Bonnie Raitt | Artist

Bonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer, guitarist, songwriter, and activist born 1949 in Burbank, California. Raitt began playing blues and bottleneck slide guitar from an early age, influenced by early American blues, in particular the music of Mississippi Fred McDowell. Born into a musical family, her mother, Marge Goddard, was a pianist, and her father, John Raitt, was a professional actor and singer in musicals, including the original Broadway lead roles in Carousel and The Pajama Game, Raitt began playing piano and guitar from a young age. During her first year of college, she befriended blues promoter Dick Waterman, and in her second year left school to travel to Philadelphia with Waterman and other local musicians. In the summer of 1970, she played with her brother David on stand-up bass with Mississippi Fred McDowell at the Philadelphia Folk Festival as well as opening for John Hammond at the Gaslight Cafe in New York. She was seen by a Newsweek reporter who spread the word about her performance, and was soonafter signed by Warners Records. During the 1970s, Raitt continued to hone her craft, particularly her guitar technique. B.B. King once called Raitt the "best damn slide player working today." She released a series of critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful roots-influenced albums that incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, finally scoring a major commercial success with her 10th studio album Nick of Time (1989), which topped the US charts and won a Grammy Award. To-date, Raitt has released 18 solo studio albums, and a frequent session player and collaborator with other artists, including Warren Zevon, Little Feat, Jackson Browne, the Pointer Sisters, John Prine, and Leon Russell. Outstanding albums include Bonnie Raitt (1971), Give it Up (1972), Takin' my Time (1973), Luck of the Draw (1991), Nick of Time (1989) and Slipstream (2012). Her Tenth album Nick of Time went to #1 on the U.S. album chart and was voted number 230 in the Rolling Stone list of 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Raitt later stated that her tenth try was "my first sober album." In fact Raitt struggled with alcohol and drugs through much of her early career, but turned her life around in the late '80s and has been sober since. She has credited Stevie Ray Vaughan for breaking her substance abuse, saying that Vaughan, a personal friend and superb blues guitarist himself, was an even better musician when sober. In 2000, Raitt was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She has received the Icon Award from the Billboard Women in Music Awards and the MusiCares Person of the Year Award from The Recording Academy. In 2024, she was a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honor.

Artist Website: bonnieraitt.com

Featured Albums: Bonnie Raitt

Related Artists: Mississippi Fred McDowell, John Lee Hooker, Stevie Ray Vaughan