More than just a best-selling artist, respected guitarist, expressive singer, and accomplished songwriter, Bonnie Raitt has become an institution in American music.
Born to a musical family, the nine-time Grammy winner, who Rolling Stone named one of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time," is the daughter of celebrated Broadway singer John Raitt and accomplished pianist/singer Marge Goddard. At Harvard/Radcliffe in the late '60s she immersed herself in the city's turbulent cultural and political activities. The album "Blues at Newport 1963" had kindled her interest in blues and slide guitar, and between classes she explored these and other styles in local coffeehouse gigs. Leaving college to commit herself full-time to music, Bonnie soon found herself opening for surviving giants of the blues. From Mississippi Fred McDowell, Sippie Wallace, Son House, Muddy Waters, and John Lee Hooker she learned first-hand lessons of life as well as invaluable techniques of performance. Word spread quickly of the young red-haired blueswoman, her soulful, unaffected way of singing, and her uncanny insights into blues guitar. Warner Bros. tracked her down, signed her up, and in 1971 released her debut album, "Bonnie Raitt." Her interpretations of classic blues by Robert Johnson and Sippie Wallace made a powerful critical impression, but the presence of intriguing tunes by contemporary songwriters, as well as several examples of her own writing, indicated that this artist would not be restricted to any one pigeonhole or style. Her 1977 album, "Sweet Forgiveness," featured her first hit single, a gritty Memphis/R&B arrangement of Del Shannon's "Runaway." With Capitol Records, Bonnie achieved new levels of popular and critical acclaim, winning four Grammy Awards — three for her "Nick of Time" album and one for her duet with John Lee Hooker. "Luck of the Draw" (1991, seven-times platinum) provided two hit singles— "Something to Talk About" and "I Can't Make You Love Me" and added three more Grammys.
In between sessions, when not burning highways on tour with her band, she devoted herself to playing benefits and speaking out in support of an array of worthy causes, and guesting on numerous friends' records, appearing on over 100 album projects. In March of 2000, Bonnie was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; followed by the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame, along with her father.
