Bonnie Raitt's sincere and fluid R&B style has been inspiring audiences for over 30 years. Curiously, although Bonnie Raitt is now a household name, she struggled for decades to achieve even mild commercial success. She has been widely lauded as one of the most virtuosic white female R&B singers ever to perform. She learned the blues at the young age of 12 and started touring the circuit after dropping out of college in the late 1960s. Some of the greats with whom she played include Mississippi Fred McDowell, Howlin' Wolf, and, of course, Sippie Wallace, a legend who later recorded music with her. She spent two years touring clubs and gaining name recognition before signing with her first label in 1971. Her debut included original songs as well as covers of hits by Stephen Sills and others. Her follow up album made it onto the charts, and she continued to produce album after album, seven in all, over an 18 year period. These albums included Streetlights, in 1974, Sweet Forgiveness, in 1977, Nine Lives, in 1986, and Nick of Time, in 1989. With each successive album, Bonnie Raitt gained more and more critical acclaim. However, her charts sales were never commensurate with her critical adulation. Bonnie Raitt's bluesy, confessional yet tough style, finally got the major recognition it deserved with a series of Grammy awards in 1990 based on her album with John Lee Hooker, entitled The Healer For the past 15 years, she has expanded her repertoire and musical style even more. Bonnie is the daughter of John Raitt, who starred in Broadway in several major hits, such as The Pajama Game and Carousel. |
