Bonnie Raitt

Bonnie Lynn Raitt (/reɪt/; born November 8, 1949) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In 1971, Raitt released her self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed roots-influenced albums that incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk, and country. She was also a frequent session player and collaborator with other artists, including Warren Zevon, Little Feat, Jackson Browne, the Pointer Sisters, John Prine, and Leon Russell.

In 1989, after several years of limited commercial success, she had a major hit with her tenth studio album, Nick of Time, which included the song "Nick of Time". The album reached number one on the Billboard 200 chart, and won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. It has since been selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Recording Registry. Her following two albums, Luck of the Draw (1991) and Longing in Their Hearts (1994), were multimillion sellers, generating several hit singles, including "Something to Talk About", "Love Sneakin' Up On You", and the ballad "I Can't Make You Love Me" (with Bruce Hornsby on piano). Her 2022 single "Just Like That" won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year.

As of 2025, Raitt has received 13 competitive Grammy Awards, from 31 nominations, as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. She ranked No. 50 on Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time" and ranked No. 89 on the magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time." Australian country music artist Graeme Connors has said "Bonnie Raitt does something with a lyric no one else can do; she bends it and twists it right into your heart."

In 2000, Raitt was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She has received the Icon Award from the Billboard Women in Music Awards and the MusiCares Person of the Year Award from The Recording Academy. In 2024, she was a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honor.

Bonnie Lynn Raitt was born on November 8, 1949, in Burbank, California. Her mother, Marge Goddard (née Haydock), was a pianist, and her father, John Raitt, was a professional actor and singer in musicals, including the original Broadway lead roles in Carousel and The Pajama Game. Raitt is of Scottish ancestry, a descendant of the Rait Clan that built Rait Castle near Nairn in the 13th Century. As a child, Raitt would often play with her two brothers, Steve and David, and was a self-described tomboy. John Raitt's job as a theatre actor meant that Bonnie did not interact with him as much as she would have liked. She came to resent her mother, who became the main authority figure in the family whenever John was away.

Raitt's musically-inclined parents had a strong influence on her life. From a young age, she and her brothers were encouraged to pursue music. Initially, Bonnie played the piano, but she felt intimidated by her mother's abilities. Instead, she 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 fashioned her style after musicians from the American folk music revival of the 1950s. She was also influenced by the beatnik movement of that period, stating "It represented my whole belief [...] I'd grow my hair real long so I looked like a beatnik."

From ages eight through fifteen, Raitt and her brothers attended an annual summer camp in the Adirondack Mountains called Camp Regis. It was there where Raitt learned of her musical talents, when camp counselors would ask her to play in front of the campers. Learning how to play songs then became a hobby for Raitt. As a teenager, Raitt was self-conscious about her weight and her freckles, and saw music as an escape from reality. "That was my saving grace. I just sat in my room and played my guitar," said Raitt. At age 14, she listened to the album Blues at Newport 63, which instilled an interest in blues music and the slide guitar technique.

In 1967, Raitt enrolled at Radcliffe College in Massachusetts, majoring in social relations and African studies. While at Radcliffe, she joined a musical group called the Revolutionary Music Collective, which played for striking students from neighboring Harvard University during the national anti-Vietnam War student strike of 1970. Despite her abilities, Raitt did not consider music to be anything more than a hobby. Her plan after graduation was to travel to Tanzania, and work to improve the government under president Julius Nyerere. During her first year of college, Raitt befriended blues promoter Dick Waterman, and in her second year, left school for a semester to travel to Philadelphia with Waterman and other local musicians. Raitt said it was an "opportunity that changed everything."