21 Bonnie Raitt Quotes That Are as True Now as They Were Then

Bonnie Raitt, born on November 8, 1949, is a renowned, tremendously talented American Blues Rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Dating back to 1971, Raitt released her self-titled debut album. This album was followed up by a series of critically acclaimed roots-influenced albums. These albums beautifully integrated various elements found in the blues, rock, folk, and country genres. Raitt is also recognized as an avid session player as well as collaborator. She’s joined forces with legends like John Prine, Warren Zevon, Little Feat, Jackson Browne, and the Pointer Sisters.

1. On her fans

“I think my fans will follow me into our combined old age. Real musicians and real fans stay together for a long, long time.”

2. On letting emotions ride

“I would rather feel things in extreme than not at all.”

3. On Bob Dylan

“My love was Bob Dylan, but as I got older I realized a good ballad was a good ballad.”

4. On modern music distribution

“Distribution has really changed. You can make a record with a laptop in the morning and have it up on YouTube in the afternoon and be a star overnight.”

5. On her friends

“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.”

6. On touring with Taj Mahal

“We did a two month tour with Taj Mahal that was really healing and cathartic and a good distraction after my brother passed away. Then I knew I wanted to take a year off, and it was really nice to have that chance to fall apart.”

7. On influencing other people

“It is still a surprise when people tell me that I’ve had an influence on them, particularly when it’s someone I really respect.”

8. On the gift of aging

“In blues, classical and jazz, you get more revered with age.”

9. On satellite radio

“The world I live in is benefiting from things like satellite radio. Jazz and blues fests are everywhere now, and Americana is going strong on college radio. What I’m hearing is an appreciation of real music.”

10. On the blues guitar

“Pat Benator might need a rock band, but I can just sit with a blues guitar for an hour and a half and do folks songs and great contemporary ballads, and not many people can pull that off.”

11. On songwriting

“Not being a natural songwriter, for me the appreciation of a great song and the writers came early on growing up in a musical family. My dad got to sing songs by some of the greatest writers of all time, Rodgers and Hammerstein.”

12. On growing up with fame

“Since I was 20 years old, I’ve been a kind of corporation. I’d wake up in the morning and my job was to be Bonnie Raitt in capital letters.”

13. On Elvis

“Elvis might have compromised his musical style a bit towards the end, but that doesn’t mean that artists from the rock and roll/folk-roots culture, of which he was not really a part, shouldn’t get better as they get older, like the great jazz or blues artists.”

14. On being a pop star

“I’m not that beautiful, and I don’t want to be a pop star.”

15. On her childhood hobbies

“Playing guitar was one of my childhood hobbies, and I had played a little at school and at camp. My parents would drag me out to perform for my family, like all parents do, but it was a hobby, nothing more.”

16. On gathering new experiences

“I’ve been lucky enough that I can gather all sorts of experiences and find inspiration by traveling around and spending time with people I admire.”

17. On the value of a long life

“There’s nothing like living a long time to create a depth and soulfulness in your music.”

18. On the consolidation of the music business

“The consolidation of the music business has made it difficult to encourage styles like the blues, all of which deserve to be celebrated as part of our most treasured national resources.”

19. On being honest in music

“I think it’s our job to write about what we’re going through at the moment, and being 41, I’m not going to write about the same things I wrote about at 20. I don’t think artists should be farmed out to pasture just because they’re in rock and roll.”

20. On the piano

“I tend to be freer on the piano. I never took guitar lessons, so my reach exceeds my grasp. What I hear in my head I don’t always know how to play. But I love to play over something else. I’m not a self-starter. I get kind of bored with the same three folk chords that I know.”

21. On her loved ones

“I do feel my loved ones that have passed on. I feel them looking over my shoulder. So yeah, that’s pretty profound, when you’re not expecting it, you didn’t particularly believe in it, and then it just sort of happens too often to ignore.”