Bonnie Raitt

After Bonnie Raitt won the Song of the Year at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards this past Sunday, a lot of people are running with the story about Bonnie Raitt being declared an “unknown” blues singer, which obviously is far from the truth. The reality is that comment came from a single “journalist’ in the U.K. and probably some unknown copy writer thinking of a catchy headline for the story.

What the original article appears to say is that this SONG, Just Like That, was relatively unknown. It is a FOLK SONG in my opinion, a contemporary artist writing about a real story with real human emotions, something that is not popular on mainstream commercial radio.  Also forgotten in all the hoopla, the song also won an additional Grammy for Best American Roots Song and Bonnie picked up yet another Grammy for Best Americana Performance for the song “Make Up Mind”.

I believe that Bonnie won the award because the voting was split between the more commercially successful recordings from artists like Beyonce, Adele, Taylor Swift and Harry Styles. There is no question that Bonnie Raitt only sells a fraction of the number of albums of those heavy hitters.
BUT, and this is a huge but, the fact remains that enough voters recognized quality over quantity. The five minute contemplative song is not exactly top 40 radio friendly. It is a song that deserves recognition and since the award was given, the song and album have sold a ton – a 12,900% increase in sales! Mind boggling, but at the same time – hopeful.

It is no secret that folk music is special to many of us who need something more that what mainstream radio foists upon us. That is not a knock on the talent of the artists I mentioned earlier, but it is about friggin time that a song like Just Like That is given recognition.
As for Bonnie Raitt, I am certain that the journalist knew about her. Unless this was the writers first assignment, I am sure they were aware that during her career Bonnie has received thirteen Grammy Awards and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Rolling Stone Magazine ranked her at number 50 in their list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time and also placed her on the magazine’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.

The article certainly gave us “something to talk about”, but let’s focus on the fact that a truly honest song recorded without fancy studio tricks has received the recognition it deserves, and hopefully will open doors for all the other incredibly talented singer-songwriters in our folk community. With the issues surrounding the survival of festivals and venues, this may be the booster shot this genre needed.