I love Bonnie's story, such a "never give up" ending.
Raitt was born in Burbank, California. She is the daughter of the Broadway musical star John Raitt and his first wife, the pianist Marjorie Haydock, and was raised in the Quaker tradition. She began playing guitar at Camp Regis-Apple Jack in Paul Smiths, NY, at an early age. Later she gained notice for her bottleneck-style guitar playing. Raitt says she played "a little at school and at [a summer] camp", Camp Regis-Applejack, in New York.
In the fall of 1970, while opening for Mississippi Fred McDowell at the Gaslight Cafe in New York, she was seen by a reporter from Newsweek, who began to spread the word about her performance. Scouts from major record companies were soon attending her shows to watch her play. She eventually accepted an offer from Warner Bros., which soon released her debut album, Bonnie Raitt, in 1971. The album was warmly received by the music press, with many writers praising her skills as an interpreter and as a bottleneck guitarist; at the time, few women in popular music had strong reputations as guitarists.
While admired by those who saw her perform, and respected by her peers, Raitt gained little public acclaim for her work. Her critical stature continued to grow but record sales remained modest. After the release of a number of albums, Warner Bros. dropped Raitt from their roster in 1983.
Raitt's management, Gold Mountain, approached numerous labels about a new record deal, and she was signed to Capitol by a&r executive Tim Devine. At Capitol, after nearly 20 years, Raitt achieved belated commercial success with her tenth album, Nick of Time. Released in the spring of 1989, Nick of Time went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 200 Album chart following Raitt's Grammy sweep in early 1990. This album has been voted number 230 in the Rolling Stone list of 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Raitt herself pointed out that her 10th try was "my first sober album."
The single "Have A Heart" got to #3 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and #49 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Thing Called Love" didn't crack the Hot 100, but the video got heavy rotation on MTV and VH-1.
Raitt followed up this success with three more Grammy Awards for her 1991 album Luck of the Draw which sold nearly 8 million copies in the United States. Luck of the Draw gave Raitt her first hit singles. "I Can't Make You Love Me" got to #18 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Something To Talk About" did even better, getting to #5 on that same chart.
Three years later, in 1994, she added two more Grammys with her album Longing in Their Hearts, her second no. 1 album. Both of these albums were multi-platinum successes. Longing In Their Hearts gave Raitt another Top 20 single to her credit, as "Love Sneaking Up On You" climbed to #19 on the Hot 100 chart.
