When Joe Cocker sang about the mysterious 'Delta Lady', red-blooded males on both sides of the Atlantic pondered the identity of the lady in question.

In fact, the sultry subject of one of the great rock songs of all time is the delightful Rita Coolidge, who was at that time the girlfriend of the composer of the song, Leon Russell.

A versatile singer with a sweet and soulful voice, Rita's early career is inevitably linked with Leon, Joe and Delaney & Bonnie, including one celebrated concert at the Fairfield Halls in 1969.

Ahead of her return to Croydon this Friday, the Delta Lady admits she is excited about her return to the UK.

"I am very much looking forward to it. I still love the performing part of the tour, I just don't like packing the bags. Whereas in the past we would simply pack a bag, go to the airport and get on a plane, it's so much harder now with the stricter rules and weight limits.

"Ultimately, once the music starts, everything else is worth the hassle."

Born in Lafayette, Tennessee, Rita began singing in the church where her father was a minister. After graduating in art at Florida State University, she opted to try a career in music, singing commercial jingles in Memphis before landing a job as backing vocalist for the husband and wife duo Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett.

As she explains: "I first met Delaney & Bonnie in Memphis and they asked me to come out to California to sing on their first album for Elektra records, so I hooked a ride with their keyboard player Leon Russell and we were boyfriend and girlfriend for about a year."

Rita's contribution to their live sound is famously captured on record - Delaney & Bonnie and Friends: on tour with Eric Clapton - recorded at their Fairfield concert in December 1969, a period Rita remembers fondly.

"It was a fabulous tour, especially working in England, because inevitably George Harrison, Dave Mason and Eric Clapton would jump on the bus and we would just sing all day long driving to the next gig, play the show, then go to somebody's room and sing and play all night.

"It was a great time and the record came out real well, but I think all of Delaney & Bonnie's music is timeless. Elton John once told me that they were the biggest influence of any band on his music and he loved Leon Russell's style of piano, which is such a compliment."

As a singer, Rita is impossible to categorise.

Her current CD is a jazz collection, she has worked with rhythm and blues bands, sung country with her ex-husband Kris Kristofferson, had chart success with songs like We're All Alone and I'd Rather Leave While I'm in Love, recorded the James Bond film theme, All Time High, for Octopussy and performed native American music in her family group Walela.

Rita said: "To be honest, I don't think people know which category to put me in and I quite like it that way. I see myself purely as a singer, which means I can play jazz and blues and my native American music or even symphony concerts.

"Like my mentor Peggy Lee, I think that it's important to do what you want and not feel like you have to be stuck in one category."

Over the years, Rita has worked tirelessly at her craft, yet she confessed there was a point where her career appeared to stall and inspiration came from an unlikely source.

"Sometime in the mid-80s I didn't have a record deal and I really wasn't sure what I was going to do next. I bumped into Sammy Davis Junior at a dinner in New York and he told me you don't have to make records, you're an entertainer. When you sing, you are reaching out to people and making them happy. That's all you need to be doing'.

"That really rang true with me and I just stepped away from record companies and pursuing a deal and consciously worked on communicating with the audience, entertaining, telling stories and drawing people in. I think it was one of the greatest lessons anyone ever gave me."

  • Rita Coolidge; Fairfield Halls; this Friday; 8pm; 020 8688 9201; fairfield.co.uk.