“I think people must wonder how a white girl like me became a blues guitarist. The truth is, I never intended to do this for a living.”
Bonnie Lynn Raitt was born into a decidedly musical family. Her father, John, was one of the leading lights of the Broadway musicals, with roles in Oklahoma! Carousel and The Pajama Game (he also played the lead, alongside Doris Day in the film adaptation). Her mother was a pianist. But although Bonnie took up the guitar at a young age and played at school and for family and friends, she always thought of it as a hobby.
She was actually more interested in political and social issues, which was certainly the case of many young people of her day. In 1967, as a freshman at Harvard’s Radcliffe College, she majored in African studies with the intention on moving to Tanzania after graduating.
At school, she met and became friends with Dick Waterman, founder of Avalon Productions, which was probably the first booking agency created to represent blues artists. His clients and acquaintances included such legendary blues performers as Son House, Mississippi John Hurt, Lightning Hopkins, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Howling Wolf and Junior Wells. Bonnie (who was playing guitar at folk clubs and other venues in and around Boston) got to meet, play with and become friends with many of these iconic blues musicians. When Waterman moved to Philadelphia during Bonnie’s sophomore year, she took a semester off in order to take part in “an opportunity that young white girls just don’t get.”
Opening for Mississippi Fred McDowell at New York’s Gaslight Café during the fall of 1970, she began to attract the attention of A&R people from recording companies. She signed with Warner Brothers and her self-titled debut album was released in 1971 to good reviews from the music publications, most of which praised her bottleneck guitar playing. To many music critics, her first three albums – Bonnie Raitt, Give It Up (1972) and 1973’s Takin’ My Time – still stand as her best work, rich with blues roots and Americana music sensibilities.
But for all the good press she was getting (she was a cover story of Rolling Stone in 1975), and for all the acclaim from her peers, her record sales were modest at best. This led her to experiment with her sound, trying to incorporate more mainstream styles. One result, a heavy R&B take on Del Shannon’s “Runaway” (from her 1977 album Sweet Forgiveness) turned into enough of a commercial hit for Warner Brothers and Columbia Records to have a bidding war on her upcoming contract. She stuck with Warner Brothers but her following albums in the late 1970s still fared modestly.
Her political and social consciousness came again to her musical aid in 1979 when she co-founded Musicians United for Safe Energy (MUSE), along with Jackson Browne, Graham Nash and John Hall. Five MUSE concerts took place in Madison Square Garden, featuring the founding artists as well as luminaries such as James Taylor, Carly Simon, Tom Petty (and the Heartbreakers), Bruce Springsteen and the Doobie Brothers were very successful, spawning a three-record album (that went gold) as well as the film No Nukes (a Warner Brothers film, naturally!) .
Throughout the 1980s she would take part in more and more social and political music movements. She sang in Steve Van Zandt’s anti-apartheid “Sun City” in 1985, participated in numerous Farm Aid and Amnesty International shows and was in Moscow as part of the first Soviet / American Peace Concerts in 1987. In that same year she organized a benefit in Los Angeles, along with Herbie Hancock, Don Henly and others, to stop aid to the Contras.
“The thread of justice, of treating each other right, is something I find in both human rights issues and the blues. The relationship between men and women — a basis of most blues — is the first place you learn about morality. About how to listen and how to stand up.”
Bonnie Raitt
My first aquaintance with Bonnie Raitt came from her contribution to the 1978 “No Nukes Concert,” a John Prine song called “Angel from Montgomery.” Since then, my appreciation of her soulful singing, mean bottleneck, flaming red hair and sincere commitment to giving back to the world have only deepened.
Bonnie was born on November 8, 1949, the daughter of Broadway star John and accomplished pianist Marjorie Raitt. She grew up in Los Angeles, and received her first guitar (a Stella) at age 8, a Christmas gift. Her career began after dropping out of Radcliffe in the late 1960’s. She played acoustic slide and sang the blues in coffeehouses and on college campuses around the country. By age 21, she landed a major-label deal. “No one was more surprised than I to get a record contract at 21,” she says. “Suddenly my hobby was my career.”
Bonnie had also joined a growing group of artists concerned about issues such as nuclear power, the war in central America, apartheid (the “Sun City” project), environmental protection, Native American, women’s and human rights.
Though always a critical success, she remained largely unknown to mainstream audiences. By 1988, she had no record label, no band, and was seriously contemplating going back to the acoustic circuit. But a series of of lucky breaks that year brought a new contract with Capitol Records and an alliance with producer Don Was for Bonnie’s breakthrough album, the hugely successful “Nick of Time.” As well as being a financial success, the album garnered four Grammy Awards, including Best Album. “It was like winning the lottery,” she said.
