BonnieRaitt
Slide guitar's most soulful voice, singing blues with grace and grit
Bonnie Raitt
Slide guitar's most soulful voice, singing blues with grace and grit
Bonnie Raitt was born in Burbank, California, to Broadway star John Raitt and pianist Marge Goddard, and was raised in a Quaker household. She took up guitar as a child and was drawn to folk and blues records. In 1967 she enrolled at Radcliffe College, studying social relations and African studies, but the Cambridge folk and blues scene pulled her away. Through promoter Dick Waterman she met and performed with veteran bluesmen, most importantly Mississippi Fred McDowell, whose slide playing shaped her own approach.
Signed by Warner Bros., she released her debut album in 1971 and followed it with Give It Up in 1972 and Takin' My Time in 1973, records that mixed blues, folk, R&B and songs by emerging writers. Critics praised her, and her version of Del Shannon's Runaway on Sweet Forgiveness gave her a radio hit in 1977. She was also a committed activist, co-founding Musicians United for Safe Energy in 1979. Yet her sales stayed modest, and Warner dropped her in the early 1980s while she struggled with alcohol and drugs.
Raitt got sober in 1987 and signed with Capitol, teaming with producer Don Was for Nick of Time in 1989. The album reached number one and swept the Grammys, including Album of the Year, turning a long-respected cult artist into a household name nearly twenty years into her career. Luck of the Draw followed in 1991 with Something to Talk About and the aching ballad I Can't Make You Love Me, and Longing in Their Hearts in 1994 kept the streak going with more Grammy wins.
She entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000 and continued recording and touring steadily, using her platform to support causes and to champion the blues elders who taught her. In 2012 she released Slipstream on her own label, Redwing Records, to strong reviews. Her 2022 album Just Like That... earned her the Song of the Year Grammy for its title track, and she received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and, in 2024, Kennedy Center Honors.
The 10 greatest Bonnie Raitt solos
- 1Bonnie Raitt · solo by Bonnie Raitt · 1972
- 2Bonnie Raitt · solo by Bonnie Raitt · 1989
- 3Bonnie Raitt · solo by Bonnie Raitt · 1991
- 4Bonnie Raitt · solo by Bonnie Raitt · 1994
- 5Bonnie Raitt · solo by Bonnie Raitt · 1971
- 6Bonnie Raitt · solo by Bonnie Raitt · 1991
- 7Bonnie Raitt · solo by Bonnie Raitt · 1972
- 8Bonnie Raitt · solo by Bonnie Raitt · 2012
- 9Bonnie Raitt · solo by Bonnie Raitt · 2012
- 10Bonnie Raitt · solo by Bonnie Raitt · 1977
The sound
Raitt's slide playing is lyrical rather than flashy. She favors open tunings and a glass bottle slide, producing a round, singing tone with precise intonation and a warm vibrato that sounds almost like a second voice answering her vocals. Her lines are melodic and economical, leaning on the Delta phrasing she learned from Fred McDowell but polished with R&B and pop sensibility. She also fingerpicks acoustic blues with a strong thumb-driven groove, and her rhythm playing is funky and tight. Taste and restraint make every slide phrase count.
- 1965 Fender Stratocaster 'Brownie' (guitar) Her long-serving main electric, a customized Strat that has been her touring companion for decades.
- Fender Bonnie Raitt Signature Stratocaster (guitar) Introduced in 1996, making her the first woman to receive a Fender signature model.
- Coricidin medicine bottle slide (effect) A small glass bottle worn on her finger that gives her slide its smooth, vocal tone.
- Acoustic flat-top guitar (guitar) Central to the fingerpicked country blues on her earliest albums and in acoustic sets.
- Tube combo amplifier (amp) Set for a warm, clean-to-lightly-driven tone that lets her slide sing.
Covers
- Runaway, originally by Del Shannon She turned a frantic pop hit into a sultry, slow-burning groove.
- Thing Called Love, originally by John Hiatt Her swampy slide made the song her own and helped relaunch her career.
- Angel from Montgomery, originally by John Prine Her tender reading became one of the most beloved versions of Prine's song.
- Love Me Like a Man, originally by Chris Smither She flipped the song's perspective and made it a feminist blues staple.
- Women Be Wise, originally by Sippie Wallace A warm tribute to the classic blues singer she later helped bring back to the stage.
- Right Down the Line, originally by Gerry Rafferty A relaxed, reggae-inflected rethink of a 1970s hit.
- Million Miles, originally by Bob Dylan She brings a smoky, weary patience to a late-period Dylan blues.
Timeline
- 1949 Born in Burbank, California
- 1967 Enters Radcliffe College and joins the Cambridge blues scene
- 1971 Releases her debut album on Warner Bros.
- 1977 Runaway becomes a radio hit from Sweet Forgiveness
- 1979 Co-founds Musicians United for Safe Energy
- 1987 Gets sober
- 1989 Nick of Time reaches number one and later wins Album of the Year
- 1996 Becomes the first woman with a Fender signature guitar
- 2000 Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
- 2023 Wins Song of the Year Grammy for Just Like That
Facts
- Her father, John Raitt, was a Broadway star known for musicals such as Carousel and The Pajama Game.
- She studied social relations and African studies at Radcliffe College.
- Mississippi Fred McDowell was a mentor and a key influence on her slide style.
- She helped revive the career of classic blues singer Sippie Wallace.
- Nick of Time, her commercial breakthrough, was her tenth studio album.
- Her slide is often a Coricidin medicine bottle rather than a metal tube.
- Her main guitar, nicknamed Brownie, is a 1965 Fender Stratocaster.
- In 1996 she became the first woman to receive a Fender signature model guitar.
- She has won 13 competitive Grammy Awards.
- She co-founded the anti-nuclear group Musicians United for Safe Energy in 1979.