Bonnie Raitt certainly stands out as a musician as she's not only one of the few female guitarists out there but also an outspoken political activist and passionately kept the tradition of the blues alive. She actively put a spotlight on the forgotten early blues performers such as Howlin' Wolf and Sippie Wallace.
It seems impossible that Bonnie Raitt would not have entered music in some capacity as her mother was a pianist and her father was Broadway musical star, John Raitt. Bonnie took an interest in the guitar as a young girl and later while attending college, she met promoter, Dick Waterman who changed her life. He introduced her to the blues and soon, Raitt began performing in clubs where she would meet these legendary artists and performed along side them. She soon caught the attention of the music industry and eventually signed with Warner Bros. Raitt released her self-titled debut in 1971 and while it received plenty of critical praise, the album received very little radio play. A lack of significant sales continued with her following albums but Raitt always managed to impress with her stirring live performances.
Raitt had been recording music for almost twenty years before she finally achieved her first taste of long overdue commercial success with the album, "Nick of Time" in 1989. Having been dropped from her record label four years earlier, she teamed-up with producer, Don Was who decided to update her bluesy-rock sound with a smoother contemporary production. The album topped the Billboard 200 album chart and went on to win three Grammy Awards including Album of The Year.
Bonnie Raitt continues to hit the road and just released her sixteenth studio album, "Slipstream" last year on her own record label which won a Grammy for Best Americana Album, giving her a career total of ten awards. Raitt was inducted in to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.
Here are two of my very favorite songs from Bonnie Raitt:
"Nick Of Time" - Bonnie Raitt (1989)
"I Can't Make You Love Me" - Bonnie Raitt (1991)
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