Before Nick of Time became perhaps the biggest Cinderella story in Grammy history — as well as the cement to Bonnie Raitt’s now-unshakeable legacy as a singular song interpreter and advocate for the blues tradition, and the soundtrack to so many ‘90s babies’ childhoods — it was a last-ditch effort to salvage the career of a cult-favorite artist who had just hit rock bottom.
“Nobody
expected it to sell well,” Raitt says now. “They just said, ‘We’re not
going to pay a lot of money for you, so just make a record that you
want.’”
The record she wanted, as it turned out, was an understated, beautiful expression of both personal and artistic self-assurance. Nick of Time’s stripped-down but polished sound wasn’t revolutionary to her fans, who’d long appreciated Raitt’s combination of remarkable musical talent and no-nonsense attitude. But to mainstream listeners, her ability to package an impressively wide array of blues, country, R&B and pop songs into one seamless, mostly analog album was a welcome sea change from the heavily produced, homogenized hits of the era.
It was Raitt’s 10th studio album, but her first to crack the Billboard 200’s top 25. Over nearly 20 years, she’d gone from prodigy college dropout to undeniable live performer, whose recorded catalog was filled with uncompromising roots music and major label attempts to channel her obvious gifts into pop success.
And at the very moment when that seemed the least likely, the impossible happened: the right artist made the right album at the right time. A critical darling who had flirted with the musical mainstream for decades made a classic paean to the trials and benefits of aging that was bold and approachable at once. And its biggest hit wasn’t even the one whose music video co-starred a hunky Dennis Quaid and went into heavy rotation on the then-nascent VH1.
The narrative was obvious: The press drooled about the then-39-year-old’s “comeback” from substance abuse and obscurity, and was agog that a woman “of a certain age” — as some outlets put it in an attempt at diplomacy — might reach a wide audience singing about her own life experience.
“It actually didn’t bother me at all,” Raitt, now 69, says with characteristic frankness. “Especially because the title song is about exactly that. A lot of the circumstances besides age came together to bring that album such wide attention, but I’ve never minded talking about my age. Something I’m proud of.”
The Recording Academy didn’t mind either, sending Raitt home with all four Grammys she was nominated for at the 1990 ceremony, including album of the year — which she accepted in stocking feet after breaking a heel during one of her many trips to the stage. The album has since sold over five million copies, and more importantly, revitalized the career of one of America’s most important roots musicians.
Looking back, the album wears its age almost as well as Raitt herself — both, it seems, are timeless.
“I
have so many people to come shows with their mothers, or with three
generations, saying ‘My mom played this album for me in the car when I
was little, and you’re one of the artists that means the most to us,’”
says Raitt. “It means so much to me that Nick of Time resonated with so many women, especially. I never expected it to have the response it did.”
*******
“Out of the worst thing came the best thing.”
After failing to get the kind of hits that might have made her seven-figure deal with Warner Bros. seem worthwhile to label execs, Raitt was dropped unceremoniously by the label. She fell into a rough patch during which her self-described “road-dog” lifestyle began to catch up with her. Producer Don Was, still looking for his big break, was going through similar burn out.
She will join the rest of the 2021 Special Merit Award recipients, which were announced nearly a year ago.
The below article was updated on Tuesday, Jan. 18, to reflect the new show date and location.
The 72-year-old Raitt just finished her 21st album Just Like That…, 10 tracks, featuring four songs penned by the artist. Raitt is also set to hit the road for her 2022 in April with Lucinda Williams and Mavis Staples.
Raitt continues to draw on the range of influences that have shaped her legendary career, while creating something that speaks to the circumstances and challenges of these unprecedented times. ‘Just Like That…,’ a ten song album with four penned by Raitt, is set for release in April, preceded by a new single in January.
“I’m really aware of how lucky we were to be able to safely come together and record this album last summer,” said Raitt. “After this particularly tough time, we can’t wait to get back on the road to do what we love and have some great new songs to play.
Bonnie Raitt will join the Recording Academy’s 2021 class of special merit award recipients, first announced in December 2020, when the awards are belatedly presented in a ceremony at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles on Jan. 30, 2022, the night before the 64th annual Grammy Awards which have been rescheduled and will now be broadcast live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 3 (8:00-11:30 PM, live ET/5:00-8:30 PM, live PT) on the CBS Television Network and will be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+. Trevor Noah, the Emmy Award-winning host of “The Daily Show,” will return as master of ceremonies for Music’s Biggest Night.
*Paramount+ Premium subscribers will have access to stream live via the live feed of their local CBS affiliate on the service as well as on demand. Essential-tier subscribers will have access to on-demand the day after the special airs.
Prior to the 64th GRAMMY Awards telecast, the annual GRAMMY Awards Premiere Ceremony will stream live on GRAMMY.com and the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel(opens in a new tab). The Premiere Ceremony is also where we’ll award more than 70 GRAMMYs across music genres ranging from classical and jazz to R&B, global music and more. Additional details about the dates and locations of other official GRAMMY Week events, including the GRAMMY Awards Premiere Ceremony, MusiCares’ Person of the Year(opens in a new tab), and the Pre-GRAMMY Gala, will be announced soon.
The special merit awards include lifetime achievement awards (for performers), trustees awards (for non-performers), the technical Grammy award and the music educator award.
Raitt was approached about a lifetime achievement award last year, but declined because of COVID-19 concerns. The rest of the class, which was announced on Dec. 22, 2020, consists of lifetime achievement award recipients Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, Lionel Hampton, Marilyn Horne, Salt-N-Pepa, Selena and Talking Heads; trustees award recipients Ed Cherney, Benny Golson and Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds; and technical Grammy award recipient Daniel Weiss.
