Editing Bonnie Raitt (section)

==Early life==
Bonnie Lynn Raitt was born on November 8, 1949, in [[Burbank, California]].{{sfn|Bego|1995|p=11}} Her mother, Marge Goddard (née Haydock), was a pianist, and her father, [[John Raitt]], was a professional actor and singer in [[musical theatre|musical]] productions such as ''[[Oklahoma!]]'' and ''[[The Pajama Game]]''.<ref name="Official Website Biography"/> Raitt is of Scottish ancestry; her ancestors constructed [[Rait Castle]] near [[Nairn]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Italie |first1=Hillel |title=Bonnie Raitt discovers her roots |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2199&dat=19910714&id=R1cyAAAAIBAJ&pg=6928,3407930 |access-date=24 December 2016 |work=[[Lawrence Journal-World]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=14 July 1991|page=4D}}</ref> As a child, Raitt would often play with her two brothers, Steve and David, and was a self-described [[tomboy]].{{sfn|Bego|1995|p=10}} John Raitt's job as a theater actor meant Bonnie did not interact with him as much as she would have liked. Raitt grew to resent her mother, as she became the main authority figure of the household whenever John was away.{{sfn|Bego|1995|p=13}}

Raitt's musically inclined parents had a strong influence on her life. From a young age, she and her brothers were encouraged to pursue music.{{sfn|Bego|1995|pp=12–13}} Initially, Raitt played the piano but was intimidated by her mother's abilities.{{sfn|Bego|1995|p=13}} She instead began playing a [[Stella (guitar)|Stella]] guitar, which she received as a Christmas gift in 1957 at the age of eight.<ref name="Official Website Biography"/>{{sfn|Bego|1995|p=13}} Raitt did not take lessons, and instead fashioned style of play after musicians from [[American folk music revival]] of the 1950s. She was also influenced by the [[beatnik]] movement, stating "It represented my whole belief [...] I'd grow my hair real long so I looked like a beatnik."{{sfn|Bego|1995|pp=13–14}}

From ages eight through fifteen, Raitt and her brothers attended an annual [[summer camp]] in the [[Adirondack Mountains]] called Camp Regis.{{sfn|Bego|1995|p=13}}{{sfnm|1a1=Schmidt|1a2=Rooney|1y=1979|1p=305}} It was there where Raitt learned of her musical talents, when camp counselors would ask her to play in front of the campers.{{sfn|Bego|1995|p=14}} Learning how to play songs then became a hobby for Raitt.{{sfn|Bego|1995|p=14}} As a teenager, Raitt was self-conscious about her weight and her [[freckle]]s, and saw music as an escape from reality.{{sfn|Bego|1995|p=15}} "That was my saving grace. I just sat in my room and played my guitar," said Raitt.{{sfn|Bego|1995|p=15}} At age 14, she listened to the album ''Blues at Newport 63'', which instilled an interest in [[blues]] music and the [[slide guitar]] technique.<ref name="Official Website Biography"/>

In 1967, Raitt enrolled at [[Radcliffe College]], and majored in [[social relations]] and [[African studies]].<ref name="Official Website Biography">{{cite web|url=https://www.bonnieraitt.com/bio|title=Bonnie Raitt Biography|website=Official Bonnie Raitt website|access-date=April 19, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140213020807/http://www.bonnieraitt.com/bio|archive-date=February 13, 2014|df=mdy-all}}</ref> While at Radcliffe, she was in a music group called the Revolutionary Music Collective, which played for striking [[Harvard University|Harvard]] students during the [[Nationwide student anti-war strike of 1970|student strike of 1970]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nypost.com/2009/08/11/still-completely-first-raitt/|title=Still Completely First Raitt|first=Billy|last=Heller|website=[[New York Post]]|date=August 11, 2009|access-date=August 23, 2020}}</ref> Despite her abilities, Raitt did not consider music to be anything more than a hobby.<ref name="oprah"/> Her plan after graduation was to travel to [[Tanzania]], and improve the local government under president [[Julius Nyerere]].<ref name="oprah">{{cite journal|url=https://www.oprah.com/spirit/bonnie-raitts-aha-moment|title=Bonnie Raitt's Aha! Moment|journal=[[O, The Oprah Magazine]]|volume=3|number=7|date=July 2002|pages=47–48}}</ref> During her first year of college, Raitt befriended blues promoter [[Dick Waterman]], and in her second year, left school for a semester to travel to Philadelphia with Waterman and other local musicians. Raitt said it was an "opportunity that changed everything."<ref name="oprah" />