Bonnie Raitt. Bonnie is as known for her lifelong commitment to social activism as she is for her music. Sections of this page. Accessibility Help. Press alt + / to open this menu. Email or Phone: Password: Forgot account? Info and Ads.
. Website Bonnie Lynn Raitt (born November 8, 1949) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and activist. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of -influenced albums that incorporated elements of, rock,. In 1989, after several years of critical acclaim but little commercial success, she had a major hit with the album. The following two albums, (1991) and (1994), were also multimillion sellers, generating several hit singles, including ', ', and the ballad ' (with on piano). Raitt has received 10. She is listed as number 50 in 's list of the '100 Greatest Singers of All Time' and number 89 on the magazine's list of the '100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time'.
Australian Country Music Artist has said, 'Bonnie Raitt does something with a lyric no one else can do; she bends it and twists it right into your heart.' Contents.
Early life Raitt was born in, the daughter of the star and his first wife, the pianist Marjorie Haydock. Raitt is of ancestry; her ancestors constructed near. She was raised in the tradition. She began playing guitar at in, at an early age. Later she gained notice for her playing.
Raitt says she played 'a little at school and at a summer camp' in New York. After graduating from in, in 1967 Raitt entered, majoring in. She said her 'plan was to travel to, where President was creating a government based on democracy and socialism'. Raitt became friends with promoter. During her second year of college, Raitt left school for a semester and moved to with Waterman and other local musicians.
Raitt says it was an 'opportunity that changed everything.' Career 1970–1976 In the summer of 1970, she played with her brother David on stand up bass with at the Philly Folk Festival as well as Opening for John Hammond at in New York, she was seen by a reporter from, who began to spread the word about her performance. Scouts from major record companies were soon attending her shows to watch her play. She eventually accepted an offer from, who soon released her debut album, in 1971.
The album was warmly received by the music press, with many writers praising her skills as an interpreter and as a bottleneck guitarist; at the time, few women in popular music had strong reputations as guitarists. While admired by those who saw her perform, and respected by her peers, Raitt gained little public acclaim for her work. Her critical stature continued to grow but record sales remained modest. Her second album, was released in 1972 to positive reviews. Though many critics still regard it as her best work, it did not change her commercial fortunes. 1973's was also met with critical acclaim, but these notices were not matched by the sales.
Raitt was beginning to receive greater press coverage, including a 1975 cover story for, but with, reviews for her work were becoming increasingly mixed. By now, Raitt was already experimenting with different producers and different styles, and she began to adopt a more mainstream sound that continued through 1975's. In 1976, Raitt made an appearance on 's. 1977–1988.
Raitt performing at the, 1976–1977 1977's album gave Raitt her first commercial breakthrough when it yielded a hit single in her remake of Recast as a heavy recording based on a rhythmic groove inspired by, Raitt's version of 'Runaway' was disparaged by many critics. However, the song's commercial success prompted a bidding war for Raitt between. 'There was this big Columbia–Warner war going on at the time', recalled Raitt in a 1990 interview.
' had just left Warner Bros. And made a big album for Columbia.And then, Warner signed away from Columbia, and they didn't want me to have a hit record for Columbia – no matter what! So, I renegotiated my contract, and they basically matched Columbia's offer. Frankly the deal was a really big deal.' Warner Brothers held higher expectations for Raitt's next album, in 1979, but it was released to poor reviews as well as modest sales. Raitt would have one commercial success in 1979 when she helped organize the five (MUSE) concerts at in New York City. The shows spawned the three-record gold album, as well as a Warner Brothers feature film.
The shows featured co-founders, and Raitt as well as, and numerous others. For her next record, Raitt made a conscious attempt to revisit the sound of her earlier records. However, to her surprise, many of her peers and the media compared her new sound to the burgeoning movement. The album received her strongest reviews in years, but her sales did not improve and this would have a severe impact on her relationship with Warner Brothers. Tongue and Groove and release from Warner Brothers In 1983, as Raitt was finishing work on her follow-up album, entitled Tongue and Groove, Warner Brothers 'cleaned house', dropping a number of major artists such as and from their roster.
The day after mastering was completed on Tongue & Groove, the record label dropped Raitt also. The album was shelved indefinitely, and Raitt was left without a record label. By then, Raitt was also struggling with alcohol and drug abuse problems. Despite her personal and professional problems, Raitt continued to tour and participate in political activism. In 1985, she sang and appeared in the video of ', the anti- record written and produced by guitarist. Along with her participation in and concerts, Raitt traveled to Moscow in 1987 to participate in the first joint Soviet/American Peace Concert, later shown on the television network.
