Again and again, Bonnie Raitt did it her way. Her way keeps on working. (Washington Post)
3 December 2024
BY KAREN HELLER
Published December 3, 2024
Hanging out with the sublime singer who makes her guitar sound “the way bacon smells” — and reflecting on her lifetime of music and activism.
SAN FRANCISCO
In the late 1960s during her sophomore year, Bonnie Raitt took a leave from Radcliffe. Her intention was to hang with blues legends Mississippi Fred McDowell, Son House, Buddy Guy and Junior Wells, who were managed by her then-boyfriend Dick Waterman, inhaling the sort of storied education that wasn’t offered at Harvard. Music was “just a hobby and a passion of mine,” says Raitt, 75, who began noodling on a $25 guitar from Sears at the age of 8 and was quickly influenced by an array of blues, folk and country artists. “I never expected it to be my life. My intention was to have a really cool side experience.”
Photo by Jesse Dittmar for The Washington Post