Bonnie Raitt - Interview by Bill DeVille - The Current - October 2013
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With 19 albums and 10 Grammy Awards to her name, it may be easy to think Bonnie Raitt is somehow beyond reach. Not so. In addition to being a hugely accomplished singer-songwriter and guitarist, Bonnie Raitt is friendly, down to earth, and constantly motivated by her love of music and devotion to her fans.
Bonnie recently chatted with The Current’s Bill DeVille about her touring schedule and about her approach to recording albums. She describes how she discovered the blues as a young girl growing up in Los Angeles, and she reveals who she’d still like to sing a duet with after having sung duets with such artists as Tony Bennett, Willie Nelson, B.B. King and with her father, the late Broadway singer John Raitt.
Bonnie Raitt will be in town on Oct. 23, with her friend Mavis Staples, to play a show at the Minneapolis Convention Center.
And in listening to her talk about Minnesota, it seems Bonnie nearly qualifies as a local artist. Her debut, self-titled album was recorded at Enchanted Island in Mound, Minn., on Lake Minnetonka, and she still has a lot of friends here. She talks about playing at the Minnesota State Fair in 2012 and about how she almost collaborated with Prince were it not for busy schedules.
Moreover, Bonnie lauds the Twin Cities for having one of the “most vital, incredibly overlapping music scenes” in the nation, placing it right alongside the cities of Austin, Texas, and New Orleans.
Playlist
“Thing Called Love,” off Bonnie Raitt’s album, Nick of Time “Right Down the Line,” from Bonnie Raitt’s recent album, Slipstream “Big Road,” off Bonnie Raitt’s self-titled debut album
So said Bonnie Raitt when she took the stage with her band following a revved-up revival meeting of an opening set by gospel great Mavis Staples. And what Raitt delivered at the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand on Thursday, Aug. 23, was indeed soulful. Her sweet, sad alto voice and crying slide guitar solos provided the spark for a set that was built upon the blues, but was at its most arresting when at its quietest, when Raitt wove world-weary ballads, stepping onto an emotional tightwire and drawing the crowd’s admiration for making herself so vulnerable.
That’s why it was so hard to leave, even when the raindrops grew larger and lightning streaked the sky. But Raitt and her crew determined that worse weather was on the way, so they cut their set about 15 minutes short. Hence, the enthusiastic, mostly middle-aged crowd of 8,085 may have missed out on a couple of tunes from her back catalog, and were left to look back upon a show mostly made of material from Raitt’s latest album, “Slipstream,” her first fresh set of songs in seven years. But if the auburn-haired veteran wished to show that she’s still an outstanding vocal stylist who can make any song her own, she more than succeeded.
The strongest evidence came when she made Bob Dylan’s “Million Miles” a simmering slow blues full of end-of-her-rope exasperation or lent a wistful melancholy to Joe Henry and Loudon Wainwright III’s “You Can’t Fail Me Now.” But nothing was more powerful than when she began John Prine’s “Angel from Montgomery” with a magnetic a cappella opening verse that provided the kind of hear-a-pin-drop moment you rarely find at the Fair.
Between songs, Raitt frequently expressed an affection for the Twin Cities that seemed genuine. Her late brother, Steve Raitt, lived here for years (she dedicated a couple of tunes to him), and local club veteran Willie Murphy sat in on piano and vocals for her final encore, trading verses with Raitt and making many in attendance rue the rain when the set was just starting to take on an enjoyable looseness.
While Raitt focused upon new songs, Staples stayed close to her gospel roots. Her raspy contralto is still an instrument that can stop you in your tracks, be she singing of her heavenly reward or covering the Band or John Fogerty. When Raitt joined her for a spirited “Will the Circle Be Unbroken?” it was one of the evening’s most memorable moments.
Bonnie Raitt hit the grandstand stage at the Minnesota State Fair on Thursday night with something to talk about.