Also in 1987, Raitt organized a benefit in Los Angeles for Countdown '87 to Stop Aid. The benefit featured herself along with musicians, and others. Two years after dropping her from their label, Warner Brothers notified Raitt of their plans to release Tongue and Groove. 'I said it wasn't really fair,' recalled Raitt. 'I think at this point they felt kind of bad.
I mean, I was out there touring on my savings to keep my name up, and my ability to draw was less and less. So they agreed to let me go in and recut half of it, and that's when it came out as.' A critical and commercial disappointment, released in 1986, would be Raitt's last new recording for Warner Brothers. In late 1987, Raitt joined singers and as female background vocalists for 's television special,.
Following this highly acclaimed broadcast, Raitt began working on new material. By then, she was clean and sober, having resolved her problem. She later credited for his help in a concert the night after Vaughan's 1990 death. During this time, Raitt considered signing with the -owned label, but negotiations ultimately fell through. Instead she began recording a bluesy mix of pop and rock under the production guidance of at.
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Raitt had met Was through, who was putting together, a tribute album to music for. Was and Wilner both wanted Raitt to sing lead on an adult-contemporary arrangement created by Was for ', the from. Raitt was very pleased with the sessions, and she asked Was to produce her next album. 1989–1999: Commercial breakthrough. Raitt at the 1990 After working with Was on the Stay Awake album, Raitt's management, Gold Mountain, approached numerous labels about a new record deal, and she was signed to Capitol by a&r executive. At Capitol, after nearly 20 years, Raitt achieved belated commercial success with her tenth album,.
Released in the spring of 1989, Nick of Time went to the top of the U.S. Charts following Raitt's Grammy sweep in early 1990. This album has been voted number 230 in the Rolling Stone list of 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Raitt herself pointed out that her 10th try was 'my first sober album.' At the same time, Raitt received a fourth for her duet 'In the Mood' with on his album. Was also the first of many of her recordings to feature her longtime rhythm section of and (although previously Fataar had played on her Green Light album and Hutchinson had worked on Nine Lives), both of whom record and tour with her to this day. Nick of Time has sold over six million copies in the US alone.
Raitt followed up this success with three more Grammy Awards for her 1991 album which sold nearly 8 million copies in the United States. Three years later, in 1994, she added two more Grammys with her album, her second no. Both of these albums were multi-platinum successes. Raitt's collaboration with Was would amicably come to an end with live release,.
Released to solid reviews, it sold well enough to be certified gold. 'Rock Steady' was a hit written by Bryan Adams and Gretchen Peters in 1995. The song was written as a duet with Bryan Adams and Bonnie Raitt for her Road Tested tour, which also became one of her albums. The original demo version of the song appears on Adams' 1996 single 'Let's Make a Night to Remember'. For her next studio album, Raitt hired and as her producers. 'I loved working with but I wanted to give myself and my fans a stretch and do something different,' Raitt said.
Her work with Froom and Blake was released on in 1998. 2000–2007. Raitt performing at the, April 23, 2004 In March 2000, Raitt was inducted into the in. Was released in 2002. In the US, it reached number 13 on the Billboard chart and was later certified Gold. It contains the singles 'I Can't Help You Now', 'Time of Our Lives', and the title track. All three singles charted within the top 40 of the US Adult Contemporary chart.
On March 19, 2002, Bonnie Raitt received a star on the for her contributions to the recording industry, located at 1750 N. In 2003 Capitol Records released the compilation album. It contains songs from her prior Capitol albums from 1989 to 2002 including Nick of Time, Luck of the Draw, Longing in Their Hearts, Road Tested, Fundamental, and Silver Lining. Raitt was featured on the album by, which won the in 2004 for Best Reggae Album. Was released in September 2005.
In the US, it reached the top 20 on the Billboard chart. It contains the singles 'I Will Not Be Broken' and 'I Don't Want Anything to Change', which both charted in the top 40 of the US Adult Contemporary chart. In 2006 she released the live DVD/CD Bonnie Raitt and Friends, which was filmed as part of the critically acclaimed VH1 Classic Decades Rock Live Concert Series, featuring special guests Keb Mo', Alison Krauss, Ben Harper, Jon Cleary and Norah Jones. The DVD was released by Capitol Records on August 15. Bonnie Raitt and Friends, which was recorded live in Atlantic City, NJ on September 30, 2005, features never-before-seen performance and interview footage, including four duets not included in the VH1 Classic broadcast of the concert.
