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When you love a song so much you have to sing, you know how you feel – it releases something in you that resonates as true, whether it’s James Brown or Joni Mitchell.

Bonnie Raitt

The great thing about the arts, and especially popular music, is that it really does cut across genres and races and classes.
BONNIE RAITT

Art Class Cutting
Life gets mighty precious when there’s less of it to waste.
BONNIE RAITT

Less Life Mighty Waste
My parents would drag me out to perform for my family, like all parents do, but it was a hobby – nothing more.
BONNIE RAITT

Childhood Hobbies More Nothing Parent
Those of us who grew up in the ’50s and ’60s, we had the dream that this could be turned around, and the earth could be back in balance, and that we could level the playing field with men and women and pay, and you know, minority groups having equal opportunity.
BONNIE RAITT

Back Balance Dream Men Opportunity
The experiences of life make all your emotions, I think, deeper.
BONNIE RAITT

Deeper Emotion Experience Make
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.
BONNIE RAITT

Fortunately Musician People Play
Im happy to say that at 62, I think Ive reached that point where stuff doesnt bother me as much, and my gratitude level has gone way up.
BONNIE RAITT

Artist Gratitude Loss Point Reach
I’m sure I would have been considered a more significant artist if I was a singer-songwriter. It’s just not the way I roll. I love being a curator and a musicologist.
BONNIE RAITT

Artist Jobs Musicologist Writing
I think that we have a unique opportunity as performers and artists to be kind of the town criers and also to get more people to listen, so that’s a blessing and a responsibility that I take very seriously.
BONNIE RAITT

Artist Blessing Responsibility
I have a really full life, both within music and outside it.
BONNIE RAITT

Full Life Music Outside Really
The fifth member of my band is my non-profit work.
BONNIE RAITT

Band Member Profit
Leading a band and producing yourself and picking cool tunes and putting a show together takes a lot of thought, and a certain amount of courage.
BONNIE RAITT

Age Amount Courage Long People Together
You know, a lot of people feel that sobriety is about just stopping using whatever it was that you appeared to be addicted to, but it really has to do with a way of looking at your life and taking accountability.
BONNIE RAITT

Accountability People Sobriety
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.
BONNIE RAITT

Afternoon Generations Morning Record Stars
How unthinkable that, in a country of such bursting plenty, so many people are facing ongoing hunger and poverty.
BONNIE RAITT

Country Garden School
There are a lot of people that never get their stories told.
BONNIE RAITT

People Stories Told
The anti-nuke movement has important and far-reaching implications for grassroots organizing.
BONNIE RAITT

Kids Real Struggle
I think we have responsibilities to be active in the things we believe in, regardless of what our job is.
BONNIE RAITT

Believe Jobs Responsibility
I’m honored when young people say they’ve gone to school on slide guitar with my records. But people get their influence from my live shows and records and YouTube, not me personally.
BONNIE RAITT

Guitar People Personally School
People write me letters and thank me for turning them on to Fred McDowell and Sippie Wallace, and that’s partly my job this time around.
BONNIE RAITT

Around Partly People Thank Time Write
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.
BONNIE RAITT

Brother Fall Knew Nice Off Year
There’s a balance between ballads and kick-ass songs.
BONNIE RAITT

Ass Ballads Between Difference Kick Songs
You create the happiness and the balance that you have, and your own power. This is one thing that I know to be true.
BONNIE RAITT

Balance Being True Knows
The women’s movement resurgence of standing up for so many things that were kind of sleepy there for a decade or so, there’s been a reawakening and I think the consciousness movement in general is dovetailing with a lot of recovery and self-empowerment.
BONNIE RAITT

Consciousness Recovery Resurgence Self Thinking
I like to think I get better with age, but maybe absence makes the heart grow fonder.
BONNIE RAITT

Get Better Heart Thinking
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.
BONNIE RAITT

Celebrated Encourage Made Resources Style
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 RAITT

Guitar Human Lessons Voice

When you love a song so much you have to sing, you know how you feel – it releases something in you that resonates as true, whether it’s James Brown or Joni Mitchell.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

When you love a song so much you have to sing, you know how you feel – it releases something in you that resonates as true, whether it’s James Brown or Joni Mitchell.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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