More than just a best-selling artist, respected guitarist, expressive singer, and accomplished songwriter, Bonnie Raitt has become an institution in American music. Born to a musical family, the nine-time Grammy winner, whom Rolling Stone magazine named one of the “100 Greatest Singers of All Time,” is the daughter of celebrated Broadway singer John Raitt (“Carousel,” “Oklahoma!,” “The Pajama Game”) and accomplished singer/pianist Marge Goddard. She was raised in Los Angeles in a climate of respect for the arts, Quaker traditions, and a commitment to social activisim. A Stella guitar given to her as a Christmas present launched Bonnie on her creative journey at the age of eight. While growing up, though passionate about music from the start, she never considered that it would play a greater role than as one of her many growing interests.

In the late 1960s, restless in L.A., she moved east to Cambridge, Massachusetts. As a Harvard/Radcliffe student majoring in Social Relations and African Studies, she attended classes and immersed herself in the city's turbulent cultural and political activities. “I couldn't wait to get back to where there were folkies and the antiwar and civil rights movements,” she reflects. “There were so many great music and political scenes going on in the late ’60s in Cambridge.”

Raitt was already deeply involved with folk music and the blues at that time. Exposure to the album “Blues At Newport 1963” at the age of of 14 had kindled her interest in blues and slide guitar, and between classes at Harvard she explored these and other styles in local coffeehouse gigs. Three years after entering college, she left to commit herself full-time to music. She fraternized with the greats in jazz and learned from them.

Word spread quickly of the young, red-haired blueswoman, her soulful, unaffected way of singing, and her uncanny insights into blues guitar. Warner Bros. tracked her down, signed her up, and in 1971 released her debut album, “Bonnnie Raitt,” from which this CD is remastered and reissued. Her interpretations of classic blues by Robert Johnson and Sippie Wallace made a powerful critical impression, but the presence of intrguing tunes by contemporary songwriters, as well as examples of her own writing, indicated that this artist would not be restricted to any one pigeonhole.

Soon she was selling records and winning awards. She earned four Grammy Awards in 1990 alone. One of her releases, “Luck Of the Draw,” is certified seven-times platinum. In March of 2000, Bonnie was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But then she dropped out for awhile.

“I took a hiatus from touring and recording to get back in touch with the other part of my life,” Bonnie explains. “On the road, under stress, it's hard to stay in balance and move foward.” Excited to have time at home with her family and friends, she could go to the symphony, check out live jazz and Cuban shows, and so much else. She continued her ongoing political work, helping organize NukeFree.org in 2007 and supporting her favorite non-profit organizations. “I didn't have to be the professional version of myself for a long time,” she reflects. “It wasn't so much a vacation as a chance to take care of a lot of neglected areas of my life, a lot of processing after all that loss and activity.”

Bonnie Raitt's voice on this CD is earthy and experienced and the backing musicians create an incredible warmth for that great voice. The little secret is, this album was recorded in a garage at an empty summer camp in Minnesota when she was only 21! Forget the slickly produced stuff that came later; this is the pure, unadulterated Bonnie. You'll enjoy her great laid-back and intimate feel.
 
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