Raitt added that she finds it "thrilling" to learn about the roots of music and culture she loves, often with the aid of the Internet.

"You get a chance to see field recordings of blues artists that I never even got to meet, and Louis Armstrong as a young man, all these recordings, you can just pretty much get an education without even going to school, even from the middle of -- you know, in the middle of some Iowa cornfield or in Africa."

To many musicologists, Raitt is a crucial link in the chain of great blues artists and she's even in the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame. She "apprenticed" with Sippie Wallace, Mississippi Fred McDowell and Muddy Waters when those storied performers were about the same age she is now. Raitt's said she's grateful that her elders didn't just teach her about music.

"They didn't really seem to care whether their fans were 500 people or you know, 50,000 at some festival," Raitt recalled. "They just seemed pretty cool and copacetic, grateful to be there, had a great sense of humor, and a wry sense of perspective."

"I'm happy to say that at 62, I think I've reached that point where stuff doesn't bother me as much, and my gratitude level has gone way up, especially having gone through the loss that I've had, and losing so many of the great artists that I was close to. They taught me how to see it with a grain of salt and a lot of humor and perspective."