American blues musician, guitarist, songwriter, and activist Bonnie Lynn Raitt is a well-known popular person. She issued a number of roots-inspired albums in the 1970s that also contained blues, rock, folk, and country components.
She also frequently played as a session musician and collaborated with other musicians, including Warren Zevon, Little Feat, Jackson Browne, The Pointer Sisters, John Prine, and Leon Russell.
She enjoyed several years of critical praise but less widespread commercial success until experiencing her breakthrough with the album Nick of Time in 1989.
Numerous major singles were produced by the two albums that came after, Luck of the Draw in the year 1991 and Longing in Their Hearts in the year 1994, which sold millions of copies each. These hits included “Something to Talk About,” “Love Sneakin’ Up On You,” and “I Can’t Make You Love Me.”
Who is Bonnie Raitt?
The American vocalist Bonnie began her musical career in the 1970s. She recorded a number of albums that combined folk, rock, country, and blues. Despite generally positive reviews, her tracks didn’t perform well in the marketplace at the time. In 1989, when she released her tenth album, Nick of Time, she finally broke through.
She launched her eleventh and twelfth albums in 1991 and 1994, respectively, and each of them was a huge success that brought in millions of dollars. Since then, Bonnie has put out a number of albums and singles, many of which have achieved tremendous success and have topped the Billboard list.
She has garnered numerous notable accolades over her musical career, including 10 Grammy awards. She is one of the most talented vocalists in the history of music.
But Bonnie has experienced her own challenges, so life hasn’t always been simple for her. Alcohol, drugs, and partying were a part of her with music and fame, and before she knew it, she had developed an addiction.
Fortunately, she acknowledged her alcoholism and sought assistance. Stevie Ray Vaughan, who had previously battled addiction, served as an inspiration for this. Maintaining her cleanliness has largely depended on self-control and respect for herself.
Bonnie Raitt Net Worth
A career in music has benefited most to Bonnie’s wealth the most. She first struggled financially because her music wasn’t highly received, despite the fact that it was well-related. Her tenth album was her commercial breakthrough, and her subsequent albums have done well on the market.
Just to be clear, her eleventh album reportedly sold about eight million copies. By the end of December 2022, Bonnie will have a net worth of $15 million.
Early Life of Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Lynn Raitt’s birthplace is California’s Burbank, and she was born on November 8, 1949. Her Scottish ancestors are said to have built Raitt Castle in Scotland in the thirteenth century, according to family legend.
Bonnie was born into a family of musicians, with her mother being a pianist and her father, John Raitt, performing on Broadway. At a young age, she picked up the guitar and played primarily in her educational environment.
After enrolling in Poughkeepsie, New York’s Oakwood Friends School, where she eventually graduated in 1967 and enrolled in Radcliffe College, she began attending there. When she was in college, Bonnie focused on social relations and African studies.
Bonnie Raitt’s Personal Life
After dating for some years, Bonnie Raitt wed actor Michael O’Keefe on April 27, 1991. After eight years of marriage, the couple announced their divorce on November 9, 1999. The two had very little time for one another because of their occupations, which were primarily to blame.
Bonnie had taken multiple breaks from her music career, including when she lost her brother, parents, and best friend.
Her technique for getting over a bad period is to take a break. Bonnie doesn’t have any biological children and hasn’t adopted any, either, save from the ones she has adopted through adoption. Her decision to forgo having children is still unknown.
Raitt has always been honest about her battles with alcohol and drugs, and in 2012, she revealed that “she felt like she had to live that partying lifestyle in order, to be honest, but in reality, if you keep it up too long, all you’ll be is sloppy or dead,” the singer told this to Parade magazine.
She also added, “My 25th anniversary of sobriety just passed. One of the fortunate ones was me. Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab” song made everyone happy, but to me, it was terrible to hear her sing it since it seemed like she was on a downward slope. Seeing Whitney Houston die also made me sad “.
Bonnie’s Achievements; Awards and Nominations
With 26 Grammy nominations, Raitt has won 10 of them. In 1990 she won Grammys for the song “Nick of Time”- ‘Album of the Year; the Best Female Rock Vocal Performance; Best Female Pop Vocal Performance’ and for “I’m in the Mood” (with John Lee Hooker) got the ‘Best Traditional Blues Recording.’
Then in 1992, she got a Grammy for the song “Something to Talk About” got ‘Best Female Pop Vocal Performance,’ for the song “Luck of the Draw” she got Best Rock Vocal Solo Performance, and for the song “Good Man, Good Woman” got the Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal; Bonnie Raitt also got the MusiCares Person of the Year along with that Raitt was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music in 1992.
In the year 1995, for the song “Longing in Their Hearts,” she got Grammy as the Best Pop Vocal Album. In 1997 Grammy for the song “SRV Shuffle” as Best Rock Instrumental Performance, and she was also awarded the Harvard Arts Medal.
For the song “Herself,” she got many awards over time. In 2000 she received the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame award, then in 2012, she got the Lifetime Achievement Award for Performance, and again in 2022, she got the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2013 she got a Grammy for “Slipstream” as the Best Americana Album.
Apart from these, she was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Guitar Museum in the year 2017, 2018 she received the People’s Voice Award from the Folk Alliance International Awards in recognition of her activism, and last, this year that is in 2022, Raitt received the Icon Award at the Billboard Women in Music Award.