Bonnie Raitt

"I've watched my peers get better with age and hoped that would happen with me."

"I never saw music in terms of men and women or black and white. There was just cool and uncool."

"Playing guitar was one of my childhood hobbies, and I had played a little at school and at camp. My parents would drag me out to perform for my family, like all parents do, but it was a hobby - nothing more."

"Religion is for people who are scared to go to hell. Spirituality is for people who have already been there."

"I just play the music that I love with musicians that I respect, and fortunately, I'm in a position where people are willing to play with me, and perhaps I can do something to help them."

"It is still a surprise when people tell me that I've had an influence on them, particularly when it's someone I really respect."