Bonnie Raitt

Bonnie Raitt's doing a marvelous job of adapting to platinum-plus, post- Grammy success. Her new album, Luck of the Draw (Capitol), is her best in years - tougher, deeper and more wily than 1989's Nick of Time. And her sold- out show at the Mann Music Center on Friday night was a near-perfect blend of her strongest new material and enough of the steady rolling old stuff - John Prine's "Angel From Montgomery," Nan O'Byrne's "Your Sweet and Shiny Eyes" - to keep her oh-so-loyal longtime fans happy.

LONGING IN THEIR HEARTS Bonnie Raitt / Capitol At this point, Bonnie Raitt is not about to mess with a good thing - the tasteful, adult alternative pop-rock sound that finally brought her whopping success (after 20 years of pushing) on the 1989 "Nick of Time" and 1991 "Luck of the Draw" albums. "Longing in Their Hearts," featuring the same producer (Don Was), engineer and rhythm section, focuses almost exclusively on bittersweet themes of love gone stale and love pursued, often in vain.

Bonnie Raitt has a hit record. Bonnie Raitt, the understated singer of blues songs, of my-man-has-done-me-wrong songs, is enjoying the biggest success of her career. Nick of Time (Capitol), her first album of completely new material since 1983, is selling. It is No. 22 on Billboard's album chart. Now this might not seem momentous - after all, Raitt's brand of no-nonsense roots music has always found its audience in live performance. Her show tomorrow at the Tower Theater, with Richard Thompson opening, is sold out. But on record, it's been another story.

So it's not a big surprise that her music has aged as gracefully as she has, now that the 62-year-old redhead has lived as long as the bluesmen and women she apprenticed under when she was a Radcliffe dropout living at 17th and Lombard and serving a musical apprenticeship at the Philadelphia folk club the Second Fret. On Saturday night before a packed house at the Academy of Music — where she saw the Band perform in 1969 — Bonnie Raitt played an ingratiating 90-minute set in support of Slipstream, the new album that's her best since the run of LPs like Takin' My Time (1973)

Slicing her guitar through the air at the end of the opening number "Three Time Loser," Bonnie Raitt stood center stage at the Mann Music Center Saturday and proclaimed "I don't have to take it anymore. " This wasn't merely a statement of frustration, or a jilted lover's bitter resolution. This was fact: Raitt, who has encountered surprisingly warm commercial reception ever since her 10th album Nick of Time was released in 1989, was celebrating her new, improved working conditions.

Bonnie Raitt and the Tower Theater go a long way back - to Raitt's days as a bluesy folk-priestess of the '70s. Now on the verge of releasing her 15th album - Fundamental, on April 7 - and with nine Grammys to her credit, Raitt is again embarking on a national tour and will be coming to the Upper Darby rock palace on May 15-16, just after New York and before Detroit. A flower-child college dropout in 1969, Raitt has been on the road much of her life. Though widely recognized at folk and blues festivals, she didn't attain broad national stardom until her Grammy-winning Nick of Time came out in 1989.

Launch into a conversation with Bonnie Raitt and you'll be amazed where it can lead: From the new Russian spirit of Glasnost (openness) to the CIA-drug- smuggling scandal to her latest musical collaborations with the Purple Wonder, Prince. Headlining Thursday at Valley Forge Music Fair, Bonnie Raitt was among the first American rockers (and the only female guitarist) to perform in an historic, July 4 U.S./U.S.S.R. music blowout at Moscow's Dynamo Stadium. Celebrating the conclusion of the Soviet-American Walk for Peace from Leningrad to Moscow, the show also featured the Doobie Brothers (minus Mike McDonald)

Lori Dobson was one of the many singers and musicians who flocked to Atlantic City in the early '80s, lured by the bright prospects of steady employment and a secure lifestyle. She is one of the few who remain, and she has mixed feelings about the decision. The vocalist certainly has had to make a few adjustments along the way in order to survive. She has performed as a lounge singer in virtually all of the casino-hotels. There have even been occasional jobs in the big showrooms, opening for headliners.

It seems hard to pick up a new album without encountering a John Hiatt tune. In the last few years, his songs have been recorded by Bonnie Raitt, Bob Dylan, Rosanne Cash, Marshall Crenshaw, Earl Thomas Conley, Marti Jones and a dozen or so others that slip my mind. This summer will see recent Hiatt songs covered by the Dirt Band (two tunes), Iggy Pop (yes, Iggy Pop) and Jeff Healey. Stevie Ray Vaughan, the Fabulous Thunderbirds and Dion already have Hiatt songs in reserve for future albums.

Conan (11 p.m., TBS) - Ricky Gervais; musical guest Frank Turner. Late Show With David Letterman (11:35 p.m., CBS3) - Nathan Lane; Ryan Hunter-Reay; the Killers perform. The Tonight Show With Jay Leno (11:35 p.m., NBC10) - Viola Davis; Paul Wesley; Bonnie Raitt performs. The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson (12:35 a.m., CBS3) - Actress Nikki Reed; author Mitch Albom.

