There are some musicians and artists who regularly reinvent themselves. The Beatles did it right up to their final album. Bob Dylan has done it so many times that in I’m Not There the 2007 film inspired by his life and music, six different actors played his various periods. The reality is that most artists are lucky to get one hit during their career. So what about those that sustain themselves year after year and have careers that last not just weeks or months but decades? Artist’s early in their career need to have a portfolio with multiple ideas and influences to draw from that can be used to generate new work moving forward.

Bonnie Raitt has recorded 18 studio albums, and a few additional live albums, covering a fifty plus year career. She has netted over two dozen Grammy nominations and over a dozen wins including a Lifetime Achievement Award. She is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and recently received the Kennedy Center Honor. Obviously she is an artist who has something to draw from. She did it all by combining the blues, with covers — or more often interpretations of other song writers, writing her own songs and always looking for songs that bring you in and tells you a story. She is still going strong — And she did it on her terms.