Farewell, John Raitt

I was sad to read this morning that musical great John Raitt had died.  John was 88.  His death was due to complications from pneumonia.  It's equally sad that most people knew him only as guitar great Bonnie Raitt's father.  In his later years, John was overshadowed by his daughter's fame.  He once said "She used to be known as John Raitt's daughter; now I'm known as onnie Raitt's father."

John Raitt was best known for his starring role in Roger and Hammerstein's "Carousel."  I love the old musicals, and this has always been one of my favorites.  In 1944, Raitt had been invited to New York to audition for the starring role of Curly in "Oklahoma!".  He rushed to the theater for his audition with Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein. He said he hadn't sung in a few days, so he warmed up with Figaro's aria from "The Barber of Seville" and then sang all of Curly's songs from the musical.  He said when he finished singing, there was dead silence in the theater.  He said he thought he'd sang great, and asked them what was wrong.  They said that his voice wasn't the problem; the problem was he was too tall for Curly.  He reasoned with them "I'm a tall man. Why can't Curly be tall?"  He was hired.  After his run in "Oklahoma!" ended, he took the lead role in "Carousel."  He also crossed over into film, co-starring with Doris Day in "The Pajama Game."

I know some of you might not know this interesting Puddin trivia factoid, but I love the old musicals.  "Carousel", "Music Man", "Guys and Dolls" and "Oklahoma!" are my favorites. And I actually knew who John Raitt was long before I knew who his daughter was.    Not only did I love to hear him sing, he also had very pretty hair.

Our prayers and sympathies go out to Bonnie and the rest of the Raitt family.