Bonnie Raitt

Bonnie Raitt (b. 1949)

RAITT'S REIGN
Blues-Rock Queen Bonnie Raitt Pours It on Thick with Silver Lining
With three decades of recording and touring behind her -- and a plaque in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame attesting to her stature -- it's safe to say that Bonnie Raitt is a veritable rock institution. But that baggage hasn't weighed down the guitar-slinging California native, who's taken her blues fluency to the pop charts as well as the roadhouse. On her latest album, Silver Lining, Raitt -- the daughter of musical theater stalwart John Raitt -- guides listeners on a new sonic trip. It's a trek that stops off at several points in modern Africa -- as evidenced by collaborations with Habib Koite and Oliver Mtukudzi -- as well as her customary layovers in New Orleans and Memphis. She even found the time to stop for a chat with Barnes & Noble.com's David Sprague.

Barnes & Noble.com: On Silver Lining, you delve into African music for the first time. Is stretching yourself something you consciously attempt to do, or just a byproduct of the way you work?

Bonnie Raitt: It's really just part of the process of living for me. I never say, "Oh, I'd better try to do something different here." I just play the music that I love with musicians that I respect, and fortunately, I'm in a position where people are willing to play with me, and perhaps I can do something to help them.

B&N.com: When you started making music in the early '70s, you played with a wide variety of blues legends. Does it feel strange to have the shoe, in essence, on the other foot these days?

BR: 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. I ran into Liz Phair at a show recently, and she told me she'd always liked my work. That was a huge thrill. One of the greatest things about playing music is that spirit of mutual appreciation, and I've had the chance to share that with some extraordinary characters -- people like Willie Nelson and Cesaria Evora.

B&N.com: Your albums usually mix originals and covers fairly evenly. How do you know when you've found something you'd like to put your spin on?

BR: It's a really mysterious, magical process for me -- definitely not something that's done with the side of the brain that does math. I'll listen to hundreds of things that get submitted to me and feel nothing, or just think , That's all right, I suppose. The one thing that's least likely to get to me is something that someone's written specifically for me to do. Those songs are almost always laughable.

B&N.com: Are there new artists, other than the ones you work with on Silver Lining, that have moved you?

BR: Well, David Gray, who isn't really under the radar anymore, is one of my favorites. I wanted to do [his] "Silver Lining" the first time I heard it several years ago. I love India.Arie and Alicia Keys, and I think it's great to see young women who have a number of talents. I'm also a big fan of a new guy named John Mayer.

B&N.com: When you first came into contact with the blues, was it love at first hearing?

BR: Like all kids from my generation, I had a little 45 player and had maybe two or three 45s -- whatever I bought with my allowance. At first, I had a lot of things like Doris Day doing "Que Sera Sera," from when she was in The Pajama Game with my father. But then I started to borrow things from my older brother, and right away, I could hear that Little Richard was a whole different thing. I love Doris Day, but I went absolutely nuts for R&B and old blues, which all comes from the same taproot.

B&N.com: Did you have to deal with questions of authenticity when you came out playing blues guitar?

BR: Of course. And the whole question of whether or not it's okay to make more money doing this than the originators ever did is a legitimate one. But you have to make sure that you give something back, that you give credit where it's due, and that you do something financially for the people without whom you'd never be doing this.

B&N.com: A few of your older albums are being reissued this spring as well. Do you go back and revisit them often?

BR: Not all that often, but I actually found out that when the albums initially came out on CD, they came out in drastically compromised form, without proper remastering. I was shocked that the music had been treated so badly, and I'm glad that we've had a chance to go back and fix that.

B&N.com: Since Silver Lining is the second time you've worked with Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake, is it safe to assume there's a kinship there?

BR: There's definitely an affinity. We don't need to rehearse very much, because it's almost like there's a sixth sense there. It's like I've finally got the right horse to ride.

B&N.com: So the process of doing this hasn't gotten old for you, even after all this time?

BR: I have a really full life, both within music and outside it. I've been lucky enough that I can gather all sorts of experiences and find inspiration by traveling around and by spending time with people I admire. If I should have another big hit -- which is something I don't hold my breath waiting for -- that's great. But that's not why I do this. I do it for the excitement, the inspiration, and the adventure.

March 19, 2002