OnlineHost: "This time out I wanted to shake things up a bit, " said Bonnie Raitt! Find out why at 7:30 pm ET when she joins you for a LIVE question and answer session!
OnlineHost: Bonnie is in the wings getting ready to come on stage to take your questions! Stay tuned!
HarpoAce: Everyone, please welcome our very special guest, Bonnie Raitt!
RaittB: Hi everybody! It's great to be here! I've never done this before, and I'm real excited.
HarpoAce: Our first question comes from JBRD12345
Question: Bonnie did you enjoy your self at the New Orleans Jazz Fest?
RaittB: That is very current. I had a great time... I saw some of my favorite old acts and some new ones. We especially enjoyed the Meters, Bo Jacques (the zydeco band) and all the acts at the gospel tent.
HarpoAce: Zodiacdrm, here's your question for the fabulous Bonnie Raitt!
Question: What song is your favorite?
RaittB: That's a tough one. It's like having to pick which of your children is your favorite.
I would say for ballads, ôI Can't Mkae You Love Me.ö For fast song, "Me and the Boysö
from the my Greenlight Album. This is just off the top of my head. I love what I am performing at the moment.
HarpoAce: Next question for Bonnie Raitt, whose new album is "Fundamental,"
is from Rachel955,
Question: How does it feel to win a Grammy?
RaittB: Especially because I won four in one night, it was mind blowing. It was like winning the lottery and having it broadcast to millions of people at the same time. Even now, when I look at the tape playback, I tear up. When I got to win some more over the next few years, it never stopped being as thrilling, and I'm just as much surprised each time.
HarpoAce: DG Perido has this good question for Bonnie Raitt,
Question: You had said you were going to "shake things up" on this album. Does that mean that we will find ourselves missing your soul wrenching slides?
RaittB: No, no there are more slides then ever. The "shaking things up" just referred to playing with different people and a different overall sound. If anything there is more slide guitar on this album then on the last couple.
HarpoAce: BOOOP1022, you're up!
Question: Hello, Bonnie! You've been my hero since "both" of us could walk or sing. You speak often of your famous dad, but we don't hear much about your mom. Is she in your life at all?
RaittB: Yes, she most certainly is. I speak a lot of her in interviews, but editors usually leave that out for space consideration. I think it's because my dad is more famous, but my mom, whose name is Marge, has always been a strong influence musically, politically and personally in my life, and we have a great relationship. She was my inspiration to first take up the piano at eight years, as she was my dad's musical director and accompanist. Then, I moved over to guitar primarily because I wasn't getting as good as her; fast enough. (lol) And thank you for asking about her. I'll tell her somebody finally cared.
HarpoAce: Katyola, here's your question for Bonnie Raitt!
Question: When did you become interested in blues music, and how does it influence you now?
RaittB: Good question. I have always loved soul and R&B songs. I heard on the radio records by Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Ray Charles and all the Motown acts. And then when I heard my first real blues record when I was fourteen in 1964, I flipped and immediately taught myself every song on the records I could get my hands on. My first blues album was Blues at Newport 63 on Vanguard Records. They just reissued it on CD, and it includes some of my all time favorites: John Lee Hooker, Mississippi John Hurt, John Hammond Jr., Brownie McGee and Sonny Terry. As for the second part of your question, I would say the blues influence me most now in the shadings it gives all the songs I do. I think the great soul music that stands the test of time is about real matters of the heart, and real pain and longing... and that's the blues, no matter what the chord structure is.
HarpoAce: Jules103 is a BIG Bonnie and blues fan, and wonders...
Question: Bonnie! I've been a big fan since about 1980. I have two questions: 1) are you going to do a traditional blues album sometime like Clapton did, and 2) will you come to Chicago for the Blues Fest here sometime?
RaittB: Thanks for being my fan. IÆm not planning an all blues album, partly because itÆs kind of a fad lately, (not that EricÆs was) mostly because my taste in music is much broader then just blues, and I would feel artificially constricted to have to stick to one format. But who knows? Maybe in the future it will seem and feel like a great idea. I hope one day to play Chicago Blues Fest. But at the moment, I'm just playing my own concert in Chicago. Maybe one day the scheduling will work out right.
HarpoAce: Taylorpoo, here's your question for Bonnie Raitt, her new album,
"Fundamental"...
Question: Why do you feel your success out lasted other woman musicians?
RaittB: Actually I can't think of very many other musicians I've outlasted. Some that I can think of took a break while they had children, or did something else, but most of my friends and peers are still at it. What's more surprising is that unlike them I didn't start with a hit early on, go away, and then come back. I just had my steady small following which exploded after ôNick of Time.ö I think in the long run, if you stay true to your music and integrity, and have a good deal of luck, your fans will stay with you indefinitely. At least I hope so....(lol)
HarpoAce: FowlSpace has an interesting question for Bonnie Raitt...
