Watermelon Slim, aka Bill Homans, sticks out in a crowd. Wearing his trademark Stetson and an over-sized turquoise pendant, our Oklahoma bluesman is a striking figure. He was among the throng attending Bonnie Raitt’s concert at Riverwind Casino March 5.
“Oh, I played with Bonnie Raitt back in 1972 and ’73,” Slim drawled. “She and I both had similar musical ancestors and we went different directions.” This was a revelation but makes perfect sense as the artists are the same age (59) and started their careers on the east coast. “I haven’t been on any Bonnie Raitt records but we’ve been negotiating for several years to get her on one of mine. It hasn’t happened yet, but it might,” Slim said. That will be mighty lovely if it does.
“Are you ready for a thing called love?” was the musical question posed by Bonnie Raitt to a full room early in her show. Backed by an all-male band on guitar, bass, drums and keys, she played from a discography that stretches back to her first stellar self-titled album in 1971. Raitt also played guitar on most tunes, switching between electric and rhythm.
“We have the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll in the house tonight,” Raitt announced. “Wanda Jackson, I can’t believe you’re here.” The diminutive dynamo of “Fujiyama Mama” and “Let’s Have a Party” fame waved to us from her aisle seat. Raitt also introduced her band, all session badasses, including Ricky Peterson (keys) who’s played with David Sanborn, Prince and Stevie Nicks.
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Bonnie Raitt and Wanda Jackson – Let’s have a party
Raitt performed duet “Good Man, Good Woman” from her “Luck of the Draw” disc, with Peterson singing the Delbert McClinton line. “We were just in Milwaukee where it was 15 degrees. What is it here, 80? Much better for the vocal cords,” Raitt said. Her voice sounded tremendous, unchanged from Radcliffe days when she was observed by a Newsweek reporter opening for Mississippi Fred McDowell in a New York saloon.
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Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows: Songs of John Prine, Vol. 2, the anticipated new John Prine tribute record from Oh Boy Records, is out today. Stream/purchase HERE.
Created as a celebration of Prine’s life and career, the album features new renditions of some of Prine’s most beloved songs performed by Brandi Carlile (“I Remember Everything”), Tyler Childers (“Yes I Guess They Oughta Name A Drink After You”), Iris DeMent (“One Red Rose”), Emmylou Harris (“Hello In There”), Jason Isbell (“Souvenirs”), Valerie June (“Summer’s End”), Margo Price (“Sweet Revenge”), Bonnie Raitt (“Angel From Montgomery”), Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats (“Pretty Good”), Amanda Shires (“Saddle in the Rain”), Sturgill Simpson(“Paradise”) and John Paul White (“Sam Stone”). Proceeds from the album will benefit twelve different non-profit organizations, one selected by each of the featured artists.
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Bonnie Raitt - Write Me a Few of Your Lines/Kokomo Blues
60 years anniversary celebration of Arhoolie
December 10, 2020
Arhoolie Foundation celebrates it's 60th anniversary (1960-2020) with an online broadcast.
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Bonnie Raitt - Shadow of Doubt
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival
October 3, 2020
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass celebrates it's 20th anniversary with an online broadcast titled “Let The Music Play On”.
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Bonnie Raitt & Boz Scaggs - You Don't Know Like I Know
Farm Aid 2020 On the Road
Sam & Dave classic written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter.
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Sheryl Crow & Bonnie Raitt - Everything Is Broken
[Eric Clapton’s Crossroads 2019]
Eric Clapton, one of the world’s pre-eminent blues/rock guitarists, once again summoned an all-star team of six-string heroes for his fifth Crossroads Guitar Festival in 2019. Held at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, the two-day concert event raised funds for the Crossroads Centre in Antigua, the chemical dependency treatment and education facility that Clapton founded in 1998.
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'A Tribute To Mose Allison'
Celebrates The Music Of An Exciting Jazz Master
Raitt contributed to a new album, If You're Going To The City: A Tribute To Mose Allison, which celebrates the late singer and pianist, who famously blended the rough-edged blues of the Mississippi Delta with the 1950s jazz of New York City.
NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks to Bonnie Raitt about her friendship with the Mose Allison. They're also joined by Amy Allison — his daughter, who executive produced the album — about selecting an unexpected list of artists to contribute songs to the album.
Recorded on tour June 3, 2017 - Centennial Hall, London - Ontario Canada