polka band "Johnny Prytko and the Connecticut Hi-Tones".<ref name="Northshore">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Huffington">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Her older sister Irene played piano.<ref name="Northshore" /> She has stated she has Irish, Italian and Polish ancestry.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

She attended Rockport High School where she was president of her senior class and performed in school theatrical productions such as South Pacific.<ref name="Gloucester">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Cole then attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she studied jazz singing and improvisation with Bob Stoloff.<ref name="Northshore" /><ref name=Rauzi1996>Template:Cite news</ref> She sang jazz standards at lounges and nightclubs.<ref name=NPR2019>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> One of the school projects was with Vox One, a chorus group at Berklee that later turned to pro as well.<ref name="voxone">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She was offered a record deal by the jazz label GRP Records, but decided to turn it down.<ref name="Northshore" /><ref name=Rauzi1996 />

After graduating Berklee, she moved to San Francisco and began working on song ideas.<ref name=Parade2019>Template:Cite magazine</ref> She lived with three roommates and ate meagerly, building up her home studio and writing down song ideas including one that later became "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?"<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Impressing label president Terry Ellis with her demo performances, she signed with his Imago Records in 1992, and was coached by veteran artist's manager John Carter on the album project that would become Harbinger.<ref name=LATimes1997>Template:Cite news</ref>

Career

1993–1998: Harbinger and This Fire

File:Paula Cole Matters.ogg

Cole interviewed in 1998.

Cole got her first big professional break when she was invited to perform on Peter Gabriel's 1993–94 Secret World Tour. To replace Sinéad O'Connor who left the tour, Gabriel sought Cole on the recommendation of his studio engineer Kevin Killen.<ref name="Easlea 2013 p. 401">Template:Cite book</ref> Gabriel left an answering machine message for her at her apartment in San Francisco, and she immediately flew to Mannheim, Germany, for her only rehearsal with Gabriel, shortly before performing in front of 16,000 people.<ref name=RS2021>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Cole joined the two last legs of Peter Gabriel's 1993–94 Secret World tour.<ref name="sing365">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="nndbmapper">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A video of the concert was shot just days after Cole joined the tour.<ref name=RS2021 /> The video was released as Secret World Live, with Cole covering all the primary female vocals and featured in duets with Gabriel, especially the songs "Don't Give Up" on which she sang the part that Kate Bush recorded with Gabriel in 1986, and "Blood of Eden" recorded by Gabriel and Sinéad O'Connor in 1992. The film received the 1996 Grammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Cole was also the main female vocalist on Secret World Live, the audio album documenting the tour. The tour gave Cole international exposure as well as experience performing on a large stage.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Her performance earned high praise:<ref name=RS2021 /> in a retrospective review, PopMatters wrote that Cole was "one of the real stars" on the tour, that she easily handled Kate Bush's parts, and that she was "maybe a superior vocalist" to Sinéad O'Connor.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Shortly after the tour, Cole released her first album Harbinger in 1994. She appeared with Melissa Etheridge to sing a duet on VH1. Imago Records went out of business a few months after the album came out. In 1995, Cole signed on to Warner Bros. Records. Warner reissued Harbinger in the autumn of 1995.

Harbinger featured songs dwelling on Cole's personal thoughts on discrimination and unhappiness.Template: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. Imago Records folded and promotion of Harbinger was limited, affecting its sales.<ref name=AllMusic /> A single, "I Am So Ordinary", was released with a black-and-white video that reflected the album's artwork.

In late 1996, Cole released her second album on Warner, This Fire, which was entirely self-produced. The album's debut single, "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?", went to No. 8 on Billboard magazine's pop chart. The follow-up single "I Don't Want to Wait" reached No. 11, its popularity bolstered by its use as the theme song for the hit teen drama series Dawson's Creek which debuted over a year after the album.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The single "Me" (No. 35 Airplay chart) was also released as a radio-only single. 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.

In 1996, Cole, along with Sarah McLachlan, Suzanne Vega, Lisa Loeb and others, was a featured performer in a four show mini-tour that served as a prototype for what would become the Lilith Fair tour.<ref name=CBC>Template:Cite news</ref> She was also a headliner for the Lilith Fair tours in 1997<ref name=CNN>Template:Cite news</ref> and 1998.<ref name=VF>Template:Cite magazine</ref> She was nominated for several Grammy Awards in 1997. Among them was "Producer of the Year" (Cole was the third woman to ever be nominated in this category after Janet Jackson in 1990 and Mariah Carey in 1992, but the first as a solo nomination); she did not win, but she did go on to win "Best New Artist" that same year.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

1999–2006: Amen, hiatus, and motherhood

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}

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 song "Be Somebody" was featured and performed by Paula and the band at P3 on the hit TV show Charmed in 2000. 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.

During this time Cole took a hiatus to raise her daughter, Sky.

