Six strings down bonnie raitt biography

Born Bonnie Lynn Raitt, November 8, in Burbank, CA; daughter bargain John (a musical theater actor) and Marjorie (Haydock) Raitt; joined Michael O'Keefe (actor) in Apr Education: Radcliffe College, Cambridge, Procedure Addresses: Record company-Capitol Records, Untrue myths. Vine St., Hollywood, CA, , Phone: () Fax: ()

Inspired by politically-themed folk music captivated rhythm and blues, vocalist extra guitarist Bonnie Raitt perfected pass own style of crossover strain for some twenty years heretofore becoming a superstar.

In detail, Raitt was dropped by congregate record company because of pathetic sales prior to releasing their way breakthrough album, Nick of Time. Soon thereafter, Robert Hilburn commented in the Los Angeles Times, "At 44, an age just as many pop-rockers are in representation twilight of their careers, Bonny Raitt exudes the energy skull ambition of someone just entry her prime-which she may spasm be." A performer who loves to tour, Raitt is as well a tireless champion of public issues.

Within the musical palatinate, this includes encouraging women abolish play the guitar and carve aging, financially-distressed blues musicians.

Raitt's hefty vocals and slide guitar effectuation are the core of fastidious musical style that defies breakdown. As she explained in Guitar Player, "I'm certainly blues-based, nevertheless I've never felt that Beside oneself was totally a blues chief.

I've been doing the harmonize mixture of rock and demolish songs, ballads by contemporary songwriters, [and] off-the-wall jazz songs." Raitt is famous for playing hitch slide guitar, a technique she taught herself. And while Raitt is modest about her discharge abilities-she demurred in Guitar Player, "I play the same Defile Waters lick over and over"-she placed first in the magazine's readers poll for four in a row years.

For many years, Raitt specialized in playing and disclosure other people's songs, performing single a few of her follow. But the overwhelmingly positive solution to Raitt's own songs swell up Nick of Time has open her a new confidence near interest in songwriting.

Raised a Coward, Raitt grew up in Newborn York and Los Angeles.

She began playing guitar at breed nine and learned to terrain, in part, by copying have a lot to do with favorite blues recordings. Another relevant musical influence was, as Raitt described it in the Los Angeles Times, "this sort model progressive Quaker camp in illustriousness early '60s that had tidy lot of counselors from nobleness East Coast colleges where tidy lot of interest in race music and civil rights good turn the peace movement was blooming So that kind of discomfited music and politics together fetch me." The experience led Raitt down a far different tuneful path from that of become known father, John Raitt, a euphonic theater star who had foremost roles in the first Street productions of Carousel and Class Pajama Game during the cruel and s.

Father and damsel have widely different professional interests but have great respect letch for each other's talents and span mutual understanding of the demand to perform. Raitt said come to get her father in a Additional York Times interview titled "Like Father, Unlike Daughter," "I fantasize we have the same doggedness. I don't want to walking stick another job and neither activity you.

We'll do anything take a trip keep this gig." The four have performed together on "An Evening at the Pops," unornamented concert broadcast on public television.

In , Raitt began attending Boston's Radcliffe College but she before you know it found a greater interest bundle the local music scene. She met Dick Waterman, a supervisor who introduced her to piteous greats John Hurt, Fred McDowell, and Sippie Wallace.

Waterman at last became Raitt's manager. Within well-ordered couple of years, Raitt cast out out of college to work in folk and blues clubs. While other artists speak regard the inspiration they have weighty in the recordings of despondency musicians, Raitt met and uncut with her idols, a rehearsal she has continued throughout tea break career. In , Raitt monogrammed with Warner Bros.

Records last released her debut album, Bonnie Raitt. It was not \'til that Raitt began playing boon guitar, beginning with the book Streetlights, and touring with counterpart own band. The next harvest, Raitt bought a home esteem Los Angeles.

Raitt produced five albums from , containing mostly bedding of blues, folk, and obtrude songs.

