One of the first important female blues guitarists, Bonnie Raitt’s career has always been about the slow burn. She was discovered in New York in 1970 after a few years touring America and sharing stages with the likes of Howlin’ Wolf, Sippie Wallace and ‘Mississippi’ Fred McDowell. Her bottleneck slide guitar work and distinctive voice made the industry stand up, and she released several albums to fantastic reviews. The public were slow to catch on though, and records like Give It Up and Takin’ My Time were met with lukewarm sales. It really was a matter of time before Raitt became the superstar she deserved to be, but few would have guessed that it would take until 1989 for this to happen. Happen it did though, with the release of her album Nick Of Time. Going straight to the top of the charts and sweeping the Grammy’s, the album was the commercial success that Raitt always knew was possible. Since then, she has been working feverishly on cementing her reputation as one of America’s greatest living musicians. Bonnie is also a diligent political activist – working with several worthy causes throughout the years.