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 heard. 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 song protesting President Bush and the Iraq War titled "My Hero, Mr. President!", which she posted on her website.<ref>The song is available at:Template:Ulist Cole discussed it in subsequent blog posts: Template:Ulist</ref><ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>

2007–2013: Courage, Ithaca, and Raven

Cole returned in June 2007 with her fourth studio album, Courage, which was released on Decca Records and produced by Bobby Colomby at Capitol Studios in Hollywood.Template:Citation needed

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."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Raven, Cole's sixth studio album, was funded by a Kickstarter campaign which ran from September 22 to October 29, 2012, and raised $75,258.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The album was released on April 23, 2013, on her 675 label. Cole wrote the 11 songs on the album including two from early in her career, "Imaginary Man" and "Manitoba". Her mother had saved these songs on cassette tapes.<ref name=raven>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Most of the album was recorded in one week at a barn in Massachusetts. The musicians included co-producer/drummer Ben Wittman, guitarist Kevin Barry and bassist Tony Levin. She has worked with Wittman and Barry since she was 19.<ref name=raven />

2014–2018: 7, This Bright Red Feeling, and Ballads

File:Paula Cole @ The Triple Door (8728542794).jpg

Cole performing in 2013

7 is Cole's seventh studio album, released on March 23, 2015, via Cole's website and to other digital music outlets on April 10, 2015. In Cole's words, it is "a collection of songs that came suddenly and urgently. The songs demanded to be written and released, as if my subconscious needed to reach out to me; to tell me what it thought about all I was going through. I recorded this album live, as an acoustic quartet. It sounds like a soft, soulful album made in the 1960s and the songs speak for themselves."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Cole announced that she was selling her new live album This Bright Red Feeling exclusively on CD at live shows and at her website, with intentions to put it online for digital sale soon. The album is a recording of her live New York City show on May 1, 2016, but also includes re-recordings of two of her biggest commercial hits. The album's title comes from a lyric from her song Tiger.

Cole announced a new Kickstarter project on June 16, 2016, for a covers studio album, Ballads. It raised $76,899. The album was released on August 11, 2017.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The first single, a cover of Billie Holiday's "God Bless the Child", was released on June 1.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The album hit #9 on the Billboard Traditional Jazz Album Chart. <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

2019–2021: Revolution, American Quilt

Paula Cole released her ninth studio album, Revolution, on September 13, 2019, on 675 Records.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2021, Cole released the album American Quilt.

2024-present: Lo

Cole released her 11th studio album, Lo, on March 1, 2024. The album explores themes of grief, healing, and self-discovery, with the track “The Replacements & Dinosaur Jr.” serving as a tribute to her late friend and mentor, Mark Hutchins. <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Social commentary

Cole said her 1996 song "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?" was intended as a commentary on gender stereotypes, but the feminist message was misinterpreted by many listeners who did not realize the song was intended to be satirical.<ref name=Yahoo /> In 2003, Cole recorded a song called "My Hero, Mr. President" that she released for free download,<ref name=SFG>Template:Cite news</ref> which was critical of President George W. Bush and America's involvement in the Iraq War.<ref name=Argus>Template:Cite news</ref> Robert Morast of the Argus Leader reported that Cole was the first "bona fide mainstream musician" to take a public stance against the Iraq war.<ref name=Argus /> On her 2019 album Revolution, Cole covered a version of the Marvin Gaye song "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" which she said was about "planetary health". Cole told Billboard Magazine that while love songs matter, there should also be songs about important societal issues.<ref name = billboard>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Cole's song "Silent", also on the album Revolution, is about her experience of being sexually assaulted early in her career and her refusal to continue to be silent about the experience.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In May 2021, Cole told USA Today that her song "Hidden in Plain Sight" addressed the "shameful history of slavery."<ref name=USA>Template:Cite news</ref>

Other activities

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 upcoming fourth studio album, Courage. The set began with a solo piano version of "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?", which was replayed by the full band toward the end of the concert. Her performance was reviewed favorably in The Boston Globe on February 19, 2007.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In March 2007, her official MySpace page previewed three new songs from Courage: "Comin' Down", "El Greco", and the album's first single, entitled "14".

Cole is a member of the Canadian charity Artists Against Racism, and worked with them on a radio public service announcement.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

On July 10, 2007, Cole sang "God Bless America" during the seventh-inning stretch of the 2007 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In August 2007, Cole toured with Mandy Moore, playing mid-size venues in the western United States.

On June 17, 2008, she sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Game 6 of the NBA Finals in Boston.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In August 2008 and 2009, Cole continued to tour and promote her CD Courage.

Since 2013, Cole has been on the voice faculty at Berklee College of Music while continuing an active performing career.Template:Citation needed

In 2024, Cole competed in season twelve of The Masked Singer as "Ship" where she briefly rode a ship-like vehicle in the first appearance and had Jewel (who won season six as "Queen of Hearts") as her Mask Ambassador. She was eliminated in the Group A finals alongside Marsai Martin as "Woodpecker" and did an encore of "I Don't Want to Wait".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Personal life

In June 2002, Cole married Moroccan musician Hassan Hakmoun, whom she had met on the Secret World Tour in 1994.<ref name="NYTimes">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The couple divorced in 2007. They have one daughter, Sky, born in 2001.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Cole is openly bisexual<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and came out in 2022.<ref name="out">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Discography

