Bonnie Raitt

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  • Year:
    2000
  • Inducted by:
    Melissa Etheridge
  • Category:
    Performers
Bonnie Raitt Signature

Introduction

The singer and activist healing the world with her blues roots.

One of the greatest singers and guitarists of all time, Bonnie Raitt is a musician of grit, resilience and prodigious talent.

Hall of Fame Essay

2000

Patricia Romanowski

Since her 1971 recording debut, Bonnie Raitt has  faithfully demonstrated a catholicity of the heart. Over three decades, she has essayed most every facet of blues - and folk-derived American pop - from Robert Johnson to Motown, from the cockiest blues to the most heartrending contemporary ballads - yet distilled a style uniquely her own. A mas­ter blueswoman, a consummate pop singer, a legendary guitarist - all describe her, but none fully define her.

When Raitt’s fittingly titled Nick of Time swept the Grammys in 1990, the general consensus was that her time had come. In truth, though, it was always her time, because through the years Raitt remained true to her vision and to her fans.  

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Program 2000
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Bonnie Raitt_quote
Sex, slide, soul, selflessness. Blazing fingers, blazing hair.
Melissa Etheridge

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Collection

Bonnie Raitt Jacket, 1993
Bonnie Raitt Jacket, 1993

Photography: Kevin Mazur, WireImage