Bonnie Raitt: The Red-Haired Blueswoman

Have you seen the 54^th Annual Grammy Award’s? Of course you have! With the lights low and a sad, yet celebratory mood, artists from all over came out to celebrate “music’s biggest night.” Alongside Singer Alicia Keys in a soulful tribute to the late Etta James, you may have noticed a soulful red-haired woman who stroked her guitar with immense passion and sang beautifully. That woman is the one and only Hall of Famed Bonnie Raitt. Bonnie and Alicia serenaded the crowd with “I Want a Sunday Kind of Love” and captured the entire arena in remembrance of the iconic Singer Etta James.

An icon in her own right, the blues singer/songwriter’s interest in music began early on in life when she received a Stella brand guitar for Christmas at the age of eight. She fell in love with the blues and playing her beloved guitar. She never imagined that she would eventually embark on a successful music career that would span over forty two years. The blueswoman got her start by breaking the ultimate rule; leaving college to pursue a career in music. Originally destined to save the world with a major in Social Relations and African Studies as a student at the prestigious Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies in association with Harvard University, she left school three years into her studies. Bonnie’s career began in local Cambridge, Massachusetts coffee houses. Soon after full diving into her love of music, Bonnie found herself opening up for blues legends such as Mississippi Fred McDowell, Sippie Wallace, Son House, Muddy Waters, and John Lee Hooker. On her official website the songstress states, “I’m certain that it was an incredible gift for me to not only be friends with some of the greatest blues people who’ve ever lived, but to learn how they played, how they sang, how they lived their lives, ran their marriages, and talked to their kids,” she said. “I was especially lucky as so many of them are no longer with us.”

The original singer of the big hit “I Can’t Make You Love Me” would learn from these legends and yet create a sound of her own. Bonnie’s trademark sound is a harmonious blend of blues, rock, and r&b. She has been named one of the “100 Greatest Singers of All Time” by Rolling Stones Magazine. Not only is Bonnie phenomenal, but so is her amazing life commitment to world activism. Although she left school behind many years ago, the 62 year old has had a lifelong dedication to a variety of causes. “She has long been involved with the environmental movement, doing concerts around oil, nuclear power, mining, water and forest protection since the mid 70′s,” according to the philanthropist’s official website. This musician is the founder of MUSE (Musicians United for Safe Energy), an organization band artists together to promote safe and alternative energy, and NukeFree.org, a website focused on nuclear weapon reform and awareness. Along with these efforts Bonnie also focuses her time on social injustices, human rights, and even pioneers rights in the music industry concerning artists’ royalties and musical education for the under privileged.

A heart of gold and records of the same caliber, Bonnie Raitt has truly earned every blessing that has come her way. The star is “starting anew” with the release of her nineteenth album, “Slipstream”, in April which will be the first product released on her very own record label Redwig Records. Bonnie shares, “I’m so inspired and so proud to continue these traditions, whether it’s reggae or soul or blues. I’m in the slipstream of those who came before me, and I’m leaving one for those behind me. I’m holding up the traditions of the music that I love.”

-Shantice Edwards