Studio albums

• Harbinger (1994)
• This Fire (1996)
• Amen (1999)
• Courage (2007)
• Ithaca (2010)
• Raven (2013)
• 7 (2015)
• Ballads (2017)
• Revolution (2019)
• American Quilt (2021)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Lo (2024)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="as">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

EP

• Ravenesque (2013)

Live album

• This Bright Red Feeling (2016)

Compilation

• Greatest Hits: Postcards from East Oceanside (2006)

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions									Album
		US <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	US AC <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	US Adult <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	US Alt <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	US Dance <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	US Pop <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	AUS <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>		CAN <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	UK <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1994	"I Am So Ordinary"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	42	—	Harbinger
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"	—Template:Efn	—	17	—	—	25	—	20	—
1999	"I Believe in Love"	—Template:Efn	—	22	—	18	39	—	37	—	Amen
2000	"Be Somebody"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
	"Amen"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2007	"14"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Courage
	"Comin' Down"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2010	"Music in Me"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Ithaca
2013	"Eloise"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Raven
2017	"God Bless the Child"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Ballads
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Nominated work	Result
1997	Billboard Music Awards	Top Adult Top 40 Artist	Paula Cole	Template:Nom
	Billboard Music Video Awards	FAN.tastic Video	"Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?"	Template:Nom
	MTV Video Music Awards	Best Female Video		Template:Nom
1998	40th Grammy Awards	Record of the Year		Template:Nom
		Song of the Year		Template:Nom
		Best Female Pop Vocal Performance		Template:Nom
		Album of the Year	This Fire	Template:Nom
		Best Pop Vocal Album		Template:Nom
		Best New Artist	Paula Cole	Template:Won
		Producer of the Year, Non-Classical		Template:Nom
	Boston Music Awards	Act of the Year		Template:Won
		Outstanding Female Vocalist		Template:Won
		Single of the Year	"Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?"	Template:Won
		Outstanding Song/Songwriter	"I Don't Want To Wait"	Template:Won
1999		Act of the Year	Paula Cole	Template:Nom
	BMI Pop Awards	Award-Winning Song	"I Don't Want to Wait"	Template:Won

External links

• Template:Official website
• {{#ifeq: | yes

| https://www.allmusic.com/Template:Trim/Template:Trim{{

 #if: 
 | /{{{tab}}}
 }}

| {{#if:

 | {{#if: 
   | {{#if: |[[{{{author-link}}}|{{#if: |, {{{first}}} }}]]|{{#if: |, {{{first}}} }}}}. 
   }}[https://www.allmusic.com/Template:Trim/Template:Trim{{
   #if: 
   | /{{{tab}}}
   }} {{
   #if: 
   | {{{title}}}
   | Template:PAGENAMEBASE
   }}] at AllMusic{{
   #if: 
   | . Retrieved .
   }}

 | {{#if: {{#property:P1728}}
   | Template:First word {{#if:  | {{{title}}} | Template:PAGENAMEBASE }} at AllMusicTemplate:EditAtWikidata

   | {{#if: {{#property:P1729}}
     | Template:First word {{#if:  | {{{title}}} | Template:PAGENAMEBASE }} at AllMusicTemplate:EditAtWikidata

     | {{#if: {{#property:P1730}}
       | Template:First word {{#if:  | {{{title}}} | Template:PAGENAMEBASE }} at AllMusicTemplate:EditAtWikidata

       | {{#if: {{#property:P1994}}
         | Template:First word {{#if:  | {{{title}}} | Template:PAGENAMEBASE }} at AllMusicTemplate:EditAtWikidata

         | Template:Main other

         }}
       }}
     }}
   }}
 }}

}}

• {{#if:|Template:PAGENAMEBASE discography at Discogs|{{#if:Template:Wikidata|Template:Wikidata Template:PAGENAMEBASE discography at DiscogsTemplate:EditAtWikidata|Template:PAGENAMEBASE discography at Discogs}}}}
• [https://www.imdb.com/{{#if:

 | name/{{#if:{{#invoke:ustring|match|1={{{id}}}|2=^nm}}
   | Template:Trim/
   | nm{{{id}}}/
   }}
 | {{#if: {{#property:P345}}
   | name/Template:First word/
   | find?q=%7B%7B%23if%3A+%0A++++++%7C+%7B%7B%7Bname%7D%7D%7D%0A++++++%7C+%5B%5B%3ATemplate%3APAGENAMEBASE%5D%5D%0A++++++%7D%7D&s=nm
   }}
 }}{{#if:   {{#property:P345}} | {{#switch: 
 | award | awards = awards Awards for | biography | bio = bio Biography for
 }}}} {{#if: 
 | {{{name}}}
 | Template:PAGENAMEBASE
 }}] at IMDb{{#if: {{#property:P345}}
 | Template:EditAtWikidata
 | Template:Main other

}}{{#switch:{{#invoke:string2|matchAny|^nm.........|^nm.......|nm|.........|source={{{id}}}|plain=false}}

 | 1 | 3 =  Template:Main otherTemplate:Preview warning
 | 4 = Template:Main otherTemplate:Preview warning

}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:IMDb name with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|showblankpositional=1| 1 | 2 | id | name | section }}

• Template:MusicBrainz artist