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How To Play Guitar Like Bonnie Raitt

on August 13, 2023 No comments
By Mitch Wilson

By Shawn Leonhardt for Guitar Tricks and 30 Day Singer

There are a few different musical eras of the singer-songwriter and guitarist Bonnie Raitt. Some know her for her early folk and slide blues hits; in the early ’90s, she had a number of adult contemporary pop rock ballads, and she even recently won a Song of the Year Grammy in 2023! One of the reasons she is still going strong is because of her songwriting and guitar approach. If you want to learn how to play guitar, she is one of the best to emulate! Here are some tips on how to play guitar like Bonnie Raitt.

Musical Influence

When you are learning how to play guitar like another artist, it is best to look at their influences. Bonnie Raitt gravitated towards folk and beatnik music that was socially conscious and focused more on the topic of the song. Some of the biggest influences on her were blues greats like Muddy Waters and folk heroes such as Pete Seeger. Both Mississippi blues and New York City-folk had songs with meanings and messages.

That is one nice aspect of these genres and the guitar playing of Bonnie Raitt, they are not overly technical and accessible to most players. The chord progressions, strums, and rhythms she uses aren’t too difficult, the hard part becomes getting the right feeling and sound. Her power is in her storytelling, vocals, and emotive guitar abilities. As far as guitar influencers go, not many women are represented, but Bonnie Raitt surely fills the role with her career!

Bonnie Raitt’s Equipment

Her main guitar is a Fender Stratocaster that she calls “Brownie,” and it is very fitting for her early blues folk style. However, she uses a variety of instruments in all her songs, so in this case, copying her playing style can be done on most any guitar with steel strings (for the slide!). The power of her music comes less from the equipment and gear and more from the lyrics and chords!

If you are going for her slide blues sound, you will want to use compression, overdrive, and a little bit of distortion for guitar pedals. Just keep these elements to a minimum, as blues and Americana still want an overall clean sound; the chords and licks need to stand out, but we want to avoid heavy overtones. Often when playing a bluesy vibe tune, we want it to sound like an overdriven tube amp.

She is seen using a slide on her middle finger and molded plastic finger picks instead of flat picks. This can be a difficult guitar technique to master, so put three finger picks on your thumb, index, and middle finger and get to plucking! When you are learning this technique, you need to play slower to be certain you are hitting the right strings. You will likely make a lot of mistakes at first; it is not easy!

The Guitar Playing of Bonnie Raitt

Her playing style varies depending on whether she is using a slide or fingerpicking her melodies. The secret to slide playing is to dampen the strings behind the slide; this will keep unwanted squeaks away. Open tunings are usually the best when dealing with slide guitar, so you have a better chance of hitting the right notes.

Mixing the slide and finger fretting can also be a difficult step for some beginners; in that case, just learning the song’s chords and basics before attempting the slide. Once you know the chord progression, it will be easier to add that slide in. You may also find it helpful to try another finger; go with what works for you.

Her fingerstyle is often Travis picking, which is where you alternate between the bass and treble strings, a common pattern for many country, folk, and Americana songs. In some songs, she uses more strums and less picking; in the end, it depends on the genre she is playing. Like many singer-songwriters, she takes advantage of her ability to tell a good story over some catchy chords.

The Songs of Bonnie Raitt

The best way to learn songs from Bonnie Raitt is to listen to her past hits and start to play along. Use chords, sheet music, tabs, or videos to watch what she is doing and copy it! Play her songs over and over as you attempt to flesh out the chords and get the rhythmic strums right. And, of course, her singing is a huge part of her talent and fame, so be sure to learn the words as much as the guitar part!

“Angel from Montgomery” is written by John Prine, and Raitt’s version from 1974 is a wonderful mix of rhythm and blues with a country swing. Here she uses a capo, and while the chord progression consists of the shapes of D, G, A, and C, it is the fingerpicking that is more difficult. Her staccato notes and blues licks are played so smoothly that it even feels funky at times.

“Love Me Like a Man” is a more classic blues country song; it will take a lot of trial and error and practice to get these licks played right. If you are familiar with other blues hits, it will be easier, but once you have this song down, you will have a lot of future blues riffs to use!

“Thing Called Love” has a rockabilly vibe that mixes a rock progression with a simple I-IV-V chord chorus. It has some great blues slide moments, but remember that in the original version, one guitarist is playing the basic rhythms, while she is doing much of the slide work. So if you find yourself alone, you need to mix the parts, which can be tricky. As always, slowly build through the verse and chorus until you have the parts down.

“Something to Talk About” is perhaps the most famous hit from Bonnie Raitt; it is Americana, blues, country, pop, and even has a Doo Wop progression! And the rhythmic strum is even reminiscent of a Caribbean guitar skank; it’s no surprise the song was such a hit. It’s during the solo of this song that you will see how she plays slide guitar so effortlessly.

