This was one of the last episodes I got to record with my dear friend Rudy Fischmann, and listening back, I’m reminded of one of the things I loved most about doing these shows with him: he makes me laugh constantly.
For this episode, I brought in Bonnie Raitt’s absolutely devastating version of “Love Has No Pride.”
I don’t think Rudy was prepared for me to bring a Bonnie Raitt song. And, in classic Rudy fashion, he had his own very unique way of interpreting Bonnie Raitt and singing her songs throughout the episode. He had me dying.
But my Bonnie Raitt obsession actually started with a ridiculous story.
Years ago, I was in St. Louis on a work trip with my Yelp coworkers when I noticed a giant tour bus parked outside our hotel. I investigated online and thought it had to be Bonnie Raitt's bus.. since she was the only real star, playing in town that night. Hot on the pursuit. I went up to the front desk and said.. "Bonnie Raitt's staying here tonight, right?" The front desk understandably wouldn’t tell me who was staying there, but they did give me one little clue:
“We’ll give them something to talk about.”
That evening, after dinner with my coworkers, my kindred spirit and best Yelp buddy Will Silvey Simons from Omaha and I decided to experience some of St. Louis’s finest dive bars, as good Yelpers should.. Since I’d toured through St. Louis so many times, I had friends there, and eventually we wound up at the house of a friend who happened to be a craft beer can designer.
Their refrigerator was basically the Library of Congress of St. Lou craft beers. Filled to the max!
We threw on a record... and a couple hours later and approximately ten too many of St. Louis finest craft beers, my friend and our host had passed out on the couch, and I remember the ever present night owl.. Will saying, "well we should probably have one more," and for the only time ever in my life I said.. I think we better get back to the hotel. I somehow managed to find an Uber and we rolled back into the hotel at about 4:30am. No tour bus in sight...
The next morning we had to be ready at 8 a.m. for meetings and trainings in a fab co-working space a block from the hotel.
No problem.. Get up, run, slam a coffee, take a shower.. Good as new.. always early... I was one of the first of my co-workers at the co-working space...
Will was not... in fact Will, was no where to be found. As my co-workers mingled and ate breakfast... with every passing minute he was more late.. I could sense the St. Louis air getting thicker... But it was not humidity.. my boss was getting pissed.
My boss wasn’t exactly yelling at me, but I could feel lightning bolts shooting out of her eyes as she glanced over to me asking where, our friend.. Will, might be... because she knew there was roughly a 100% chance I had something to do with Will’s disappearance.
Thankfully, our coworker Rachel Fell (who I had filled in on our late night), one of the sweetest and simultaneously most intensely cool people I’ve ever known, like seriously so cool you are kinda intimidated by her presence.. a person who could probably talk her way out of a triple homicide, casually walked over to our boss... pulling her aside and reassuring her that Will was alive and on his way.
Then she walked over to me and basically said:
YOU BETTER KEEP CALLING WILL.
Will eventually appeared. He was alive. The Yelp training continued. Civilization survived.
Since I made it through the trip, and still had my job, and my friend... Will.. I thought: You know what? I really need to listen to some Bonnie Raitt records.
Whenever I fall down the rabbit hole with an artist, I like to start at the beginning and work my way through the records chronologically. So I bought Bonnie’s first album.
And I fell completely in love.
I kept going through the records, and eventually I got to the song, “Love Has No Pride.”
It wrecked me.
Bonnie Raitt’s voice on that recording goes beyond simply singing a song beautifully. You hear the hurt. You hear the desperation. You hear the gloom, sorrow and humiliation that can come with loving somebody when there’s absolutely nothing left to protect you.
You believe it... she has lived this song.
Linda Ronstadt also recorded “Love Has No Pride,” and I adore Linda. She sings the hell out of it because, well, she’s Linda Ronstadt. But it also kinda feels like she's not even trying and definitely hasn't lived it. It makes the song.. pretty forgettable..
But Bonnie?
Bonnie sounds like she’s standing in the wreckage and the flames and needs 10 too many craft beers to get through.
And that pain, vulnerability and heartbreak are what make her version, to me, more... perfect forever.
I think by the end of our conversation I may have even converted Rudy into a Bonnie Raitt fan. His mom can thank me later..
But as Bonnie herself might say…
I can’t make him love me... if he don’t.
Thanks for making me laugh so hard in this one Rudy. I love you!
I’m incredibly grateful we got to have these conversations.
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Big thanks to Dave Gebroe for making these episodes free and for creating the best Deep Dive Music Podcast in all the land Discograffiti
Will pictured with WHO ARE YOU
Rachel pictured with Velvet Underground and Nico
Patrick pictured with the Beatles
My ex-boss pictured with Heavy Traffic