Over the years, Bonnie has also kept pace in her “day job” — fundraising, benefits and activism in service to the causes she holds dear. “For the last nine years, the Rhythm and Blues Foundation has been a labor of love,” she said of the organization she helped found to improve the financial condition, recognition and royalty rates of a whole generation of R&B pioneers to whom she feels we owe so much.
In 1995, she initiated the Bonnie Raitt Fender Guitar Project with Fender and the Boys and Girls Clubs of America to encourage inner city girls to learn to play guitar. Proceeds from the sales of her Signature Guitar help underwrite the effort.
Also active in promoting anti-nuke awareness, specifically the issue of dumping nuclear waste on Native American lands, she continues to do concerts to support those causes, as well as in support of protecting our ancient growth forests and a woman’s right to choose.
Bonnie Raitt hadn’t even made it out of the parking lot and into the terminal at the San Francisco International Airport when one of her nightmares suddenly became real. Like most performers, Raitt suffers from a couple of recurring anxiety dreams. In one, she’s being pushed onto a stage with her father, actor and singer John Raitt, and she doesn’t know the words to any of the songs she’s supposed to perform. In another, she finds herself in the middle of a crowd of people who recognize her and won’t leave her alone, and there’s no one around to help her: no road manager, no security people. And that’s exactly what happened on a recent night when Raitt went to the airport to pick up her new paramour, Michael O’Keefe.
“People were running up to me and yelling,” Raitt says the next day. “Even little kids.” She’s curled up on a couch in the living room of a small, Hobbit-like house, filled with candles, crystals and carved trolls, that she’s renting in the Northern California redwoods. “I panicked,” she continues, “because Michael’s plane was late, and I didn’t have any place to go and I didn’t have anybody with me. I really got scared.”
Raitt finally ducked into one of the gift shops, bought a huge hat to conceal her familiar mane of red hair and managed to survive intact until actor O’Keefe (The Great Santini, Caddyshack) arrived. “I didn’t realize I was going to have to start wearing disguises,” Raitt says with a sigh.
The need for disguises is about the only negative side effect of the sudden fame that has befallen Raitt after 20 years in the music business. To the surprise — and delight — of music fans everywhere, Raitt dominated this year’s Grammy Awards, winning in four categories: Album of the Year; Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female; Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female; and Best Traditional Blues Recording (with John Lee Hooker). Three of the awards honored Nick of Time, Raitt’s latest album, which is made up of her usual mix of blues, R&B and pop ballads. The LP makes no ostensible concessions to current popular tastes, and it addresses such grown-up concerns as having children and coming to terms with old age. Nonetheless, the album, produced by Don Was, managed to sell a million copies by the time the Grammy ceremonies were held in Los Angeles on February 21st. Since then, more than 700,000 additional copies have been sold, and at press time the album had skyrocketed to Number Three on the Billboard chart. (The fourth Grammy was for “I’m in the Mood,” a duet on Hooker’s new album, The Healer.)
Born 40 years ago in Burbank, California, Bonnie Lynn Raitt is the antithesis of the overnight sensation. Her father became a major Broadway star in the Forties and Fifties as a result of his roles in such musicals as Oklahoma!, Carousel,The Pajama Game, Annie Get Your Gun and Kiss Me Kate. Her family (including her mother, Marjorie Haydock, and two brothers) spent most of Bonnie’s early years shuttling between the two coasts until 1957, when they settled in Los Angeles after her father landed a role in the film version of The Pajama Game. Despite his popularity, the Raitts, who were practicing Quakers, kept a fairly low profile on the Hollywood scene (one of their only celebrity friends was Hugh Beaumont, who played the father on Leave It to Beaver).
When she was eight, Bonnie got her first guitar, a $25 Stella, as a Christmas present. At the time, her instrument of choice was piano, but within a few years she changed her mind. Her maternal grandfather, a Methodist missionary who also played Hawaiian lap steel guitar, taught her a few chords on the guitar, and her counselors at a Quaker summer camp in the Adirondacks turned her on to the emerging folk and protest music. In addition, Raitt was exposed to the blues via an album recorded at the 1963 Newport festival and a batch of Ray Charles recordings a family friend had given her.
Bandana Blues is and will always be a labor of love. Please help Spinner deal with the costs of hosting & bandwidth. Visit www.bandanablues.com and hit the tipjar. Any amount is much appreciated, no matter how small. Thank you.
