Bonnie Raitt Receives Grammys’ Lifetime Achievement Award Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again. × Search search POPULAR SEARCHES SUGGESTED LINKS Join AARP for just $9 per year when you sign up for a 5-year term. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Leaving AARP.org Website You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply. Close

Bonnie Raitt Has Something to Talk About

After snagging a Lifetime Achievement Grammy the rocker shares with AARP what keeps her going stronger than ever

Photo Illustration by Ryan Olbrysh (Amy Sussman/Getty Images) In the liner notes to Bonnie Raitt’s new album, Just Like That, she lists 14 people she loves who died in the last few years — from musical peers like John Prine to her nephew, Miles Raitt. The causes range from cancer to . But the songs she wrote about her heartbreak couldn’t be more hopeful, epitomized by a rousing refrain in which she declares, “I’m living for the ones who didn’t make it.”
“I actually do start every day thinking to myself, I get another chance!” Raitt said by phone from her home in Marin County, California. “I’m going to live this life for the ones who didn’t get that shot.” Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. At 72, Raitt’s defiantly hopeful attitude reflects a lifetime fueled by the social justice movements she has been involved with for decades, as well as by a musical legacy that has proven enduring enough to have just reached a new milestone. This last year marked half a century since Raitt released her self-titled debut album, a feat the Grammys acknowledged this week by giving her one of its most vaunted prizes — a Lifetime Achievement Award. ​AARP spoke with Raitt about her big award, what keeps her motivated and why she treats every show like it’s opening night. Bonnie Raitt attends the 64th Annual Grammy Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 3, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

What did winning this particular award from the Grammys mean to you ​​

It’s an honor because the Grammy organization changed my life. After I won Album of the Year, and all those other Grammys, in 1990, I suddenly had more options. I could play with a different level of musicians. I could raise a lot more money for the Rhythm and Blues Foundation, for Native American rights and No Nukes and environmental causes. And when I opened my mouth, people actually printed what I had to say. For them to give me this award is especially wonderful because it’s not just for my music. I believe it’s also for who I am in the community. It’s not for record sales, that’s for sure. terminology here: If you’re the ingenue or the leading lady, it’s harder to age gracefully. The press starts to snipe at you after you put on 3 pounds. But when you’re the equivalent to a character actress, which is what I’d say I am, you age in a more welcoming way. I think my fans would have stayed with me if I looked like Methuselah. Flowers & Gifts 25% off sitewide and 30% off select items See more Flowers & Gifts offers >

​One of your earliest musical role models was the wise old blues singer Sippie Wallace You introduced her work to a whole new generation through your covers of her work so you helped to give Sippie an especially long career as well Of all the great blues mamas what drew you to her in particular

​She had a real attitude. And I wanted to put the messages in her songs out to the world, like in and I loved her sense of humor. She was a woman telling it like it is. We toured all over the world together, and she told me stories about her life and gave me advice about men. It was like having a wise old aunt — like Sophie Tucker coaching !

​Because you released nine albums before your commercial breakthrough people have come to see you as a living symbol for endurance Is that a role you relish

​It comes with the territory of staying alive and keeping your work fresh. My heroes are people like B.B. King and and . I really admired them for sticking with it. But the truth is, I felt successful the first time people paid to see me in a club. AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe practice and .

​In that vein you wrote a song on the new album Waiting for You to Blow about the fear of making a particularly bad health choice — to potentially lose your sobriety But you ve been sober for over 30 years Why write that song now

​When you’re for a while, and you’re mature, you do miss the carefree feeling when you could either party harder or fall in love more magnificently or just when things were simpler. “Waiting for You to Blow” was something I wanted to write for a while — not to do with substance abuse but with the way the little devil on your shoulder tells you to make rationalizations or to procrastinate or to overstep the limits of your diet or your . It was fun to write about something that thorny.

​Two other songs you wrote for the album were based on true events Down the Hall was inspired by a New York Times story about a prison hospice program And the title track Just Like That came from a local news report about how an organ transplant connected two families They re both very uplifting stories Was that the draw for you

​At this point in my life, when I see stories of people sacrificing themselves for others, that moves me. I was raised with those values. Since the last two and a half years wreaked havoc on every bit of normalcy and comfort that we have, it was even more important to remind people of the goodness of the human spirit. That’s what gets you through. ​Jim Farber is a contributing writer who was the New York Daily News music critic for 25 years. He writes for AARP, The New York Times and The Guardian, and twice won the ASCAP Foundation Deems Taylor Award for America’s best music writing.​ More on entertainment AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe AARP VALUE & MEMBER BENEFITS See more Health & Wellness offers > See more Flights & Vacation Packages offers > See more Finances offers > See more Health & Wellness offers > SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS