Watch: Bonnie Raitt Reflects on Historic 50 Year Career, Kennedy Center Honors and More in New Interview

Photo Credit: Bill Kelly

This morning, December 13, 2024, 13-time Grammy award winner, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member, and most recently, prestigious Kennedy Center honoree Bonnie Raitt spoke with CBS Mornings’ Gayle King about her latest accolade, receiving artistic lifetime achievement status during Sunday’s event.

“Bonnie, thank you for singing such beautiful music and for shinning your light so bright on the world,” Dave Matthews imparts in an exclusive clip from the event, which preludes the onset of her one-and-on with King. Speaking to the distinct recognition, Raitt says, “It’s unreal to me, that I’m going to be up in that balcony, you know? And my friends will be saying all that nice stuff and singin’ my songs. I wasn’t expecting it, and I’m just tickled beyond words.” 

Intermixed with reflection from Raitt were clips from the night, such as Brandi Carlile’s haunting rendition of “I Can’t Make You Love Me” juxtaposed with Raitt’s 1991 original. She quickly asserts the song’s status as “one of the great breakup songs,” referencing the frequency with which fans offer up a line, from TSA lines to other public places.

The program pieces together Raitt’s formative years, painting a picture of a musical household where creativity was cultivated and encouraged. The songstress goes so far as to tie her love of live performance to her father’s similar affection, partly due to his own Broadway history. 

“I was singing my dad’s songs just for fun, but I picked up the guitar just cause of my passion for folk music and like all of us, who work at it to get pretty good, you know? It’s mostly for yourself. I had no interest except doing it as a hobby,” Raitts says, ahead of her college-era ascent. 

“I took a little break from college to hang out with these older blues legends that my boyfriend was managing and booking. My folks said, ‘If you leave, you gotta support yourself while you’re taking a break, and I saw somebody playing at a local club, and I said, ‘I could probably do that.’ And I auditioned and got one gig. Then, I got another gig, and the next thing I knew I had a sideline while I was in college.” 

“I went back to school, then got offered a record deal–what would have been my junior year,” Raitt adds, piecing her story together and following up with reference to the rarity of a female lead on slide guitar. King accounts for Raitt’s discography, referencing her 12-year run with Warner Brothers before an unexpected label drop in ‘83. 

“They didn’t want me to play rootsy rock and roll, the big corporate guys took over my record label. They dropped Van Morrison and T Bone Burnett and Arlo Guthrie and me on the same day.” The change fueled hardships, yet Raitt quickly points out that touring was her saving grace. And long hours on the road led to a contract with Capitol, unleashing commercial success and a renewal that holds today. 

Raitt continues to tour and will hit the road in 2025, giving fans more opportunities to honor her beloved catalog. “I just want to make as big of a difference in the world as I can,” she says. “I’m confident that … as long as I give everything I’ve got to quality music and play as great a performance as I could, that the audience is gonna come back and see me next time.”

Watch the full CBS Mornings interview below.