Bonnie Raitt Is Certainly ‘Something to Talk About’ — Get to Know the 10-Time Grammy Winner!

We all have a story, and Bonnie Raitt has definitely got an interesting tale to tell. She was born in November 1949 to parents John Raitt and Marjorie Haydock in Burbank, California. Her father was a Broadway star and her mom was a professional piano player, so music was in her blood.

Bonnie, 70, started honing her talents when she learned to play the guitar at a young age. But instead of taking classes, she was teaching herself and with a little bit of rehearsal each and every day. She quickly learned how to play slide guitar, a technique widely practiced by blues musicians. Essentially, you place an object against the strings of your instrument to create a new sound.

“I’m glad I get singled out for my slide guitar-playing, which isn’t that difficult to do. I didn’t take guitar lessons, but I just love the way it sounds, almost like the human voice,” Bonnie once told Pitchfork. “With slide guitar, you’re just hanging this piece of glass on your hand. It’s a really beautiful instrument in that it’s so responsive, you’re just slipping your hand back and forth.”

“But I’m glad people think I’m a badass,” the “Something to Talk About” singer continued. “I’m a rock ‘n’ roller, and I’m an R&B and a blues woman. I don’t do fairy music, although I love Celtic music and sensitive music. There’s a balance between ballads and kick-ass songs.”

With her unique style, Bonnie has changed the music industry. She received a lot of success for her album Nick of Time and she’s won 10 Grammys in her career so far.

“I hope that people will really appreciate the music that I turned them onto,” she explained. “I would like to inspire a lot of people to be active and give back. I hope I’m an integrous person who cleans up their messes when I’ve been a jerk. I got a lot of people to support and a lot of causes, so I can’t slack. I just want to be as good a person as I can be.”

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