Quote Of The Day By Bonnie Raitt: 'I'm Glad People Think I'm A ...'

When it comes to some of the biggest names in the music industry, many might assume that they made it on their first try. However, country and blues singer Bonnie Raitt is proof that perseverance and growth are some of the central pillars of success.

Born on November 8, 1949 in Burbank, California, Raitt grew up in LA with music and performance all around — especially at home, where her father, John, was a prominent Broadway musical performer, and her mother Marge Goddard was a singer and pianist. Although she would move to Massachusetts to study Social Relations and African American Studies in the '60s, she would eventually drop out, launching the beginning of her musical career. She was quickly signed to Warner Brothers and released her debut self-titled album in 1971, earning her first Billboard Top 100 hit in 1977 covering Del Shannon's "Runaway." She grew a modest following until excessive drinking lost her her record deal in the '80s, but that was exactly the kick she needed to come back better than ever. 

Her 1989 album "Nick of Time" was a culmination of her love of blues, country, pop, and R&B, winning her Album of the Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Best Traditional Blues Recording, and Best Female Rock Vocal Performance at the 1990 Grammy awards. She would go on to accumulate dozens of Grammy awards throughout her career, including as recently as 2023's Song of the Year for "Just Like That." Her ability to overcome hardships and masterful musical abilities undeniably earn her the right to be today's quote of the day.

"But I'm glad people think I'm a badass. I'm a rock and roller, and I'm an R&B and a blueswoman."

That quote came from a 2016 Pitchfork interview, and she would go on to assert, "There's a balance between ballads and kick-ass songs." While it's true that one of her most popular songs, "I Can't Make You Love Me," has more of a melancholic, smooth tune, she showed off her harder edge with country rock anthems such as "Thing Called Love." 

What really shines through in the quote is her embrace of people's idolization of her, while still making sure to define herself. In the previous question during the interview, she had even listed off some of her musical inspirations before affirming how "I don't set myself up as anything different than my role models." Above all, it seems that Raitt's quote celebrates the totality of who she is.

In Bonnie Raitt's quote, it's clear that she identifies with being a "badass" and embraces all the different aspects of her personality and musical tastes. The beginning of her career heavily focused on folk and the blues, and she even got the opportunities to open for Sippie Wallace, Muddy Waters, Skip James, and Mississippi Fred McDowell, a longtime friend and mentor. She stuck fairly close to her roots throughout her contract with Warner Brothers, but her sound evolved and expanded with the times and her own personal journey. 

Americana seemed like a broad enough umbrella to contain the totality of her sound, and as she recalled in the interview with Pitchfork, "... there's a lot of people like John Prine or myself who didn't really fit into the country mold or the blues mold, that weren't fitting into 'pop music.'" Her rejection of a conventional career timeline, especially as an artist that centered her feminism and activism throughout her career, is further proof that Raitt refuses to be put into a singular box.

It's one thing to appear as a "badass," but it's another to truly live it. Being able to ride the highs and lows of life, pick yourself up when you fall down, and refusing to conform to what is expected of your age, gender, or genre are all ways of asserting your personhood. What matters above all else is your personal authenticity, and the steadfast belief that you (and all of your complexities) are more than enough.

• "I didn't want to be this year's model. I was 41 when 'Nick of Time' happened. It was a wonderful thing to happen, but if it had never happened, it wouldn't have bugged me, because I already had my fans. My fans don't care if I have a hit record."

• "I just want to be as good a person as I can be."

• "I don't know how I would be able to sing a song in front of people without feeling it deeply — if I ever started to just phone it in I'd hang up my spurs and stay home!"

• "From the time I was 7 or 8, I was a tomboy with a vengeance. When you are the one girl in a family of boys, and your dad relates to the boys well — well, I just couldn't stand the way girls got the second best of everything."

• "War and injustice are the things that caused me the most anger and crying in my life. And so I have to feel like I'm making a difference. I mean, music's great, but what's important is doing something meaningful with your life."