Maybe the idea of me is more powerful than I perceive myself being. Bonnie Raitt More Quotes by Bonnie Raitt More Quotes From Bonnie Raitt When you love a song so much you have to sing, you know how you feel - it releases something in you that resonates as true, whether it's James Brown or Joni Mitchell. Bonnie Raitt how-you-feel brown song There's nothing like living a long time to create a depth and soulfulness in your music. Bonnie Raitt soulfulness depth long I've been lucky enough that I can gather all sorts of experiences and find inspiration by traveling around and by spending time with people I admire. Bonnie Raitt lucky inspiration people The consolidation of the music business has made it difficult to encourage styles like the blues, all of which deserve to be celebrated as part of our most treasured national resources. Bonnie Raitt resources style made I grew up in Los Angeles in a Quaker family, and for me being Quaker was a political calling rather than a religious one. Bonnie Raitt political religious calling How I measure success is getting to make another record and being able to the come back to the same town and play again cause you sold out the last time. Bonnie Raitt records able play When they were putting oil rigs up and down the California coast, the whole issue of safe energy and the addiction to fossil fuels really came into focus. Bonnie Raitt california-coast issues oil The connection between toxicity and cancer and safe air and water and food, all of that was important all along, as were women's and human rights issues, but the nuke issue and the safe energy movement became really important to me in the mid-'70s. Bonnie Raitt cancer rights air The women's movement resurgence of standing up for so many things that were kind of sleepy there for a decade or so, there's been a reawakening and I think the consciousness movement in general is dovetailing with a lot of recovery and self-empowerment. Bonnie Raitt recovery self thinking In blues, classical and jazz, you get more revered with age. Bonnie Raitt jazz age The anti-nuke movement has important and far-reaching implications for grassroots organizing. It can unite kids and musicians, everybody, whether they're leftist or rightist, or radical, or Republican, because energy is energy. But in fact, it is a real political struggle - it shows people that it's big business against the people. Bonnie Raitt real struggle kids The great thing about the arts, and especially popular music, is that it really does cut across genres and races and classes. Bonnie Raitt cutting class art Distribution has really changed. You can make a record with a laptop in the morning and have it up on YouTube in the afternoon and be a star overnight. The talent on YouTube is incredible, and it can spread like wildfire. The downside is that it's very hard to convince the younger generation that they should pay for music. Bonnie Raitt generations stars morning Nobody went out to pasture, and a lot of people are doing their best work. Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, and Sting are at the top of their game. I mean, Tony Bennett is the coolest guy I ever met! We have to figure out how to break out of this age ghetto. Bonnie Raitt ghetto games mean I don't need any drug to show me Heaven And I sure know how to spend plenty of time cleaning Hell But I'm missin' that feeling of falling. Bonnie Raitt drug heaven fall My love was Bob Dylan, but as I got older I realized a good ballad was a good ballad. Bonnie Raitt ballads dylan bob I'm honored when young people say they've gone to school on slide guitar with my records. But people get their influence from my live shows and records and YouTube, not me personally. I walk around with a hat on. People don't know it's me. Bonnie Raitt guitar people school One of the biggest obstacles I've overcome in my life was thinking I didn't deserve to be successful. Artistically I'm not as much of a heavyweight as someone like Paul Simon or Joni Mitchell, because I'm not a creator of original music, and I worried about that for years. Bonnie Raitt successful years thinking You don't have to look a certain way to have a hit record. Bonnie Raitt records looks way I would like to inspire a lot of people to be active and give back. Bonnie Raitt giving inspire people