Bonnie has contributed a new recording of "Prison Bound Blues" written by Leroy Carr to a project called Better Than Jail, an extraordinary new album benefiting Free Hearts and Equal Justice USA. Better Than Jail is available everywhere today and features covers of iconic prison songs from Steve Earle, Taj Mahal,Margo Price, The War and Treaty and many more. The album seeks to raise awareness and support for the urgent need to reduce the harm of the criminal justice system. https://found.ee/BetterThanJail. I'm so proud to have joined in with so many illustrious artists in creating this very special album in support of rural prison reform. Overlooked for far too long, this issue cuts across all cultural and political divides and deserves all our focused attention to finally bring about some swift and meaningful action. Better Than Jail is one of the most inspired and heartfelt albums I've been blessed to be a part of and I hope it sets a fire in hearts far and wide to join in our efforts." ~ Bonnie Raitt
Released on: 2024-10-04 Executive Producer: Brian Hunt Producer: Kenny Greenberg Producer: Wally Wilson Producer: Bonnie Raitt Recording Engineer: Jason Lehning at Sound Emporium Mastering Engineer: Alex McCollough at True East Mastering Production Assistant: Shannon Finnegan Mixer: Justin Niebank at Hounds Ear Music Publisher: Universal Music Corp. Composer, Lyricist: Leroy Carr ℗ Believe Entertainment Group and Wyatt Road Records
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The Fabulous Thunderbirds - Nothing in Rambling Ft. Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, Keb' Mo' & Mick Fleetwood
In celebration of the band’s 50th Anniversary, The Fabulous Thunderbirds have just released Struck Down, their first studio album in eight years on Stony Plain Records. The ten-track album includes a wonderful cover of Memphis Minnie’s “Nothing in Rambling,” featuring longtime friends, T-Birds founding member Kim Wilson, along with Bonnie, Keb’ Mo’, Taj Mahal and Mick Fleetwood. — BRHQ
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Little Feat - Long Distance Call
“I’ve always loved Little Feat and this new incarnation of the band is bringing some serious heat, cred and new blood to their enduring legacy. Every Feat fan loves us some Sam. I’m so glad he’s now gotten a chance to step out front and center and put his spin on these wonderful blues songs. I loved singing "Long Distance Call" with him, always one of my favorites, and Scott slayed on slide. Know you’ll enjoy hanging out with us at Sam’s Place!" -- Bonnie Raitt
“Long Distance Call” was written by blues legend, Muddy Waters. It has Sam Clayton and Bonnie Raitt on vocals, Scott Sharrard on Dobro, Fred Tackett on acoustic guitar, Tony Leone on drums, and Michael “The Bull” LoBue on harmonica. The album also features Bill Payne on piano and Kenny Gradney on bass.
Little Feat have composed an album that’s their love letter to the blues entitled, ‘Sam’s Place.’ “Long Distance Call” plus many other blues classics are on this album. You can stream and order ‘Sam’s Place’ here: https://orcd.co/samsplace
Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows: Songs of John Prine, Vol. 2, the anticipated new John Prine tribute record from Oh Boy Records, is out today. Stream/purchase HERE.
Created as a celebration of Prine’s life and career, the album features new renditions of some of Prine’s most beloved songs performed by Brandi Carlile (“I Remember Everything”), Tyler Childers (“Yes I Guess They Oughta Name A Drink After You”), Iris DeMent (“One Red Rose”), Emmylou Harris (“Hello In There”), Jason Isbell (“Souvenirs”), Valerie June (“Summer’s End”), Margo Price (“Sweet Revenge”), Bonnie Raitt (“Angel From Montgomery”), Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats (“Pretty Good”), Amanda Shires (“Saddle in the Rain”), Sturgill Simpson(“Paradise”) and John Paul White (“Sam Stone”). Proceeds from the album will benefit twelve different non-profit organizations, one selected by each of the featured artists.
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Bonnie Raitt - Write Me a Few of Your Lines/Kokomo Blues
60 years anniversary celebration of Arhoolie
December 10, 2020
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Arhoolie Foundation celebrates it's 60th anniversary (1960-2020) with an online broadcast.
Bonnie Raitt - Shadow of Doubt
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival
October 3, 2020
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass celebrates it's 20th anniversary with an online broadcast titled “Let The Music Play On”.
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Bonnie Raitt & Boz Scaggs - You Don't Know Like I Know
Farm Aid 2020 On the Road
Sam & Dave classic written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter.
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Sheryl Crow & Bonnie Raitt - Everything Is Broken
[Eric Clapton’s Crossroads 2019]
Eric Clapton, one of the world’s pre-eminent blues/rock guitarists, once again summoned an all-star team of six-string heroes for his fifth Crossroads Guitar Festival in 2019. Held at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, the two-day concert event raised funds for the Crossroads Centre in Antigua, the chemical dependency treatment and education facility that Clapton founded in 1998.
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'A Tribute To Mose Allison'
Celebrates The Music Of An Exciting Jazz Master
Raitt contributed to a new album, If You're Going To The City: A Tribute To Mose Allison, which celebrates the late singer and pianist, who famously blended the rough-edged blues of the Mississippi Delta with the 1950s jazz of New York City.
NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks to Bonnie Raitt about her friendship with the Mose Allison. They're also joined by Amy Allison — his daughter, who executive produced the album — about selecting an unexpected list of artists to contribute songs to the album.
Recorded on tour June 3, 2017 - Centennial Hall, London - Ontario Canada
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