There are some musicians and artists who regularly reinvent themselves. The Beatles did it right up to their final album. Bob Dylan has done it so many times that in I’m Not There the 2007 film inspired by his life and music, six different actors played his various periods. The reality is that most artists are lucky to get one hit during their career. So what about those that sustain themselves year after year and have careers that last not just weeks or months but decades? Artist’s early in their career need to have a portfolio with multiple ideas and influences to draw from that can be used to generate new work moving forward.

Bonnie Raitt has recorded 18 studio albums, and a few additional live albums, covering a fifty plus year career. She has netted over two dozen Grammy nominations and over a dozen wins including a Lifetime Achievement Award. She is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and recently received the Kennedy Center Honor. Obviously she is an artist who has something to draw from. She did it all by combining the blues, with covers — or more often interpretations of other song writers, writing her own songs and always looking for songs that bring you in and tells you a story. She is still going strong — And she did it on her terms.

The music of Bonnie Raitt from her self titled 1971 debut Bonnie Raitt, to her recent Gramy winning Just Like That she has shown that she is the master of the blues, rock and storytelling.

For Subscribers: Coda To Episode 2:3 Koerner Ray and Glover. The Roots Of Blues, Rags and Hollers.

Wow & Flutter is a special bonus for subscribers to Return To Vinyls +. In the early 1960s the Minneapolis folk scene was centered around coffee shops in Dinkytown, a neighborhood near the University of Minnesota. The most popular was the Ten O’Clock Scholar, where Bob Dylan got his start. According to Dylan’s book The Chronicles that included playing with “Spider” John Koerner. Koerner joined singer guitarist Dave “Snaker” Ray along with blues harmonica player Tony “Little Sun” Glover as a trio and appeared in various combinations starting in the mid-1960s.

Folk music had white-washed the music of traditional singers like Lead Belly into contemporary pop folk songs. The Kingston Trio emerged as the face of folk in America and the folk scene had degraded in most places into Hootenannies where the audience sang along to happy banjo music. Koerner, Ray and Glover, along with a few other local folk musicians like Leo Kottke fought against pop influenced folk music and went looking for the roots of folk and rural blues. They found it in the coffee houses and bars in Dinkytown and the West Bank of Minneapolis. From there Koerner, Ray and Glover brought it to folk festivals and their record albums on folk label Electra Records — Blues, Rags and Hollers. Their music still rings true today. Find it on Apple Podcast. FREE THREE DAY TRIAL.

Copyright Notice: All of the music samples used in this podcast series are used under Fair Use provisions of the US Copyright Law which states: “it is permissible to use limited portions of a work including quotes, for purposes such as commentary, criticism, news reporting, and scholarly reports.”

The copyright of all music in this podcast series is held by the individual holders. The theme and end songs are licensed from Fresh Music Library. All commentary is copyright by David Husom. All rights are reserved. Contact the author for educational use of this material.