Diana and Bonnie are TDIA ( Thriving Despite It All)
YES, I’m always keeping an eye out for WOTM (Women Older Than Me) who are NDY (Not Dead Yet) and, indeed, TDIA (Thriving Despite It All.) So it was a thrill to see 73-year-old blues singer Bonnie Raitt being nominated for a Grammy. This is not Bonnie’s first time at the rodeo. She has already won a pile of Grammys — last year they even gave her a Lifetime Achievement Award. An honour, yes, but surely also a sign that they think your career is over? Bonnie proved them wrong with her song, Just Like That. It was written about a news story she saw on television, featuring a bereaved mother who was about to meet the recipient of her son’s heart for the first time. The man sat with her and asked if she would like to put her head on his chest so she could hear her son’s heart beating. ‘It was the most moving and surprising thing, how families can find compassion amid tragedy,’ says Bonnie. And also the kindness of the recipient, who tracked down the mother. The song is an opera of love in five minutes. Hear it and weep.
Other oldies nominated for a Grammy this year include Robert Plant (74), Diana Ross (78), Ozzy Osbourne (73) and Abba (combined age 301). Rock on, kids.