 Long a critic's darling,
singer/guitarist
Bonnie Raitt did not begin to win the comparable
commercial success due her until the release of the aptly
titled 1989 blockbuster
Nick of Time; her tenth album, it rocketed her into the
mainstream consciousness nearly two decades after she first
committed her unique blend of blues, rock, and R&B to vinyl.
Born in Burbank, CA, on November 8, 1949, she was the
daughter of Broadway star
John Raitt, best known for his starring performances in
such smashes as Carousel and Pajama Game. After picking up
the guitar at the age of 12,
Bonnie Raitt felt an immediate affinity for the blues, and
although she went off to attend Radcliffe in 1967, within
two years she had dropped out to begin playing the Boston
folk and blues club circuit. Signing with noted blues
manager
Dick Waterman, she was soon performing alongside the
likes of idols including
Howlin' Wolf,
Sippie Wallace, and
Mississippi Fred McDowell and in time earned such a
strong reputation that she was signed to Warner Bros.
Debuting in 1971 with an eponymously titled effort,
Bonnie Raitt immediately emerged as a critical favorite,
applauded not only for her soulful vocals and thoughtful
song selection but also for her guitar prowess, turning
heads as one of the few women to play bottleneck. Her 1972
follow-up, Give It Up, made better use of her eclectic
tastes, featuring material by contemporaries like
Jackson Browne and
Eric Kaz, in addition to a number of R&B chestnuts and
even three
Bonnie Raitt originals. 1973's Takin' My Time was much
acclaimed, and throughout the middle of the decade she
released an LP annually, returning with Streetlights in 1974
and Home Plate a year later. With 1977's Sweet Forgiveness,
Bonnie Raittscored her first significant pop airplay with her
hit cover of the
Del Shannon classic "Runaway"; its follow-up, 1979's The
Glow, appeared around the same time as a massive all-star
anti-nuclear concert at Madison Square Garden mounted by
MUSE (Musicians United for Safe Energy), an organization
she'd co-founded earlier.
Throughout her career,
Bonnie Raitt remained a committed activist, playing hundreds of
benefit concerts and working tirelessly on behalf of the
Rhythm and Blues Foundation. By the early '80s, however, her
own career was in trouble -- 1982's Green Light, while
greeted with the usual good reviews, again failed to break
her to a wide audience, and while beginning work on the
follow-up, Warners unceremoniously dropped her. By this
time,
Bonnie Raitt was also battling drug and alcohol problems as
well; she worked on a few tracks with
Prince, but their schedules never aligned and the
material went unreleased. Instead, she finally released the
patchwork Nine Lives in 1986, her worst-selling effort since
her debut. Many had written
Bonnie Raitt off when she teamed with producer
Don Was and recorded Nick of Time; seemingly out of the
blue, the LP won a handful of Grammys, including Album of
the Year, and overnight she was a superstar. 1991's Luck of
the Draw was also a smash, yielding the hits "Something to
Talk About" and "I Can't Make You Love Me." After 1994's
Longing in Their Hearts,
Bonnie Raitt resurfaced in 1998 with Fundamental. Silver Lining
appeared in 2002, followed by Souls Alike in 2005, both on
Capitol Records. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
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