Bonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer, guitarist, songwriter, and activist. Raitt’s musically inclined parents had a strong influence on her life. From a young age, she and her two brothers were encouraged to pursue music. At first, Raitt played the piano, but was intimidated by her mother’s talent. She instead began playing a Stella guitar, which she received as a Christmas gift in 1957 at the age of eight. Raitt did not take lessons, and instead took influence from the American folk music revival of the 1950s. She was also influenced by the beatnik movement, stating: “It represented my whole belief … I’d grow my hair real long so I looked like a beatnik.
1977’s Sweet Forgiveness album gave Raitt her first commercial breakthrough, when it yielded a hit single in her remake of Runaway. Recast as a heavy rhythm and blues recording based on a rhythmic groove inspired by Al Green, Raitt’s version of “Runaway” was disparaged by many critics. In 1980, she appeared as herself in the film Urban Cowboy where she sang “Don’t It Make You Wanna Dance.” For her next record, 1982’s Green Light, 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 new wave movement. The album received her strongest reviews in years, but her sales did not improve and this had a severe impact on her relationship with Warner Brothers.
In 1988 Raitt was signed to Capitol by A&R executive Tim Devine. With her first Capitol Records release, and after nearly twenty years in the business, Raitt achieved commercial success with Nick of Time, her tenth overall album of her career. Released in the spring of 1989, Nick of Time went to number one on the U.S. album chart following Raitt’s Grammy sweep in early 1990. This album has also been voted number 230 in the Rolling Stone list of 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Raitt later stated that her 10th try was “my first sober album.”
Raitt followed up this success with three more Grammy Awards for her next album, 1991’s Luck of the Draw, which has sold seven million copies in the United States. Three years later, in 1994, she added two more Grammys with her album Longing in Their Hearts, her second no. 1 album, that has sold two million copies in the US. Raitt’s collaboration with Don Was amicably came to an end with 1995’s live release Road Tested. Released to solid reviews, it was certified gold in the US.
In March 2000, Raitt was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. Silver Lining was released in 2002. In the US, it reached number 13 on the Billboard 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.
Souls Alike 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. Raitt appeared on the June 7, 2008 broadcast of Garrison Keillor’s radio program A Prairie Home Companion. She performed two blues songs with Keb Mo: “No Getting Over You” and “There Ain’t Nothin’ in Ramblin'”. Raitt also sang “Dimming of the Day” with Richard Thompson.
In February 2016, Raitt released her seventeenth studio album Dig in Deep. The album charted at number 11 on the US Billboard 200 chart and received favorable reviews. The album features the single “Gypsy in Me” as well as a cover of the INXS song “Need You Tonight”.
