Bonnie Raitt’s eponymous debut album came out in 1971. For decades, Raitt has been revered as a singer who releases powerful songs, including these three tunes, which all pack a serious emotional punch.
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“I Can’t Make You Love Me”
It’s hard to think of a sadder song than “I Can’t Make You Love Me“. Out in 1991 on her Luck Of The Draw record, “I Can’t Make You Love Me” is written by Mike Reid and Allen Shamblin.
“I Can’t Make You Love Me” says. “‘Cause I can’t make you love me if you don’t / You can’t make your heart feel somethin’ it won’t / Here in the dark, in these final hours / I will lay down my heart and I’ll feel the power / But you won’t, no you won’t / ‘Cause I can’t make you love me, if you don’t.”
Raitt didn’t write “I Didn’t Make You Love Me”. But she still resonated with the song the first time she heard it.
“It was absolutely one of the most honest and original heartache songs I had ever heard,” Raitt tells the Los Angeles Times. “It was a point of view that I had been on both sides of, and it struck me deeply. I knew immediately I wanted to sing it.”
George Michael, Boyz II Men, and Adele are among the artists who have also recorded their own version of “I Can’t Make You Love Me”.
“Nick Of Time”
Raitt wrote “Nick Of Time” by herself. The song is the title track of her tenth studio album. It is a cautionary tale about embracing life while there is still time.
“Nick Of Time” says, “A friend of mine, she cries at night / And she calls me on the phone / Sees babies everywhere she goes / And she wants one of her own / She’s waited long enough, she says / And still he can’t decide / Pretty soon she’ll have to choose / And it tears her up inside.”
Nick Of Time earned Raitt three Grammy Awards, including one for Album of the Year.
“Rock Steady” With Bryan Adams
Raitt sings “Rock Steady”, from her live Road Tested album, with Bryan Adams. Out in 1995, Adams wrote the song with Gretchen Peters.
“Rock Steady” begins with, “You need a man to treat you like the woman you are / Those little boys are just fooling around with your heart / What you gonna do now that you’re all alone / You need a rock not a rolling stone / So when a boy just ain’t enough / You need a man made of stronger stuff get ready / Rock steady all night long / Rock steady till the light of dawn.”
Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images
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