And the Grammy hit “Just Like That” uses a nice Travis picking technique with a very simple chord progression of D-G-A. This song is a great example how her style isn’t overly complicated but still very powerful. Many Harry Styles and Taylor Swift fans were surprised she won the Grammy, but a simple song can sometimes have a lot more pull over the audience.

There are many other great songs of hers that mix blues, country, and even funky rhythms, and of course, there are also many more tunes written for social causes. Probably one of the best ways to play guitar like Bonnie Raitt is to pick up a guitar and write a song about a passionate topic, as that is her style!

If you want to become a better guitarist and songwriter, learning to play and sing like Bonnie Raitt is a great step. Her music varies, and she has several hits that are suitable for those from beginning to advanced playing. If you want to get better at any style that she excels in, trying out some online guitar lessons can also be a great step. Whether you are writing an original tune or doing a cover, Bonnie Raitt knows how to do both! So follow her lead, and you will learn a lot about the guitar!


Source: © Copyright Guitar Girl Magazine

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Grammy-winning song hits close to home for Bonnie Raitt’s bassist
Maui resident James Hutchinson knows firsthand the meaning of ‘Just Like That’

on March 30, 2023 No comments
Jon Woodhouse | For the Maui News

When Bonnie Raitt received the Grammy Award for Song of the Year for “Just Like That” in February, her band’s longtime bass player, James “Hutch” Hutchinson, was watching on TV in Los Angeles. Raitt had earlier won Grammys for Best American Roots Song for “Just Like That” and Best Americana Performance for “Made Up Mind,” which meant her band all shared in the award.

“We were all shocked,” said Hutchinson, who has played with Raitt for 40 years and has made Maui his home for 20 years. “We were up for four awards, three of them in the Americana category. We won the first two and then the third one, Americana Album of the Year, Brandi Carlile won and she got up and said, ‘I can’t believe I won this. I thought Bonnie was going to sweep again.’

Bonnie Raitt with James “Hutch” Hutchinson 2019
© Maike Schulz /Gruber Photographers

“We were thrilled to win two out of three,” Hutchinson continued. “The performance award is a band award. Then, of course, the icing on the cake was when she won for Song of the Year, which is the award she really wanted because she’s the sole composer of the tune. So it was big, a big deal.”

Heading to the Maui Arts and Cultural Center for a concert on Friday, Raitt has now won 13 Grammys, including some for her multimillion-selling albums, “Nick of Time” and “Luck of the Draw.”

The title song of Raitt’s latest album, “Just Like That” is an emotionally wrenching song that has touched so many people. She based it on a news story about a mother who donated her deceased son’s organs. It was the first song written by a solo composer to win the award since Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab.”

“‘Just Like That’ is about a woman who loses a son and organ donation, and the trials and tribulations, and the redemption that sometimes comes along with it,” said Hutchinson. “Many a night on stage, I’ve had an emotional reaction to it. She was broken up, as she is every time she sings anything that means something to her.”

The song was especially heartbreaking for Hutchinson as he lost his sister, Ann Hutchinson Tower, the week of the awards, and “she ended up saving two women. Her kidneys went to two younger, fit women in their 50s. Organ donation is important, but I didn’t think I’d be living that song the week we won Song of the Year for it. It was one of the more bizarre, surreal moments of my entire life. There’s been extreme highs and extreme lows.”

In a tough couple of months, he also lost a handful of musician friends, including David Lindley and David Crosby. Hutchinson had been getting ready to head out on tour with Crosby, and had previously recorded with him, and Crosby with Graham Nash, and with Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.

“I’ve known David for 50 years,” he explained. “I met him when I was 19. He was always in my life, a sort of a mentor and friend and a bandmate many times. The rehearsals in December sounded great. I’d never seen him happier. He was ready to go out and do a final tour. I just loved working with him. My proudest musical moments are anything with David Crosby. I miss him so much.”

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Player’s Pick Podcast #63 – James “Hutch” Hutchinson – December 2020

Talk with Hutchinson and he will regale you with 50 years of encounters with a myriad array of famous musicians, from recording with the Rolling Stones in Ireland to rock ‘n’ roll legend Jerry Lee Lewis. His remarkable list of recording credits includes Ringo Starr, B.B. King, Elton John, Brian Wilson, Al Green, Willie Nelson, Stevie Nicks, Ziggy Marley, Jackson Browne, the Doobie Brothers, Joe Cocker, Roy Orbison, Garth Brooks and Neil Diamond.

What was it like playing with the Beatles’ legendary drummer?

