Bonnie Raitt
speaker
187 appearances
2 recordings
2 series
first heard Dec 2024
last heard Dec 2024
Bonnie Raitt’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
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Appearances
I had a double life early on. I have to be careful now that I don't And let that schism happen. And I remember the metaphor of the Wizard of Oz being found out to be just a regular man. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. The best movie ever. The best. I totally related to that because I have been given this mantle of so much power and responsibility.
And I look so badass to everybody, but I'm really not as... Like that. And in my private life, I have to really wrestle who that is in the ground and see, don't spend too much time just stoking the BR machinery. Otherwise, you lose who you are when you're just a smaller case.
Or have somebody find that for you. Thank you for telling me about that, because I immediately get her vulnerability in her voice for all the strength that she had. That's why so many people relate to her. That's right. There is a real vulnerability. Oh, my gosh. And to be put through what she was put through as a child, uppers and downers and dance for this. Right, exactly.
Oh, no. Here you go. Here's where the rubber hits the road. I am frustrated not being on tour. There's nothing like what happens on stage. Nothing like it. I mean, I make records so I can tour. My dad loved it till the day he stopped performing at 86 years old, and he only mostly stopped because his audience was
passed away and and but i'm i'm telling you that i am frustrated when i'm not it's not the adulation of the crowd it's the gang comradery it's the travel totally it's the you know the waking up in a different city and a new opening act an opening night every night show those people you still got it yeah I love, since I was 20 years old, being on the road.
So when I'm home, I have a satisfying, beautiful life here. I live where I want to live. I got a small circle of chosen family, friends. And I'm healthy and I'm lucky. But I really miss what happens playing with other people on the road. I mean, playing by myself is not as satisfying. But do you play every day? No, I only play when I'm getting ready to tour.
No.
No, I'm too busy managing the big career of this woman who, where's my name? So the business of being Bonnie Raitt is taking up a lot of my time, and I'm glad to do it and answer as diplomatically and kindly when I can't do a benefit or I can't sing on someone's record. Yeah. Or I can't write a blurb.
And when I hear a song that I really love and I want to do it live, then I pick up the guitar and learn it.
But I mean, I'm not one of those... When I was a teenager, I just played all the time. Right. But I don't do that so much anymore. But now I'm playing for fun and I got to get my calluses going again. I did my vocal warmup today and I'm singing on a session after we dock on this podcast. I'm singing on someone's record. So I'm getting that fire is going again and my fingers are going, where is it?
Where is it?
I wouldn't know how to notate a solo. I didn't take guitar lessons, so I don't know how to read music. But I took a little piano lesson. But I do everything by ear, pretty much. I just sort of make chord charts when I'm learning a new song. But I play mostly by ear. But yeah, it's pretty spontaneous. And when I'm making a record, I like to get it as live as possible on the first or second take.
So minimal rehearsal. Just pick the key, learn the lyrics. I get the lyrics in front of me so I can just be present and get the band and I rocking on this tune. And then later I do my guitar solo. So I might do three or four takes. But when I piece together from two different takes, if I want to make a combo... A lot of times I start with that as the scaffolding for the solos on tour.
I'm not a big jam stretch out for three or four times around. I'd rather play more songs in the set and save the guitar duels for the rockers. Then I turn to my other guitar player and we just let her rip for a while. So that's fun. That's so fun.
Yes.
That bitch hit me. I want to hit her back. Like Sidney Poitier in To Serve With Love. Not To Serve With Love. In the Heat of the Night when he slaps Rod Steiger. Right. When he slaps Rod Steiger. Yeah, unbelievable.
And I guess they wouldn't let you do that or what? No, no, I loved taking my piano lessons. My teacher passed away, and I also fell in love with the guitar, and I was playing the guitar more. Right. And I got enough out of the piano. I only wanted to learn piano enough so that I could back myself up and play theme from Exodus and... Pop songs. My mom was my dad's musical director in rehearsal.
That's right. And so we had racks and racks of drawers of alphabetized sheet music. And I would just come home when it wasn't time for me to learn my classical piece. I would play Richard Rodgers songs. Or if ever I would leave you. I'd do all the Broadway songs. And I would play by ear and sing along with them. So I'm so lucky that I grew up with two incredible music parents. Wow.
Do you know instantly? I pretty much know when I hear a song that I love so much that I just want to sing it. I mean, it started when we're little, and Joan Baez, it was one thing to fall in love with that first Joan Baez or Odetta record, but I just had... I had to sing and play it, not for performing it, but just to take in the communing with her.
There's something about the song where it wasn't enough to just hear her do it. And it wasn't about her as much as it was just what that made me feel. I wanted to make myself feel. So I would sing for myself. And I'm still, when I hear a song that I go nuts over, I go, man, we're going to kill that.
Showing 21–40 of 187 · page 2 of 10
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