Farm Aid Music Monday, Starring Bonnie Raitt

Today's Music Monday marks the debut of videos from Farm Aid IV. There are still tons of great videos in our archives that we're continuing to add to our YouTube channel. I figured Bonnie Raitt's performance would be a good place to start because she's got a new album out and she mentioned Farm Aid in a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times:

The egalitarian sentiment may reflect her pacifist upbringing as a Quaker, but the biggest factor in her refusal to give into cynicism is her music. "The great thing about the arts, and especially popular music, is that it really does cut across genres and races and classes," said Raitt.

"At Farm Aid, especially in the early days, somebody like Willie [Nelson] and Neil [Young] and John Mellencamp could get artists from all different sectors to come together on behalf of the farmers.... You see people come together and cut across all lines, and there's no judgment when there's inarguable suffering because of a man-made or natural disaster. Maybe we could take a cue from that."

That idea sounds like something worth celebrating, so here's "Love Letter" from Farm Aid IV:


Bonnie Raitt also performed at the first Farm Aid in 1985. Here's a video featuring her, Daryl Hall and Billy Joel:


Find more Farm Aid videos on our YouTube channel.