“Ringo is great. He’s funny, and he’s great to be around,” Hutchinson said. “He’s just a fantastic musician, and he loves music and he loves people. I worked with Ringo a number of times. I love people who are easy and fun to work with.”

Proclaimed “The Groove King” by Bass Musician magazine, Hutchinson can comfortably fit into any genre.

His local collaborations include recording with other musicians on Maui like Grammy winner Peter Kater, Pat Simmons Jr. and Gail Swanson. He toured the Mainland with Hapa and was also a regular at Shep Gordon’s Wailea benefit shows. Teaming with John Cruz, he played on a star-studded “Playing for Change” video of “The Weight,” and was filmed in Haiku with Pat Simmons in a marvelous updating of Cat Stevens’ “Peace Train.”

Back on the road with the “Just Like That Tour 2023,” Hutchinson said the Maui show will include “at least four songs” from the latest album.

“The set list changes,” he said. “We know a lot of tunes and you can only play so many per night, and there’s some we have to play. People expect ‘Something to Talk About’ and ‘I Can’t Make You Love Me.’ People want to hear those songs.”

The Maui leg of Raitt’s Just Like That Tour 2023 takes place on Friday at the MACC’s A&B Amphitheater. John Cruz will open. The show begins at 7 p.m. and gates open at 5 p.m. Tickets are $60, $80, $100 and $140 Gold Circle, plus applicable fees, at MauiArts.org.


Source: © Copyright The Maui News

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Watch Bonnie Raitt leave B.B. King in awe with a series of stunning slide solos at the House of Blues Chicago in 2004
King once said that Raitt was the “best damn slide player working today”

on March 8, 2023 No comments
By Jackson Maxwell

B.B. King, a man who knew a thing or two about blues guitar playing, once said that – in his view – Bonnie Raitt was the “best damn slide player working today.”

It’s an opinion few argued with at the time, and fewer still would take umbrage with today.

Raitt and King performed together on a number of occasions, one of which was the 2004 International Achievement Summit, which featured an evening concert at Chicago’s House of Blues headlined – in celebration of his induction into the Academy of Achievement (opens in new tab) – by King.

Mayor Daley, Bonnie, B.B. King and Mavis Staples at the celebration honoring B.B. King’s induction into the Academy of Achievement at House of Blues, Chicago. June 10, 2004 © Ricky Fataar

Raitt performed first on her own, before teaming up with King for a spirited rendition of When Love Comes to Town, a song U2 recorded with King for their 1988 album, Rattle and Hum.

Prior to starting the song, Raitt hits King – much to his delight – with some absolutely searing unaccompanied slide licks. “She loves to mistreat me like that,” King jokes with the crowd in response. “She knows I’m crazy about it!” 

You can see the video of the performance – which begins with Raitt performing her song, Love Sneakin’ Up on You on her own – below.

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Armed with one of her signature Stratocasters, Raitt doesn’t stop with just the unaccompanied intro. Indeed, King – playing “Lucille,” his legendary Gibson ES-355 with no f-holes – seems more interested in listening to Raitt slide around the fretboard than in playing himself.

Though the cameras never get up close with Raitt, you can still get a great sense of her slide technique and how she – by wearing the guitar slide on her middle finger – switches seamlessly between rhythm and slide playing.

At various points, Raitt’s slide work causes King to egg the crowd into cheering her on mid-solo, and even – at one amusing point – get up out of his chair and dance.

“I taught myself to play, so my hand positions aren’t 100 percent correct – and I put the bottleneck on the wrong finger,” Raitt told Guitar World of her unique slide technique in a 2022 interview.

“You can play more if you have it on your ring finger. Fred McDowell used his little finger, but by then I was already down the road with it on my middle finger. I heard Robert Johnson and just tried to make myself sound exactly like whatever he was doing.”

King wasn’t the only electric guitar hero to be left slack-jawed by Raitt’s slide work. In a 2022 interview, Raitt revealed that none other than Prince asked her to teach him her technique.

Joe Bonamassa has also sung Raitt’s praises, naming her lead break on Thing Called Love (from Raitt’s 1989 album, Nick of Time) as one of the 10 greatest blues-rock guitar solos of all time.

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“She plays slide, and you know it’s Bonnie Raitt and you just go, ‘How do you do that with a Stratocaster and a glass slide?’” Bonamassa told Guitar World in 2019.

“It’s because she just has a way of phrasing and it’s in the DNA and it’s intrinsic.”

“You hear what she does with this song, a John Hiatt song, and you go, ‘Wow, it’s just super-original.’ It’s very restrained, but super-effective.

“Then you put that voice on top of it and it’s just like, ‘Yes! That’s it!’ To me, Bonnie Raitt is one of the most underrated guitar players of all time.”

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Source: © Copyright Guitar World

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