60 Fun Facts About Bonnie Raitt

In which California city was Bonnie Raitt born?

She arrived on November 8, 1949, into a musical family.

Bonnie Raitt's father John Raitt was a Broadway star best known for which original role?

He also originated the lead in The Pajama Game.

What instrument did the eight-year-old Bonnie Raitt receive as a Christmas gift in 1957?

She never took lessons and instead copied the folk-revival players she heard.

Which 1963 live album sparked the 14-year-old Raitt's love of slide guitar?

Slide guitar became her signature; B.B. King later called her the best slide player working.

Which college did Bonnie Raitt attend, majoring in social relations and African studies?

She planned to move to Tanzania to work under President Julius Nyerere before music intervened.

Which blues promoter befriended Raitt in her first year of college and changed her path?

She left school for a semester to travel to Philadelphia with him and other musicians.

With which bluesman did Raitt play at the 1970 Philadelphia Folk Festival?

She later paid for a new headstone for him through the Mount Zion Memorial Fund.

Which label released Raitt's self-titled debut album in 1971?

Critics praised her as a bottleneck guitarist at a time when few women were known for guitar.

What was the title of Raitt's second album, released in 1972?

Its back cover carried a dedication to the people of North Vietnam.

Raitt's first commercial hit came in 1977 with a remake of which Del Shannon song?

Its success set off a bidding war between Warner Bros. and Columbia.

Which anti-nuclear group did Raitt co-found in 1979, staging five concerts at Madison Square Garden?

The shows produced the No Nukes album and film, with Springsteen and Tom Petty among the performers.

In which 1980 film did Raitt appear as herself singing "Don't It Make You Wanna Dance"?

John Travolta starred in the Paramount film.

Her label dropped Raitt in 1983 the day after she finished mastering which album?

The label released a half-recut version three years later as Nine Lives.

Which anti-apartheid protest song did Raitt sing on and appear in the video for in 1985?

Steven Van Zandt wrote and produced it.

Bonnie Raitt sang backing vocals with k.d. lang and Jennifer Warnes on whose 1987 TV special?

She began writing new material after the acclaimed broadcast.

Which pop star tried to sign Raitt to his Paisley Park label in the late 1980s?

A skiing accident and two months in hospital gave her time to rethink her life before the deal fell through.

Which producer, of the band Was (Not Was), guided Raitt's comeback album Nick of Time?

They first worked together on "Baby Mine" from Dumbo for a Disney tribute album.

Which Disney lullaby did Raitt record with Don Was for the 1988 tribute album Stay Awake?

She liked the sessions so much she asked Was to produce her next record.

Nick of Time was which number studio album in Raitt's career?

She called it "my first sober album".

What major prize did Nick of Time win at the 1990 Grammys?

It topped the Billboard 200 right after the ceremony.

Nick of Time set a record for the longest gap between an artist's first charting album and a No. 1. How long was it?

Give It Up first charted in 1972; Nick of Time hit No. 1 on April 6, 1990.

Which actor flirts with Raitt in the bar in her "Thing Called Love" video?

MTV and VH1 exposure helped introduce her to a younger audience.

Roughly how much did Capitol pay to sign Raitt in 1988 after at least fourteen executives passed?

Tim Devine was the A&R man who took the chance.

Raitt won a 1990 Grammy for the duet "I'm in the Mood" with which blues legend?

It appeared on his comeback album The Healer.

What was the title of Raitt's 1991 follow-up to Nick of Time, her biggest seller ever?

It sold seven million copies in the US and two million in France and Italy.

To which late guitarist, who had urged her to quit drinking, did Raitt dedicate her 1991 album?

The liner notes read "still burning bright".

Which Canadian songwriter wrote "Something to Talk About"?

Anne Murray wanted to record it in 1985 but her producers passed.

What was the Billboard Hot 100 peak of "Something to Talk About", Raitt's only top-ten hit?

It also won her the Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Which pianist plays on "I Can't Make You Love Me"?

Raitt recorded the vocal in a single take and said she could not recapture the emotion.

Who wrote "I Can't Make You Love Me"?

Reid was a former NFL defensive tackle turned Nashville songwriter.

According to its writers, what unlikely form did "I Can't Make You Love Me" originally take?

Slowing it down revealed its power; Raitt, Bette Midler and Linda Ronstadt were the intended targets.

The idea for "I Can't Make You Love Me" came from a Tennessean newspaper story about what?

One version has him arrested for shooting his girlfriend's car.

How many takes did Raitt need to record the vocal on "I Can't Make You Love Me"?

She said the song was so sad she could not do it again.

What was the title of Raitt's 1994 album, her second to reach No. 1?

It produced "Love Sneakin' Up On You" and two more Grammys.

Which Canadian rocker co-wrote and duetted with Raitt on 'Rock Steady' (1995)?

It was written for her Road Tested tour and live album.

In what year was Bonnie Raitt inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

The ceremony was in Cleveland that March.

Raitt's 2002 title track 'Silver Lining' was a cover of which British singer-songwriter's song?

The album reached No. 13 and went gold.

Raitt performed a Grammy tribute duet with Alicia Keys in 2012 honouring which late singer?

Her album Slipstream came out two months later.

Which INXS song did Raitt cover on her 2016 album Dig In Deep?

The album reached No. 11 in the US.

Raitt's 2022 single "Just Like That" won which major Grammy in an upset over higher-charting hits?

It also won Best American Roots Song.

What is the story told in "Just Like That"?

Raitt was moved by a TV news piece about an organ donation in 2018.

The death of which songwriter friend in 2020 helped inspire "Just Like That"?

She cited his "Angel from Montgomery" as a model for writing from another person's heart.

Which label released the album Just Like That... in April 2022?

The lead single "Made Up Mind" was written by Canadian duo The Bros. Landreth.

How many competitive Grammy Awards had Bonnie Raitt won by the end of 2025?

By then she had 31 nominations plus a Lifetime Achievement Award.

What nickname did Raitt give her customised 1965 Fender Stratocaster?

She bought it for $120 at 3 a.m. in 1969 and became the first woman with a Fender signature model.

How much did Raitt pay for her famous brown Stratocaster in 1969?

She has used it for every gig since.

Raitt was the first female musician to receive what from Fender?

The Brownie-based model launched in 1996.

Which Little Feat guitarist's slide style, and his use of an MXR Dyna Comp compressor, influenced Raitt?

B.B. King called her the "best damn slide player working today".

Which actor was Bonnie Raitt married to from 1991 to 1999?

Their careers kept them apart, which they cited in announcing the divorce.

Since what year has Bonnie Raitt been sober?

She credits Stevie Ray Vaughan's example and Alcoholics Anonymous.

Where did Raitt travel in 1987 to play the first joint Soviet/American Peace Concert?

Showtime later broadcast the concert.

Which lifetime honour, presented in Washington, did Raitt receive in 2024?

Two years earlier she had been Billboard's Women in Music Icon.

Where did Raitt rank on Rolling Stone's 2008 list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time?

She was also No. 89 on the magazine's 2011 list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists.

Which vocal range does Bonnie Raitt possess?

Linda Ronstadt said Raitt had "way more musicianship than I do".

Raitt paid for a memorial headstone for which blues musician via the Mount Zion Memorial Fund?

She also funded stones for Sam Chatmon and Tommy Johnson.

In 1997 Raitt received the arts medal of which university?

She had attended its sister school Radcliffe in the late 1960s.

At which summer camp in the Adirondacks did the young Raitt discover her musical talent?

Counsellors asked her to play in front of the other campers.

Nick of Time was recorded in about a week at which Los Angeles studio?

About two tracks a day were cut, mostly live in the room.

How many original songs appear on Nick of Time alongside nine covers?

The title track is about coming to terms with middle age.

Which Grammy-winning duet on her 1991 album was recorded with Delbert McClinton?

It also appears on his album Never Been Rocked Enough.