Bonnie raitt come to my window

During her 40-plus-year recording career, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Bonnie Raitt has gone from being a folk and blues critical favorite in the 1970s to a widely respected, Grammy-winning crossover artist since her 1989 breakthrough album “Nick of Time.”

A master interpreter of other writers’ songs; a vocalist equally adept at singing blues, folk, country, rock and pop; and an innovative slide guitarist whose slinky bottleneck lines punctuate everything from her ballads to her more contemporary crossover pop hits, Raitt continues to prove herself an artist of uncommon versatility.

Here is a look at her 10 best tunes.

10. “Finest Lovin’ Man”

Featured on her self-titled first album, this tune showcases then-21-year-old Raitt’s prowess as a traditional blues vocalist, guitarist and songwriter. Based on a chugging 12-bar blues shuffle braced with honky-tonk piano and Little Walter-esque harmonica blasts, Raitt’s acoustic bottleneck playing recalls the great Mississippi Fred McDowell, a remarkable feat for such a young guitarist. If Raitt had stuck to singing blues, as she did on this record, she would have remained a cult heroine, but as she was to prove with subsequent releases, Raitt’s ambitions could not be confined to one genre. Appears on “Bonnie Raitt” (1971).

9. “Don’t It Make Ya Wanna Dance”

Previously cut by rough-hewn Texas country legend Jerry Jeff Walker in the ’70s, Raitt’s version of “Don’t It Make Ya Wanna Dance” became a minor country hit when it appeared in the post-disco John Travolta cowpoke vehicle “Urban Cowboy.” While Raitt had dabbled in country-tinged tunes from her earliest work, this track proved she could sing full-fledged country music with the best of her sequined contemporaries. Despite recording material since “Don’t It Make Ya Wanna Dance” that sounds more country than many songs that have been hits for lesser country artists, this song remains the only Raitt tune to hit the country charts. Appears on the “Urban Cowboy” soundtrack (1980).

8. “Not the Only One”

A slice of breezy country pop, this underrated song tends to get lost in the shuffle on “Luck of the Draw,” the followup to “Nick of Time.” Considering its placement on a stellar album that also features the mega-hits “Something to Talk About” and the gorgeous “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” “Not the Only One” may be seen as the lesser of the singles, but nothing else on the album, or in the rest of the whole Raitt canon, has this tune’s feel-good pop vibe, which established Raitt as an effective pop singer as well.

7. “Love Sneakin’ Up On You”

The lead single on the third record (which won a Grammy for best pop vocal album) of what can now be assessed as her classic breakthrough trilogy of 1989-1994 albums, this tune finds Raitt at her funkiest, soulfully laying down her patented slide guitar fills (and an extended, melodic solo) over a bedrock of Stevie Wonder-esque clavichord and a four-on-the-floor groove. This tune marked Raitt’s last Hot 100 chart hit and the end of her mainstream radio run, but certainly not the end of critical success. Appears on “Longing in Their Hearts” (1994).

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6. “Ain’t Gonna Let You Go”

Released last year on her Grammy-winning album “Slipstream,” this slow-burning blues was written by Bonnie Bramlett (of Delaney & Bonnie fame) and NRBQ’s Al Anderson. A throwback to her earlier work, this tune features some of Raitt’s finest guitar playing to date, her Stratocaster slithering around a 12-bar blues figure with Raitt alternating between biting rhythm and punchy slide breaks. Raitt’s voice has never been better, her smoky delivery proving that while some singers lose their ability to nail notes as they age, Raitt, if anything, sounds even stronger than on her earlier work. Appears on “Slipstream” (2012).

5. “Angel from Montgomery”

Written by acclaimed singer-songwriter John Prine, released on his 1971 debut album, and first covered by John Denver in 1973, Raitt has called her version of this song one of the most important of her career. While Prine’s folky original is delivered in his patented speak-singing twang, in the hands of Raitt, it becomes a majestic, gospel-leaning tune. The tune has since been recorded by such disparate acts as neo-reggae soul singer Ben Harper, Dave Matthews Band, contemporary blues singer Susan Tedeschi (oft compared to Raitt) and old-time country upstarts Old Crow Medicine Show. Appears on “Streetlights” (1974).

4. “Too Long at the Fair”

Certainly one of the most beautiful tunes of her early career, this song showcases Raitt in full folksinger mode, deftly fingerpicking an acoustic guitar and ethereally singing such symbolic, cryptic lyrics as “Jesus cried, wept and died, I guess he went up to heaven/I’ve been downtown such a long, long time I’ll never make it home by seven/ Won’t you come and take me home, I’ve been too long at the fair/And, Lord, I just can’t stand it anymore.” Featured on her second album, the song established Raitt as much more than the blues singer she was thought to be after her debut and remains a favorite among longtime fans. Appears on “Give it Up” (1972).

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3. “The Thing Called Love”

Written by the great John Hiatt, “The Thing Called Love” shows Raitt at her most playful, over a bouncy R&B beat and catchy, power-pop chorus. Outside of Duane Allman or Joe Walsh, rarely has smoking slide guitar been as prevalent on mainstream radio as Raitt’s call-and-response bottleneck fills on this tune. Released as Raitt was turning 40, her voice has now taken on a gritty rasp that, while not as husky as Janis Joplin, sounds like Raitt’s earlier time belting it out in smoky roadhouses has served her well. Appears on “Nick of Time” (1989).

2. “Something to Talk About”

This is the song that broke Raitt from cult status to mainstream superstar. Featuring gospel-hued background singers, Raitt’s always-stellar slide guitar work and powerhouse vocals, this song is pure pop disguised as R&B and finally exposed Raitt to the masses. Based on a lyric about turning the tables on the local gossip mill, Raitt delivers the vocal with a coy, come-hither wink and brassy sex appeal. It remains Raitt’s most popular tune among casual Top 40 music listeners. “Something to Talk About” netted Raitt a Grammy for best female pop vocal performance. Appears on “Luck of the Draw” (1991).

1. “I Can’t Make You Love Me”

Not only Raitt’s best song, it is one of the most devastating ballads in popular music. A heartbreaking tour de force of unrequited love, Raitt’s soaring vocals beautifully convey the pain of the lines “I can’t make you love if you don’t/ You can’t make your heart feel something it don’t” over a muted piano arrangement played by Bruce Hornsby. Many vocalists in the past 20 years, from aspiring “American Idol” hopefuls to indie-folk icon Bon Iver to neo-R&B chanteuse Adele, have taken a crack at this tune, but none have been able to top Raitt’s original performance. Appears on “Luck of the Draw” (1991).

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