The accompanying CD features 11 tracks, including the radio single 'Two Lights in the Nighttime' (featuring Ben Harper). In 2007, Raitt contributed to. With, she sang a medley of ' and 'All by Myself'. 2008–present Raitt appeared on the June 7, 2008, broadcast of 's radio program.
She performed two blues songs with Kevin ' Moore: 'No Getting Over You' and 'There Ain't Nothin' in Ramblin'. Raitt also sang ' with. This show, along with another one with Raitt and her band in October 2006, is archived on the Prairie Home Companion website.
Raitt appeared in the 2011 documentary 'Reggae Got Soul: The Story of,' which was featured on and described as 'The untold story of one of the most influential artists ever to come out of Jamaica'. In February 2012, Raitt performed a duet with at the in 2012 honoring. In April 2012, Raitt released her first studio album since 2005, entitled.
It charted at Number 6 on the US chart marking her first top ten album since 1994's. The album was described as 'one of the best of her 40-year career' by magazine. In September 2012, Raitt was featured in a campaign called '30 Songs / 30 Days' to support, a multi-platform media project inspired by a project outlined in a book by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. In 2013, she appeared on 's album. In February 2016, Raitt released her seventeenth studio album. The album charted at number 11 on the US chart and received favorable reviews.
The album features the single 'Gypsy in Me' as well as a cover of the song '. Raitt cancelled the first leg of her 2018 spring-summer touring schedule due to a recently discovered medical issue requiring surgical intervention. She reported that a 'full recovery' is expected and that she planned to resume touring with already-scheduled dates in June 2018. Drug and alcohol use and recovery Raitt used alcohol and drugs, but began and joined in the late 1980s. She has said 'I thought I had to live that partying lifestyle in order to be authentic, but in fact if you keep it up too long, all you're going to be is sloppy or dead'.
She became clean in 1987. She has credited for breaking her substance abuse, saying that what gave her the courage to admit her alcohol problem and stop drinking was seeing that Stevie Ray Vaughan was an even better musician when sober. She has also said that she stopped because she realized that the 'late night life' was not working for her. In 1989 she said 'I really feel like some angels have been carrying me around. I just have more focus and more discipline, and consequently more self-respect.'
Personal life Raitt has taken sabbaticals, including after the deaths of her parents, brother and best friend. She has said 'When I went through a lot of loss, I took a hiatus.' Raitt and actor were married on April 27, 1991. They announced their divorce on November 9, 1999, with a causal factor appearing to be that their careers caused considerable time apart. Political activism Raitt's political involvement goes back to the early 1970s. Her 1972 album Give It Up had a dedication 'to the people of.'
Printed on the back. Raitt's web site urges fans to learn more about preserving the environment.
She was a founding member of in 1979 and a catalyst for the larger, becoming involved with groups like the and Alliance for Survival. In 1994 at the urging of Dick Waterman, Raitt funded the replacement of a for one of her mentors, blues guitarist through the.
Raitt later financed memorial headstones in Mississippi for musicians, and again with the. At the in July 2004, Raitt dedicated a classic to sitting (and later re-elected) U.S. She was quoted as saying, 'We're gonna sing this for George Bush because he's out of here, people!' Before she launched into the opening licks of 'Your Good Thing (Is About to End)', a song that was featured on her. In 2002, Raitt signed on as an official supporter of, a nonprofit organization that provides free musical instruments and free lessons to children in public schools throughout the U.S. She has visited children in the program and sits on the organization's board of directors as an honorary member.
In 2008, Raitt donated a song to the 's CD to assist with relief efforts in Southeast Asia from the 2004 tsunami. Raitt worked with, a non-profit environmental organization, for her 2005 fall/winter and 2006 spring/summer/fall tours. Raitt is part of the, which opposes the expansion of. In 2007, No Nukes recorded a music video of a new version of the song '.
During the 2008 Democratic primary campaign Raitt, along with and bassist, performed at campaign appearances for candidate. Discography. Main article:. 1971:. 1972:. 1973:.
1974:. 1975:. 1977:.
1979:. 1982:. 1986:. 1989:.
1991:. 1994:. 1998:. 2002:. 2005:. 2012:.
2016: Guitar Raitt's principal touring guitar is a customized that became the basis for a signature model in 1996. Raitt was the first female musician to receive a signature Fender line. My brown Strat—the body is a '65 and the neck is from some time after that. It's kind of a hybrid that I got for $120 at 3 o' clock in the morning in 1969.
It's the one without the paint, and I've used that for every gig since 1969. Rolling Stone. November 23, 2011. From the original on September 2, 2017.
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