Because of the pandemic, the 2021 special merit award honorees were unable to attend the 63rd annual Grammy Awards. They were briefly acknowledged during the telecast.
“We are so excited to celebrate the 2021 honorees at the 64th Grammys to ensure they get the celebration they deserve,” said Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy. “With the strict COVID protocols in place for the 63rd show, we were not able to properly and fairly honor our special merit award honorees as we have done in past years. Before we induct a new class, we must come together to recognize this group of iconic creators who have paved the way not only in music, but also within our culture.”
The Recording Academy also announced that the special merit awards presentations will return to the Wilshire Ebell, where it was held for many years through 2015. From 2016-20, the presentations were made at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, the site of the Oscars, for a show that was taped for PBS’ Great Performances franchise.
The Wilshire Ebell event was long considered one of the highlights of Grammy Week. The TV taping that replaced it lacked the warm, intimate vibe, but allowed music fans around the country to see it.
The Wilshire Ebell event also includes the 64th annual Grammy nominees reception. All nominees are invited, though not all attend — or the fire marshal would have a very busy night. At the event, nominees can pick up medallions to mark their nomination, so they have something tangible to show for their nomination – win or lose the following night.
David Byrne of Talking Heads is also a Grammy nominee this year for best music film for David Byrne’s American Utopia, which he produced with Spike Lee. So he can pick up a lifetime achievement award and a nominees medallion on the same night — a neat trick.
Raitt is a 10-time Grammy winner, including album of the year for Nick of Time at the 32nd annual Grammy Awards in February 1990. Raitt’s surprise album of the year victory, her performance that night of “Thing Called Love” and the grace she showed in her multiple acceptance speeches made her a star overnight — after nearly 20 years in the business. Nick of Time logged three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 that April.
Raitt, the daughter of Broadway great John Raitt, was MusiCares’ Person of the Year in 1992. Bonnie Raitt is the 10th person to receive all three of these top honors from the Recording Academy – album of the year, a lifetime achievement award and being named the MusiCares person of the year. She follows Tony Bennett, Quincy Jones, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Barbra Streisand, Paul McCartney, Carole King, Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell. (Some fine print: Jones received the trustees award, which is the equivalent of a lifetime achievement award for non-performers. Simon won a lifetime achievement award as half of Simon & Garfunkel. McCartney won album of the year as part of The Beatles. Mitchell won album of the year as a featured artist on Herbie Hancock’s tribute, River: The Joni Letters.)
The lifetime achievement award celebrates performers who have made outstanding contributions of artistic significance to the field of recording, while the trustees award honors such contributions in areas other than performance. The technical Grammy award is presented to individuals and companies who have made contributions of outstanding technical significance to the recording industry.
Technical Grammy award recipients are voted on by the Producers & Engineers Wing’s advisory council and chapter committees, and are ratified by the board of trustees. The trustees also ratify the lifetime achievement award and trustees award recipients.
The recipient of the 2021 music educator award, presented by the Recording Academy and the Grammy Museum, will also be honored at this event. The recipient has not yet been named.
Watch the blues-rock legend discuss her 2012 success, fans Katy Perry & Adele, feminism, launching her own label and more.
by Bill Werde
Bonnie Raitt – singer, guitarist, Grammy winner, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer – has seen her share of great music years, and 2012 has been one of her best. With the success of “Slipstream,” her first new album in seven years and self-released on her new label Redwing Records, a massive 80-date tour, and even a lifetime achievement award for performance from the Americana Music Association all coming to pass this year, Raitt ( @TheBonnieRaitt) sat down with Billboard editorial director Bill Werde ( @bwerde) for an in-depth seven-part video interview.
The wide-ranging conversation found Raitt discussing how she crafted “Slipstream” with Joe Henry and others, giving her thoughts on how much famous fans like Katy Perry and Adele mean to her, sharing memories from her start learning from blues legends like Son House while she was studying at Harvard, and more. The blues-rock legend goes on to talk candidly about the meaning of feminism, and look back on the pivotal moment of 1989’s “Nick of Time” and forward to a future for which she’s already got new songs (via Joe Henry) and world tour plans (Australia, New Zealand, England) afoot.
“When I hung out with these blues guys it was just such an incredible gift,” Raitt says. “I was right at their feet. . . I told the [Harvard] admissions people, ‘I’m going to take a semester off and hang with these guys. They’re in their later years I want to be able to learn from them.'”
Part One: Leaving Harvard after meeting Son House to work in the music business; deciding to be a full-time musician during the 60s blues revival; getting signed. Part Two: Early days on Warner Bros. with no pressure for hits; success of 1972 album “Give It Up.” Part Three: “Nick Of Time” success and Grammy wins. Part Four: Feelings about Katy Perry, Adele, Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon and others being fans of her music; working with Joe Henry on “Slipstream.” Part Five: Feminism, politics and activism. Part Six: The making of “Slipstream” after the deaths of many close to her. Part Seven: Launching her label Redwing Records, world tour plans.
“There was a whole blues revival going on,” she explains. “Butterfield, Johnny Winter, Eric Clapton, the British invasion. . . I didn’t really look at it in terms of male and female. But I think because I played bottleneck guitar and Robert Johnson songs and there weren’t other women doing that I really got my foot in the door.”
In the beginning, Raitt says she thought, “I like being an album artist. I’m not going to go after hit singles. . . I don’t care about being a star.” She adds that in those days Warner Bros.’s Joe Smith told her, “‘We make our money from Deep Purple and Black Sabbath, and we fund the Meters and Allen Toussaint and Little Feat and the Grateful Dead and people like you. . . We don’t expect any of you to have hit singles.’ They never told me what to record or when or with whom. No pressure.”
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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