Bonnie Raitt.....

[DMgolf66]

Maybe this should be in another category, but she is a "player", just not of Jazz.

Always a huge fan of blues and slide playing. To me, she has the mark of a great player in that when I hear a few notes I know it's her playing. Very sexy and warbly vibrato with the slide. She's great imho. I remember there was a guy who worked at a guitar shop that I liked a lot but we had a bit different tastes. Anyway, we had a conversation about the "new" Stevie Ray Vaughn tribute concert that was just performed. It had Clapton, Jimmie Vaughn, Robert Cray, B.B. , Buddy. . .
He thought that Bonnie's version of "Pride and Joy" was the best performance of them all. He was a bit of a shredder, so I was surprised but after a second of thought , I agreed!!! I was looking, imho, for the wrong thing and realized it was her song that jumped out.

Oh well, it all strikes us different, but nobody can fault her for heart and soul.....

[mr. beaumont]

I don't believe in too many absolutes in music, but if someone doesn't like this, I question their musical taste in general.

[DMgolf66]

I don't believe in too many absolutes in music, but if someone doesn't like this, I question their musicl taste in general.

Ugh....that's soul crushingly good.
Way to pull the "can't deny it" song.

She strikes me as one of the few that people may not choose to listen to on a regular basis or may not be fully familar with her work, but if you put on a tune nobody will ever deny what she's doing/conveying. To me, she's special.

[ruger9]

She's my all-time favorite slide player. She's almost more R&B than blues at times. Her new album is great.

[A. Kingstone]

I've always hoped her car would break down in my driveway.

[Kirk Garrett]

I don't believe in too many absolutes in music, but if someone doesn't like this, I question their musical taste in general.

This has always been my fave Bonnie Rait cut. I’ve turned a lot of friends onto it; they never knew of it.

[wintermoon]

My buddy, a serious Chicago blues guy hates her for some reason but I like her.
This was recorded at Sigma Sound in Philly over 50 yrs ago (I believe Bowie's Young Americans was as well) The "oh no" reaction from her at the end is funny

[alltunes]

I’m hard pressed to find anything she does that I don’t love.

[DMgolf66]

My buddy, a serious Chicago blues guy hates her for some reason but I like her.
This was recorded at Sigma Sound in Philly over 50 yrs ago (I believe Bowie's Young Americans was as well) The "oh no" reaction from her at the end is funny

I remember speaking at a former boss's retirement party and saying that I had met very, very few people in my life that if someone came up to me and said "I got a real problem with 'so and so'" , I knew that the problem unequivocally was with them, not the other person. I kinda feel that way about Bonnie Raitt.....

[Doctor Jeff]

I am working on I Can't Make You Love Me with my friend Jacqueline, who is a singer. The way Bonnie sings it just breaks your heart. She is an American icon.

Saw her first time at my college in 1979, last time a few years ago at an outdoor show in Lincoln, where she played with Richard Thompson. Their duet on Dimming of the Day was a wonderful coda to the whole evening. And her guitar playing is the epitome of tasteful comp and soloing. She still performs with the ES-175 she has owned for decades.

And Kingstone...I know what you mean. Redheads.

[PMB]

A couple of very different but equally fine collaborations:

[lammie200]

Saw her once on the sidewalk. Stunningly beautiful with the red hair and all. Definitely not something you see often. Even if she dyes it it looked great IMHO.

[Flat]

He thought that Bonnie's version of "Pride and Joy" was the best performance of them all.

I'd love to hear that. Is it on a record or YouTube? Anybody happen to know?

[RJVB]

The "oh no" reaction from her at the end is funny

The lyrics ain't half bad either if you care to listen between the lines

[DMgolf66]

I'd love to hear that. Is it on a record or YouTube? Anybody happen to know?

Used to be easy to pull up the video of her playing it, but I can't find it. Just the audio

[wintermoon]

The lyrics ain't half bad either if you care to listen between the lines

Yeah, that's why said "oh no" to the crowds reaction

[wolflen]

I want one for Christmas...

OK you guys...here she is doing a song you may not know..and breaking your heart with ease

no slide guitar needed..the grit in her voice is tamed

please enjoy

[mr. beaumont]

A real pro, she even shines in a backup role...along with another great you might recognize

[Flat]

Just the audio

Thanks for the link, DM. I appreciate that! I got to see SRV at a small club in Berkeley a few weeks after Texas Flood broke. My buddy said "Don't even ask. Just come with me tonight."

I stood a few feet from the stage. Forty years on, I can still feel it. And I will never get over losing him too soon.




Now, back to the eminent and illustrious Bonnie...

[orri]

I got my first own guitar in 1997. Before then I had for a few months been secretly playing my older brother's nylon guitar, when he wasn't home.

There was this ad in a TV guide from a local music store about a sale. They had a 30% discount on a Fender floyd rose classic stratocaster and a Bonnie Raitt signature stratocaster.
I had seen Wayne's World which featured a Fender Stratocaster and that felt like the desirable thing to have, but I had no idea what Floyd Rose or Bonnie Raitt was. (we did have internet but it was a bit different back then and my English was rather limited at the time).

The Floyd Rose stratocaster had a bit lower price tag so I ended up buying that one with my confirmation money, which I still own.
I haven't become that much wiser about who Bonnie Raitt is but I've stumbled upon her name several times and seen videos of very tasteful blues solos, but I mainly associate her with the other guitar in the ad for my guitar.

[Bop Head]

Regarding Bonnie and jazz: There is at least some dixieland in the title track of her second album.

Even before being a very fine guitarist, for me she is a very true, sincere voice, which is something I appreciate regardless of style of music. No kitsch, simply heart-felt.

[RJVB]

I haven't become that much wiser about who Bonnie Raitt is but I've stumbled upon her name several times

Same here, it's a name I always associated with what we now call Americana, probably confounding her with another Bonnie of eclipsing fame. Can't remember ever coming across her (or registering her name) when listening to my various blues "radios".

Same with Floyd Rose btw - that's a term I know e-guitar afficionados like to throw around as if it's a holy grail (and that's all I need to know ).

[John A.]

I saw her a couple of times in the Freebo days. She was a great performer. And of course all of her recordings are fantastic. Definitively one of my all time favorite musicians.

In terms of how to categorize her, I don’t think you really can. From her earliest recordings there was always a blend of blues, country, folk, R&B, rock, funk, trad jazz, gospel and more in her repertoire and sound. The obvious comparison is Lowell George (close friend and musical influence of hers), who also defies categorization.

I wouldn’t say “Americana" because in my mind that has sort of twee, consciously eclectic for the sake of eclectic connotations, and I don’t think she’s that. I think she just picks songs she likes and/or that move her without regard to what bucket they’re from.

[RJVB]

I wouldn’t say “Americana" because in my mind that has sort of twee, consciously eclectic for the sake of eclectic connotations

Not in mine, but I always think "roots" along with the term.

Unless you consider that people like Darrell Scott or Tim O'Brien are "twee, consciously eclectic for the sake of it"?

[Geunther]

She grabbed me in 1974 with her recording of John Prine's "Angel from Montgomery" and never let me go, it gave me a deeper appreciation for having ears.