Conan (11 p.m., TBS) - Andy Samberg; Josh Hopkins; Lisa Loeb. Late Show With David Letterman (11:35 p.m., CBS3) - Michelle Williams; Chris O'Donnell. Jimmy Kimmel Live (11:35 p.m., 6ABC) - Anthony Edwards; Mike Piazza. The Tonight Show With Jay Leno (11:35 p.m., NBC10) - Robin Wright; Josh Gad; Bonnie Raitt. The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson (12:35 a.m., CBS3) - Jon Cryer; Melissa Benoist. Late Night With Jimmy Fallon (12:35 a.m., NBC10) - David Spade; Cecily Strong; Atlas Genius.

So it's not a big surprise that her music has aged as gracefully as she has, now that the 62-year-old redhead has lived as long as the bluesmen and women she apprenticed under when she was a Radcliffe dropout living at 17th and Lombard and serving a musical apprenticeship at the Philadelphia folk club the Second Fret. On Saturday night before a packed house at the Academy of Music — where she saw the Band perform in 1969 — Bonnie Raitt played an ingratiating 90-minute set in support of Slipstream, the new album that's her best since the run of LPs like Takin' My Time (1973)

In Concert Broad & Locust Sts.; 215-893-1999. www.academyofmusic.org . Earth, Wind & Fire. $36-$96. 6/15. 8 pm. Bonnie Raitt. $45.50-$75.50. 6/16. 8 pm.   9 S. Bryn Mawr Ave., Bryn Mawr; 610-864-4303. www.brynmawrtwilightconcerts.com . Jim Boggia. $10; free for children 16 and under. 6/16. 7 pm.   1853 Wrightstown Rd., Washington Crossing; 215-493-6500. www.crossingvineyards.com . Fridays Unplugged. $10. 6/15.   421 N. Seventh St.; 215-569-9400.

Film New this week: Rock of Ages ssfd Notable for one of the odder turns in Tom Cruise's career (he's a heavy-metal rock god), this from-stage-to-screen jukebox musical uses an arsenal of '80s anthems, and the hairdos to go with them, following a dreamy-eyed Oklahoman (Julianne Hough) and a wannabe star (Diego Boneta) struggling to make it in Hollywood, where all the world is ready to break into a production number. PG-13 (adult themes) — Steven Rea Music Bonnie Raitt / Joe Henry & Lisa Hannigan.

Bootsy Collins / Black Landlord Though renowned for his tenure with James Brown's J.B.s and George Clinton's Parliament / Funkadelic, William "Bootsy" Collins is a longtime rhythmic star in his own right. You must consider Collins' flashy stage accoutrements: star-shaped shades and his funky bass guitar. During the heady days of '70s disco, Bootsy unleashed a flurry of glittering funk dance hits such as "Stretchin' Out (In a Rubber Band)" that benefited from the spaced-out sound of P/Funk and glam rock.

A summer music roundup in the Weekend section Friday misstated the venue where Bonnie Raitt will perform. She will play the Academy of Music on June 16. The Inquirer wants its news report to be fair and correct in every respect, and regrets when it is not. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, contact assistant managing editor David Sullivan (215-854-2357) at The Inquirer, Box 8263, Philadelphia 19101, or e-mail dsullivan@phillynews.com .

Pop Slipstream (Redwing ***) It's been seven years since her last album, but Bonnie Raitt seems to pick up right where she left off in a consistent career that began in the early '70s. Slipstream begins with the funky R&B of "Used to Rule the World," revs up for some roadhouse fun with "Down to You" and "Split Decision," and slows for tasteful ballads, such as "Not Cause I Wanted To. " There's also Gerry Rafferty's 1979 pop hit "Right Down the Line," which is right in Raitt's wheelhouse and, like much else here, showcases her emotive slide guitar.

Howard Tate, 72, an immensely talented soul singer who dropped out of the music business in frustration after the often brilliant albums he made in the late 1960s and early 1970s failed to reach a wide audience, died Friday of multiple myeloma and leukemia in his apartment in Burlington City. Born in Georgia and raised in Philadelphia, Mr. Tate returned to recording and performing in the 2000s after a chance encounter in a South Jersey supermarket led to his rediscovery. Working with Philadelphia producer and songwriter Jerry Ragovoy, Mr. Tate recorded one undeniably classic album: Get It While You Can , a 1966 release on Verve whose title track became much better known when sung by Janis Joplin.

SIGMA SOUND Studios' chief engineer and former co-owner Joe Tarsia remembers Billy Joel's radio concert debut being quite the event. Tarsia had been behind the board for a bunch of the record label-sponsored, "WMMR @ Sigma" shows, a series he recalls as "the first of its kind in the nation" and "a great way to promote a new act. " The series also brought wider attention to Sigma, then noted primarily as home to the sophisti-soul Philadelphia International...