"Highlighting an evocative mix of blues, pop and R&B stylings, Bonnie Raitt's self- titled 1971 LP announced the arrival of a distinctive new voice in contemporary music. Bonnie Raitt features two outstanding originals from the singer-song- writer and guitarist- `Thank You' and 'Finest Lovin' Man' -along with contributions from Stephen Stills, Paul Seibel and John Koerner. Songs from the pen of blues maven Sippie Wallace, one of Raitt's major influences, round out this stunning debut offering.
The daughter of Broadway singer John Raitt (star of The Pajama Game and Carousel), Bonnie Raitt was born and raised in Los Angeles, where she began playing guitar at age 12. Her affinity for the blues earned her a local following in the clubs and coffee houses around Radcliffe, where she attended college in the late '60s. Raitt's ability to both interpret and update classic American music from a wide range of sources brought her to the attention of blues aficionado Dick Waterman. As her manager, Waterman booked her as an opener for such legendary performers as Howlin' Wolf, Mississippi Fred McDowell and the aforementioned Sippie Wallace. It was an invaluable apprenticeship for the fledgling artist.
Raitt's singular skill as a singer and guitarist (she was one of the few woman on the blues circuit who could play slide guitar) earned her a fervent following in Boston, Philadelphia and other East Coast stops. In 1970, Raitt signed a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records. Early the following year she began work on her first album with producer Willie Murphy and a top-notch lineup of musical friends.
Featured on acoustic and slide guitar and piano, Bonnie Raitt turns in a virtuoso performance on this extraordinary LP. The album's 11 cuts also spotlight a guest lineup that includes the great blues harp player Junior Wells, fretless bass master Freebo, tenor sax man A.C. Reed and a Minneapolis bar band called The Bumblebees. The album was recorded at an empty summer camp on the shores of Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota, and the unique feeling of musical camaraderie is reflected in the warm, intimate that suffuses each cut. Standout selections include Robert Johnson's "walking Blues,' Stephen Stills' "Bluebird" and the perennial "Since I fell for You" here given a distinctive Raitt treatment." (Liner Notes)
"I can appreciate, and it's too bad, that the audience understands the music of Fred McDowell better through me than through the real thing. If I were better they'd like me less. My taste is funkier than I can bring off. I know it seems like a hype for me to sing the blues. But they speak to me. The blues is pain. Maybe because the problems of the middle class aren't real, like how to buy food or pay the rent, we suffer real pain from divine decadence."
(Newsweek Nov. 6, 1972)