Paula Cole was born in the small rural town of Rockport, MA to a family already dabbling in music and the arts. She graduated from the prestigious Berklee College of Music after studying jazz singing and improvisation and went on to pursue a career as a musician.
Paula got her first taste of success with the invitation to perform in Peter Gabriel's Secret World tour.
Paula released her debut LP, Harbingerwith Imago Records. Unfortunately, the record company went out of business resulting in little promotion for Paula's debut. The following year Paula joined Warner Brothers.
Paula's second LP, This Fire, was released, with herself as the producer. Within a year, the track "Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?" was heard all over the radio and became a #1 pop hit.
Paula reflected on her growing popularity with Scene Magazine: On the comparisons of her music to other female artists such as Kate Bush and Tori Amos: "Maybe it's just because we're women, we're passionate about what we do and we're all strong singers who sing about personal issues..." On her LP, This Fire: "I really wanted to make a stark and risky statement, more about performance and 'in the moment' passion and emotion. It's not as naive and much more brazen. I felt more comfortable with myself, under my own skin, and I was able to take those risks because I believed in myself more." Entertainment Weekly called Paula "...a feisty poet with a soaring voice and a funky groove..."
Paula performed for U.S. troops in the Middle East right before the Christmas holiday.
Paula continued to promote her LP throughout 1997 with live performances on VH-1's Hard Rock Live and PBS's Sessions At West 54th. Her participation in the highly successful Lilith Fair tour also increased her popularity and help record sales.
Paula won a Grammy Awardfor Best New Artist and was also nominated for Album of the Year and Best Pop Album (This Fire), Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance ("Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?"), and Producer of the Year (the first woman ever nominated in this category). Although she might be remembered for her win as Best New Artist, Paula also might be remembered for "giving the finger" during her performance of "Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?" But the offending gesture was actually part of the act and a spokesperson for Cole's record label said the gesture was "part of the satire (of the song) where the woman is at home while the guy's out having a beer." She also hit the Top 40 with "Me."
Paula told Rolling Stone: "My life has changed so dramatically. It's really bizarre and abnormal. I miss my parents. And there's no time. I mean, I had to pee in a cup the other day."
Cole talked with CNN about Lilith Fair: "There was a vacancy an a need for women to support each other in music, in business, in life... It's a musical tour, first and foremost, but at the same time, there are amazing benefits that are coming out of this that are very feminist-inspired. Just the fact that we have proven to the industry... to a very male-dominated industry, that women are and can be very successful and are doing very well on their own, thank you very much, and we don't have to have men backing us up or men opening for us." Cole spent part of the summer travelling with the Horde Tour and will be playing again with the Lilith Fair when the tour hits Canada.
Paula was nominated for a Boston Music Award for Act of the Year. Paula returned to the studio to record her anticipated follow-up LP to the Grammy-winning, This Fire.
Paula played a benefit for hand gun control in L.A. - the result of her song "Be Somebody" which Cole didn't write for the cause but feels "...it works out to be a perfect gun control song...America is just so violent. You see that when you leave it. It's just such a problem now," she continues. "I understand that it is in the constitution because they never wanted the government to be too powerful. They wanted the ordinary citizen to have the ability to revolutionize the government and that's a really noble principle. But, wow, things have gone awry."
AmenReleased: September , 1999 Billboard peak: # 97 Rolling Stone review: Tracks: "I Believe In Love" - "Amen" - "a Tonya" - "Pearl" - "Be Somebody" - "Rhythm Of Life" - "Free" - "Suwannee Jo" - "God Is Watching"
CourageReleased: June, 2007 Billboard peak: # 163 Tracks: "Comin' Down" - "Love Light (Cardinal)" - "El Greco" - "Lonely Town" - "14" - "Hard To Be Soft" - "It's My Life" - "Safe In Your Arms" - "I Wanna Kiss You" - "In Our Dreams" - "Until I Met You"
IthacaReleased: September, 2010 Tracks: "The Hard Way" - "Waiting On A Miracle" - "Music In Me" - "Elegy" - "Come On Inside" - "P.R.E.N.U.P." - "Violet Eyes" - "Somethin' I've Gotta Say" - "Sex" - "2 Lifetimes"
American QuiltReleased: May 21, 2021 Tracks: "Wayfaring Stranger" - "Black Mountain Blues" - "You Don't Know What Love Is" - "God's Gonna Cut You Down" - "Shenandoah" - "Nobody Knows You (When You're Down And Out)" - "Good Morning Heartache" - "Bye Bye Blackbird" - "Steal Away / Hidden In Plain Sight" - "What A Wonderful World"
Note: Song title and position links lead you to the song's Top 40 chart run (from the ARC Weekly Top 40) and LP links take you to Amazon.com for that LP (often including track listings and sound samples).
Paula Cole was born in the small rural town of Rockport, MA to a family already dabbling in music and the arts. She graduated from the prestigious Berklee College of Music after studying jazz singing and improvisation and went on to pursue a career as a musician.
# 7 Singles Artist of the Year
# 33 Singles Artist of the Year
# 81 Singles Artist of the Year 
May 21: Cole released American Quilt.
iTunes Amazon.mp3
Tracks: "I Believe In Love" - "Amen" - "a Tonya" - "Pearl" - "Be Somebody" - "Rhythm Of Life" - "Free" - "Suwannee Jo" - "God Is Watching"
iTunes Amazon.mp3