First, she saluted her opening act, Mavis Staples, calling her a national treasure. (Agreed, especially after Staples’ soul-stirring set.) Then, Raitt dedicated the night to her late brother, Steve Raitt, longtime Twin Cities sound engineer and all-around good guy. (Little sis also gave shout-outs to his friends in the crowd.)
Thursday’s concert wasn’t as overwhelmingly emotional as Raitt’s last performance at the fair in 2009, a mere four months after Steve died of brain cancer. She seemed a little distracted this time by the impending rain, rushing through things. Too much of the time she ceded guitar solo opportunities to George Marinelli, her excellent sideman, instead of taking them herself.
But Raitt finally found her focus when she relied on her Minnesota compass, first by interpreting a number by that “little bluesman from up the road a piece in Hibbing,” Bob Dylan’s seething slow-burn lament “Million Miles,” and then the sassy swamp rocker “Love Sneakin’ Up on You,” for which Steve had always joined her onstage in Minnesota (his home since Bonnie recorded her first album here in 1971).
Near song’s end, Marinelli played a dirty, twisted rock guitar solo, and then Raitt took over with a long, emotional, sweet slide guitar excursion. Even with her eyes closed, she had a dreamy look on her face as her fingers moved effortlessly across her guitar. Then, off microphone, she mouthed the words: “I love you, Steve.”
From then on, the Rock Hall of Fame’s most famous redhead gave a blue-ribbon performance.
Raitt, 62, is as good as any big name at filling her concert with a full range of human emotions. For 85 minutes at the fair, she took 8,085 fans on a roller-coaster ride from the frisky joy of “Something to Talk About” and the festive blues of “I Feel So Damn Good” to the two-hankie tearjerker ballad “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” during which she summoned a weariness from a place where the deepest hurt of unrequited love resides.
With a tendency to get extra-emotional in her adopted second state, the Californian recalled how her late mother sang with her for the first time onstage at the State Fair, on John Prine’s “Angel From Montgomery.” Raitt dedicated the poignant ballad to her mom and all moms, singing the first verse a cappella with stunning effect, then letting Marinelli’s slow Southern guitar lines frame the song, finally taking it home in a voice that was pretty and painful at the same time.
With lightning flashing, Raitt turned the spotlight to new organist Mike Finnigan, who has played with Etta James and Crosby, Stills & Nash, for Ray Charles’ rousing “I’ve Got News for You,” which brought Raitt’s sexiest, slowest slide passage. With rain falling, she summoned another keyboardist, Minneapolis’ own Willie Murphy (producer of her debut disc), who elevated “Never Make Your Move Too Soon” into a rollicking roadhouse finale.
In her opening set, Rock Hall of Famer Staples, 73, preached in song and conversation. With her throaty, roof-raising growl, she whipped the crowd into a frenzy, especially with her classic “I’ll Take You There” and “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” a soul-warming duet with Raitt.
Maurice Jacox, ?, “Spider” John Koerner, Bonnie Raitt and Willie Murphy backstage at Minnesota State Fair – August 23, 2012
Jon Bream has been a music critic at the Star Tribune since 1975, making him the longest tenured pop critic at a U.S. daily newspaper. He has attended more than 8,000 concerts and written four books (on Prince, Led Zeppelin, Neil Diamond and Bob Dylan). Thus far, he has ignored readers’ suggestions that he take a music-appreciation class.
Bream has interviewed such music royalty as the King of Pop (Michael Jackson), the Queen of Soul (Aretha Franklin) and Prince as well as Bob Dylan, U2, three Beatles, four Rolling Stones and all of Maroon 5. He has performed with Alice Cooper, jogged with Willie Nelson and walked the streets of New York with Bruce Springsteen. A longtime voter for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Bream has also written for the Los Angeles Times, Billboard, Vibe and other publications. He has a journalism degree from the University of Minnesota, where he established the Jon Bream Scholarship for Arts Criticism.
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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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