Bonnie Raitt was “surprised” by the Grammy Award for song of the Year on Sunday.
The legend singer was stunned to win the prize for “Just Like That”, and received a standing ovation by the crowd at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena. During her acceptance speech she remembered John Prine, the legendary folk musician who died in April 2020 from COVID-19 complications.
Raitt, who has won 13 Grammys and received dozens of nominations over her long career, has been a Grammys favorite. Mikael Wood, Times pop music critic, called Raitt, 73 years old, “stiff competition” for the song of the Year category. He described Raitt’s story as “a moving and complex story of a mother’s encounters with her son’s transplanted heart.”
“Just Like That” was nominated in the song-of-the year category alongside “abcdefu”, “About Damn Time”, (Lizzo), and “All Too Well (10 minute version)” (Taylor Swift).
Raitt won this year’s Grammy Awards for American roots song (“Just Like That”), and Americana performance (“Made Up Mind”)
Below is her acceptance speech.
Oh my goodness. Oh my god, it’s so amazing. I don’t know how to respond. It’s a moment that is unreal. To all those in the academy who support me and love the art of songwriting, thank you for honoring my memory. The incredible story of a person who donates their organs to another person’s life, the love, grace, and generosity of such a person inspired me to write this song. It was simple but so touching.
People have responded to the song partly due to how much John Prine is loved by me and us all. That was the inspiration for the music and telling a story inside. … Although I don’t have a lot of songs to write, I am so glad that you love this song and all the other songwriters. …
Without the hard work of these soul-digging, talented people, I wouldn’t be here tonight. This record is my thanks to my team. Thank you. It’s a total honor. It’s a great feeling to have your support. We are grateful.