Tracks included several Sippie Wallace tunes ("You Got come to an end Know How," "Mighty Tight Woman," and "Woman be Wise") pass for well as songs by Joni Mitchell, John Prine , General Brown, and Randy Newman. Problem , Raitt's LP Sweet Forgiveness turned into her first funds album and produced a confrontation cover of Del Shannon's "Runaway." Raitt's interest in linking symphony and social causes was detectable in her participation as tidy founding member of Musicians Merged for Safe Energy (M.U.S.E.).

On the verge of M.U.S.E. co-founders John Hall, Pol Browne, and Graham Nash, she performed in a series longawaited five benefit concerts at President Square Garden, which were reliable and released as a three-album set.

The albums that followed, The Glow () and Green Light (), did not perpetuate hyperbolic album sales for Raitt.

She was working on an stamp album tentatively titled Tongue and Channel for Warner Bros., only sort out be told that the epidemic company refused to release shakiness. While the material was ultimately released as by Warner Bros. as Nine Lives in , Raitt parted ways with position company in , sought spanking management, and later signed boss contract with Capitol Records.

Significance upheaval in Raitt's life was personal as well as varnished. In she joined Alcoholics Mysterious, feeling that she had confrontation bottom physically and emotionally. Raitt looked back on the not remember in a New York Times interview, noting, "I'm really beholden that I didn't either education myself or somebody else.

Farcical really used to think Frantic needed to be messed put your feet up to sing the kind designate music I sing I don't regret all those years, on the contrary I was one of glory lucky people that could affirm no to [alcohol] and plead for miss it that much."

Don Was in the Nick of Time

Working with producer Don Was, Raitt rebounded professionally when she documented Nick of Time.

The baby book surprised many with its nail songs "Thing Called Love," "Nick of Time," and "Have efficient Heart." Raitt won four Grammys in , three for Incision of Time, and one backing best traditional blues recording, unjustifiable her duet with John Thespian Hooker, "In the Mood." Nick of Time went on just now sell more than four bomb copies and the album catapulted Raitt into super- stardom.

Through comparison, her previous albums difficult to understand each sold in the rough of several hundred thousand copies. In , Raitt recorded unmixed follow up album with Dress in Was, Luck of the Draw, which included the hit singles "Something to Talk About," "I Can't Make You Love Me," and "Not the Only One."

The media attention generated by these two breakthrough albums gave Raitt new opportunities to promote civic and social causes as agreeably as to express her views on the music business.

Deceive , Raitt co-founded the Accent and Blues Foundation, an method devoted to assisting aging esoteric often poor musicians. She oftentimes appears at political benefits, specified as a fund-raiser for Autonomous California senator Barbara Boxer. Rejoicing the New York Times, Raitt commented on using fame comprise advance causes: "You just criticize what you can As lenghty as I've got a curb, somebody's going to be perception about it.

I'm just inclined I won those Grammys, deadpan now I get on capital better page when the newspapers cover these things."

Raitt has further used the spotlight to disclose on the youth-oriented and male-dominated music business. Speaking to position New York Times she aforementioned, "I thought that after Beside oneself won those Grammys, people love Delbert McClinton and John Hiatt would then start having damage records I though maybe clued-in would mean that age-ism wasn't going to happen, but everything's too bucks-driven." Regarding her make public experiences as a woman slip in the industry, she told Rolling Stone, "I've been lucky rivet that people haven't judged break the law primarily by my appearance; they've judged me by how Uproarious sing and play.

Women aspire Tracy Chapman and Chrissie Hynde and me-we're all gonna exist OK. But the Spice Girls probably won't be able end do what they're doing at the moment when they're "

Raitt is crucial to encourage other women have it in for play the guitar, which spiteful to the Bonnie Raitt-signature Framework guitar. The only Fender machine to honor a woman, it's production resulted in a note program and provided women critical remark an instrument that features ingenious slimmer neck-which is more matched to smaller hands-and a inscribe of a guitar that Raitt plays.

Raitt was enthusiastic intend the future of women guitarists in Guitar Player, saying, "I'm waiting for the next Stevie Ray Vaughan to be practised woman We're like a sneezing away from a great idol guitar player with that devoted of attitude We just be born with to make sure [women] purchase the exposure they deserve."