Question: Hi Ms. Raitt. This may seem like an awkward question, but here goes. I was wondering if you were Quaker, because your mother used to go to my Quaker meeting house. I just wanted to know if you were or ever followed that?
RaittB: Yes, in fact, my parents are both Quakers and raised their 3 kids as members of the Orange Grove Meeting in South Pasadena and the Scarsdale Meeting in Westchester, NY. I went to both a Quaker camp and high school. And, while I don't go to meetings anymore, I am still very active, as you probably know, in all sorts of peace issues. I feel my Quaker background is the biggest reason why I am politically and socially involved.
HarpoAce: LANA B 4 has this personal question about Bonnie's musical inspiration...
Question: Bonnie, you seem to do your best work when your not in love! What is your status at this time?
RaittB: My best work when I'm NOT in love? How would you know when I was in love or not? (LOL) I don't mean to speak flippant. I have been in relationships from my early teen years on without a break, and have been married for seven years. I don't think being in love is a prerequisite for happiness or good or bad music. But we could talk about that for hours probably.
HarpoAce: FliStealt, here you go!
Question: How did your ivy league college help your career, and where did you go: Columbia or Harvard?
RaittB: I went to Harvard for three years. It has had nothing to do with my career. I don't think it has; except for the climate in Cambridge, MA being so fertile at the time I was there. The anti-war movement, the folk revival, the Boston blues scene were all a big part of my young adulthood, but I don't think there was much connection between the actual university and having a career in music. It was a great time to be in college and in that town.
HarpoAce: Next up, Gxr1267...
Question: Two of many of my favorite songs are "Angel From Montgomery" and "Dimming of the Day." What do you think contributes do the strong appeal of these songs, and what do you think of them?
RaittB: All right! First, it means that you are a deeply soulful person. I feel to be moved by those songs. I'm also very affected by them every time I sing them. In all my years of searching for songs, those two stand out as two of the greatest I've ever found. They are a testament to John PrineÆs and Richard Thompson's genius.
HarpoAce: Mhojc3, here's your question for Bonnie Raitt, whose new album is
"Fundamental"...
Question: Bonnie I saw you in concert in the 70's at P.B. Scott's Music Hall in Blowing Rock , NC. I have been a fan since then. Do you ever miss playing for small audiences?
RaittB: Wow! That was a great gig in that geodesic-type dome. We partied for days after that! Do I miss small audiences? Yes, and that's why I'm currently doing a two month tour with my friend Keb' Mo' of small to mid size theaters. It means we won't be able to play to all the fans that want to come, until we return later in the summer to some big outdoor sheds, but I really wanted to give myself and my fans the gift of greater intimacy again. And we are having a ball. That's for the memory of that GREAT GIG! Thanks.
HarpoAce: Our next question for singer/songwriter Bonnie Raitt is from ChinaCat5...
Question: Do you still support the Free Leonard Peltier movement? What other causes do you support?
RaittB: Yes, I am a very strong supporter of lobbying for Leonard Peltier's release. He is a Native American activist that I feel was wrongly railroaded into prison and deserves both a pardon and/or a new trial. I'm also involved in other issues regarding Native Americans, especially the proposed dumping of nuclear waste materials on Indian land -- essentially bribing an essentially downtrodden people to take a toxic poison we won't live near. There are also issues of choice for women, environmental protection, specifically the ancient growth of redwoods and rain forests, and a lot of other local issues around peace and justice. Thanks for asking.
HarpoAce: Hey Babette68, here's your question for Bonnie Raitt!
Question: Hi, Bonnie, what was it like to make the music video for "You Got It" with Whoopi Goldberg, Drew Barrymore, and Mary Louise Parker?
RaittB: It was kickin'! We had a great all women band as well. It was a treat to have so many cool women in one room. I'm looking forward to the same great vibe on the Lilith tour coming up in July.
HarpoAce: Shc2, you've got the last question for Bonnie Raitt...
Question: Bonnie, glad you are here..... I've been wondering, who inspired ôStorm Warningö? It's my favorite of all of your songs.
RaittB: Oh, thank you! I love it too, although I didn't write it. It was co-written by a New Zealand artist and one of the co-writers of ôWhat's Love Got to do with Itö as sang by Tina Turner. His name is Terry Britten. It's one of the most haunting and beautiful songs I've ever heard. I'm glad you like it too.
HarpoAce: Unfortunately, that's all the time we have with Bonnie Raitt!
RaittB: I can't believe it's over already! I had a great time on my first online chat. There's not many things left that I have not done at least once. So we will always have this night together you guys. And thanks for being gentle with me. I hope we get to do this again. Thank you for logging on.
HarpoAce: Thanks for coming everyone! If you missed tonight's auditorium with Bonnie Raitt, check Oprah Online tomorrow for the transcript! Good night everyone!
