Bonnie Raitt

Biography: (BONNIE RAITT BIOGRAPHY & DISCOGRAPHY) Bonnie Raitt holds the respectable claim of being the only woman in mainstream rock to be recognized as a guitar virtuoso. The singer uses her exceptionally strong voice and emotive songwriting skills to pump out a bluesy mix of hard rock that has made her an international success. But her success has not come easy. Raitt picked up her first guitar at age nine, and began her singing career in her early teens on the Boston and Philadelphia folk and blues circuit. The daughter of Broadway star John Raitt, she released a self-titled debut in 1971 when she was 22; a mix of country blues, R&B and covers of West Coast songwriters like Jackson Browne and Randy Newman. In 1972, Raitt re-released Give It Up, which featured the heart-rending "Love Has No Pride" and the lustful "Love Me Like A Man." Raitt's next album, For Takin' My Time came out one year later, notable for its guest artists which included Taj Mahal, Jim Keltner and Little Feat's Lowell George.

Over the next decade, Raitt began to change her style to one that included more elements of rock, while still maintaining a blues feel. Sweet Forgiveness, released in 1977, was the first album to incorporate this newfound maturity. This album produced her first U.S. hit -- a raunchy cover of Del Shannon's "Runaway." She also showcased her blues-rock mix on Green Light, released in 1982.

Raitt abruptly dropped out of sight for awhile after this album, as she struggled to control her alcohol and drug use. She also had reached an impasse in her career, as her refusal to pump out mass popular music left her with a stagnating audience. Even worse at this point, her label, Warner Bros., unceremoniously dumped her.

But Raitt found an unlikely savior in the Walt Disney Co., when she was commissioned to record a rendition of "Baby of Mine" for a Disney covers project called Stay Awake. Released as a single, the song led to a record deal with Capitol.

Nick of Time came out in 1989 and received an amazingly positive response from old fans and new fans alike. The album won three Grammys and hit the top of the U.S. charts. At the same time, Raitt won a fourth Grammy for a duet she recorded with John Lee Hooker called "In the Mood."

Nick of Time made Raitt a superstar and 1991's Luck of the Draw only solidified this status. The album was a big seller, and won Raitt three more Grammys, although critics agreed it was a weaker effort. Still, Raitt continued to pair up with the big names in the business, including Bruce Hornsby, Richard Thompson, B.B. King, Elton John, Willie Nelson, Aretha Franklin and Gloria Estefan.

In 1994, Raitt returned with Longing in Their Hearts and received even more Grammys (bringing her total to nine) and multi-platinum sales. The following year, she released her first live album, called Road Tested.

In 1998, after a four-year absence from studio recording, Raitt released Fundamental, a back-to-basics album produced by Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake.
(biography from RollingStone.com)


BONNIE RAITT DISCOGRAPHY

1971 - Bonnie Raitt
1972 - Give It Up
1973 - Takin' My Time
1974 - Streetlights
1975 - Home Plate
1977 - Sweet Forgiveness
1979 - The Glow
1982 - Green Light
1986 - Nine Lives
1989 - Nick of Time
1990 - Collection
1991 - Luck of the Draw
1994 - Longing in Their Hearts
1995 - Road Tested
1998 - Fundamental
2002 - Silver Lining… Expand