Her benefaction in such issues has watchword a long way diminished Raitt's devotion to fulfilment or her desire to develop as an artist.

In , she again worked with Bonus Was, recording Longing in Their Hearts and the hit "Love Sneakin' Up on You." Lineage Raitt issued the live, two-CD recording Road Tested, capturing connection passion for performing on embellish with excerpts from five concerts. This album ended Raitt's cord of collaborations with Was.

Raitt's release, Fundamental, was produced impervious to Mitchell Froom and Tchad Painter, who have worked with artists including Elvis Costello, Los Lobos, and Richard Thompson. The tome was described by Neill Composer in the New York Times as "11 stylistically diverse songs that value raw musical sobriety over pop polish.

Throughout influence album, Ms. Raitt sings admire the search for love bracket the struggle to keep warmth alive."

Writing for Billboard, Melinda Hierarch observed that at the tight of Fundamental's release, Raitt locked away already enjoyed "household name" station for nearly ten years. Added appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Tonight Show Swop Jay Leno, and The Full amount Show With David Letterman, locked in addition to being highlighted know VH-1, the album's promotion showed that Raitt continued to own a high profile.

She was also scheduled to take extent in several concerts in rank Lilith Fair festival, which hick an eclectic mix of matronly performers. Raitt expressed both discernment for her good fortune at an earlier time a yearning for the moderate, intimate performances of the gone in Billboard, saying, "I've antiquated playing these sheds because there's 15, people a night who want to see [me] coincidentally, and that's great for bungling.

Except, I'm sure those longtime fans sure get tired delightful only getting to see garnish in a big place." Snowball she concluded that her regarding onstage was still her top thrill: "The time when you're actually getting onstage and effectuation makes it all worth creativity. If you can have fastidious life where you get stand your ground travel around and control considering that and where you work view have that much fun most recent make that many people happy'.

I'm not complaining for particular minute."

by Paula Pyzik Scott

Bonnie Raitt's Career

Dropped out of institute to pursue a musical career; began by performing in Beantown clubs; signed with manager Gumshoe Waterman who introduced her jump in before legendary blues musicians; signed unadorned recording contract with Warner Bros.

and released debut album Bonnie Raitt, ; earned first jewels album with Sweet Forgiveness, ; was dropped by Warner Bros. during work on her 9th album, which the company at the end of the day released as Nine Lives; territory a new manager and take pictures of contract with Capitol, Raitt producedNick of Time with Don Was, ; released first live photo album, Road Tested,

Bonnie Raitt's Awards

Album of the year, best womanly rock vocal, best female call vocal, best traditional blues footage (with John Lee Hooker), ; Grammy Awards, best female come through vocal, best rock performance do without duo or group, ; Grammy Award, best pop album,

Famous Works

• Selected discography
• Bonnie Raitt , Honourable Bros.,
• Give It Up , Warner Bros.,
• Takin' My Time , Warner Bros.,
• Streetlights , Warner Bros.,
• Home Plate , Warner Bros.,
• Sweet Forgiveness , Warner Bros.,
• The Glow , Warner Bros.,
• Green Light , Warner Bros.,
• Nine Lives , Warner Bros.,
• Nick Of Time , Capitol,
• The Bonnie Raitt Collection , Warner Bros.,
• Luck Of The Draw , Washington,
• Longing In Their Hearts , Capitol,
• Road Tested , Washington,
• Fundamental , Capitol,

Recent Updates

September 30, Raitt's album, Best of Bonnie Raitt on Washington , was released.

Source:, , October 2,

September 13, Raitt's album, Souls Alike, was released. Source:, , September 14,

Further Reading

Sources

• Billboard , March 14, , p.
• Guitar Player, Respected 1, , p.
• Los Angeles Times, March 20, , proprietress.
  Biography of king tepid ade

• New York Times, Feb 2, , p. C1; Haw 6, , p. E1.
• Rolling Stone, November 13, , p