SAN DIEGO, CA. (NARM PR) – The National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM) has announced that it will bestow one of its highest honors-the Harry Chapin Memorial Humanitarian Award-to award-winning singer, respected guitarist and acclaimed songwriter Bonnie Raitt, who is as well known for her lifelong commitment to social activism as she is for her music. The Award will be presented to Raitt during the Opening Session & Annual Meeting at InSights & Sounds.05, NARM’s 47th Annual Convention on Friday morning, August 12 at the San Diego Marriott.

NARM established the Harry Chapin Memorial Humanitarian Award after the death of the artist in the early 1980s. The Award memorializes Chapin’s efforts on behalf of the environment and other humanitarian causes. Raitt joins an elite list of former honorees, including “Live Aid” organizers Bob Geldof and Midge Urie, Kenny Rogers and the architects of “Hands Across America,” the founders of Rock The Vote, and Hilary Rosen, former CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America.

“Bonnie Raitt’s personal commitment and selfless devotion of her time to so many social, environmental and community issues makes her particularly illustrative of the spirit on which the Harry Chapin Memorial Humanitarian Award was established,” notes NARM President Jim Donio. “It is fitting that we honor someone who exemplifies the very essence of our Humanitarian Award.”

In between sessions, when not burning highways on tour with her band, Raitt has dedicated herself to playing benefits and speaking out in support of an array of worthy causes: campaigning to stop the war in Central America; participating in the Sun City anti-apartheid project; performing at the historic 1980 No Nukes concerts at Madison Square Garden; co-founding MUSE (Musicians United for Safe Energy); and working for environmental protection and for the rights of women and Native Americans.

The daughter of the late Broadway icon John Raitt (Carousel, Oklahoma!, The Pajama Game) and accomplished pianist/singer Marge Goddard, she was raised in a climate of appreciation of the arts, Quaker traditions, and a respect for social activism, as well as a love for music. As a Harvard/Radcliffe student majoring in Social Relations and African Studies in the 60s, she immersed herself in the city’s turbulent cultural and political activities, including the antiwar and Civil Rights movements, while at the same time exploring her love for Folk and Blues guitar. Raitt also continues to use her influence to affect the way music is perceived and appreciated in the world. In 1988, she co-founded the Rhythm & Blues Foundation, which works to improve royalties, financial conditions, and recognition for a whole generation of R&B pioneers to whom she feels we owe so much.

In 1995, she initiated the Bonnie Raitt Guitar Project with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, currently running in 200 clubs around the world, to encourage underprivileged youth to play music as budgets for music instruction in the schools run dry.