Still shocked and humbled after winning the 2023 Grammy Award for Song of the Year for “Just Like That” on Feb. 5, Bonnie Raitt shared a lengthy letter on her official website expressing her gratitude following the outpouring of feedback from fans, medical professionals, and other people who weren’t familiar with her music until they heard the moving ballad.
Videos by American Songwriter
“I’ve been so deeply moved, often to tears, reading the personal stories of hundreds of you, some of whom have had no familiarity with me or my music before I won that Grammy and were curious why this song had won,” said Raitt in her letter.
She added, “After listening, many of you wrote that you were moved to tears, even inspired to share your own heart-wrenching stories of either having your loved one’s life saved by an organ donation or having decided at the height of the terrible shock and loss of losing a beloved, that you would donate their organs so that others could live.”
The title track off Raitt’s 18th album, “Just Like That” was inspired by a news segment she watched in 2018 about a man who visited the mother who donated her son’s heart that ultimately saved his life. Sitting with the woman, he asked her if she would like to put her head on his chest so she could hear her son’s heart.
Inspired by the storytelling of John Prine‘s classic 1971 ballad “Angel From Montgomery”— a song Raitt also covered on her 1974 album Streetlights—on “Just Like That” she recounts the emotional story of the mother and young man.
Beating out artists like Beyoncé, Adele, Harry Styles, Taylor Swift, Lizzo, and Kendrick Lamar, who were among the nominees for the Song of the Year spot was something Raitt said she never expected.
“I’m so surprised, I don’t know what to say,” said Raitt during her acceptance speech. “This is just an unreal moment. I don’t write a lot of songs but I’m so proud that you appreciate this one and what this means for me and for the rest of the songwriters who I would not be up here tonight if it wasn’t for the art of the great soul digging hard-working people that put these songs and ideas to music. I’m totally humbled, I really appreciate it.”
Raitt also picked up two more Grammys that night, including Best American Roots Song for “Just Like That” and Best Americana Performance for her rendition of Canadian roots band Bros. Landreth’s 2013 song “Made Up Mind.”
_____
Read Raitt’s full letter below:
I wanted to respond to the incredible outpouring of messages that have come in since my song, “Just Like That,” won the Grammy award last Sunday night for Song of the Year.
I’ve been so deeply moved, often to tears, reading the personal stories of hundreds of you, some of whom have had no familiarity with me or my music before I won that Grammy and were curious why this song had won. After listening, many of you wrote that you were moved to tears, even inspired to share your own heart-wrenching stories of either having your loved one’s life saved by an organ donation, or having decided at the height of the terrible shock and loss of losing a beloved, that you would donate their organs so that others could live.
These stories and your responses to my song have moved me as much as anything I can remember and I want to thank you so much for this gift. So many messages from nurses and doctors in the field involved with transplants as well as people who were tragically not able to get an organ in time to save their loved one’s life. There are messages from the family members of people who wanted their organs to be donated, but are now living with the guilt when that wish, for whatever reason, was not able to be fulfilled.. These stories run the gamut and I’m just blown open by the vulnerability and power of each of them.
I am so honored that my song and the original news story that inspired it, are eliciting such a deep emotional response for so many. The story behind the song is this: A few years ago I saw a segment on the evening TV news where they followed a woman who was meeting the man who had received her son’s heart for the first time. It was very emotional, but when he invited her to put her head on his chest and listen to her son’s heart, I just lost it. I knew after it stayed with me for weeks, that I wanted to write my own story, inspired so much by John Prine’s music and his beautiful “Angel From Montgomery,” which I’ve sung every show since hearing it in the early 70’s. I wrote about a fictional woman, Olivia Zand, torn by grief and guilt at the loss of her young son, who finds redemption and grace through the loving act of another.
May the song bring about even more awareness and motivation for more of us to support organ donation registration and infrastructure — removing obstacles that have hindered helping thousands connecting to facilitate this miraculous gift of life and help bring comfort to those suffering such tragic loss. I’ve included a link below to a wonderful Op-Ed by Dr. Maureen McBride, the interim CEO of United Network for Organ Sharing in yesterday’s USA TODAY, in which she lays out why these programs need more support and the ways we can all help.
Thank you all so much again for your incredible responses and sharing your beautiful stories. More than any award, fame or commercial success, knowing what my song means to so many may be the greatest gift of all.
Blessings to you,
Bonnie
Photo: Marina Chavez / Shore Fire Media
