Happy birthday to the great Bonnie Raitt, who turns 64 today.

I, like much of America (if not the world), really only came to know Raitt as a result of her tenth album, 1989’s Nick Of Time, which garnered her three Grammy Awards, including Album Of The Year. I spent even more time with her follow-up, Luck Of The Draw, released two years later, in 1991.

It was during Raitt’s tour behind Luck Of The Draw that I saw her live for the first time, and then again a few years later when she was on the bill for Lillith Fair. That set made her forever one of my favorite live performers. Unfortunately, I’ve missed her shows several times since, but Raitt still rates highly on my list.

A brilliant, interpretive talent, Raitt doesn’t typically write the songs she records, but each album is sprinkled with a few from her own hand. One of those self-penned numbers, the strings-supported ballad “All At Once,” closes out Luck Of The Draw. It’s a killer. Soul-searching and heart-wrenching, but ultimately hopeful, whenever I cue up “All At Once” time most certainly slips away (even if the electric piano slightly dates the production). The track closes out with bagpipes, a tribute to the redheaded Raitt’s Scottish heritage.

Purchase Bonnie Raitt – “All At Once” via iTunes, Amazon MP3.