She was up against the hottest singers in the world: Beyonce. Adele. Taylor Swift. Harry Styles, for God’s sake. But proving that sometimes there’s no substitute for experience, 73-year-old Bonnie Raitt took home the coveted prize for Song of the Year at Sunday’s Grammy Awards.

Raitt certainly didn’t look like she expected to win against such formidable competition. When her name was called, Raitt sat dazed, mouth wide open, for a few moments before heading up to collect her award. And probably no one else expected the win either, considering Beyonce was busy becoming the most awarded singer in Grammy history.

Raitt’s award gives women of a certain age a reason to feel valued, seen, celebrated.

Raitt’s award for the song “Just Like That” halted the Beyonce momentum and gave women of a certain age a reason to feel valued, seen, celebrated.

“Oh my God,” were Raitt’s first words on stage. “I’m so surprised, I don’t know what to say,” she added. Clutching her statuette, Raitt called it an “unreal moment.” We were cheering from our living-room sofa, thrilled that an icon of Raitt’s age and stature had triumphed.

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The Winning Song Will Break Your Heart

Raitt’s winning song, “Just Like That,” is about a woman visited by a man who is only alive because of the heart he received—a heart that had belonged to the woman’s son.

“I just lost it,” Raitt has said, about reading the dramatic true-life story of such a meeting. “It was the most moving and surprising thing. I wasn’t expecting it. I vowed right then that I wanted to write a song about what that would take.”

‘I was so inspired . . . by the incredible story of the love, and the grace, and the generosity.’

“I was so inspired for this song by the incredible story of the love, and the grace, and the generosity of someone that donates their beloved’s organs to help another person live,” Raitt has stated. “And this story was so simple and so beautiful for these times. And people have been responding to the song, partly because of how much I love and we all love John Prine, and that was the inspiration for the music for this song, and telling this story from the inside.” Prine, a renowned country-folk singer/songwriter, died in 2020 after COVID-19 complications.

“I don’t write a lot of songs, but I’m so proud that you appreciate this one and what this means for me and the rest of the songwriters who I would not be up here [without] tonight,” she added.

No Stranger to Winning

Of course, Raitt has already garnered much acclaim over her career. Her first album was released in 1971, when many of us were still listening to bubble gum music like the Jackson Five. Her albums were critically acclaimed for their blend of blues, rock, and country and for her distinctive growl of a voice, but she didn’t see real commercial success until she released the album Nick of Time in 1989, which, along with the single of the same name, was a major hit.

Raitt has gone on to win 13 Grammys as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. She is ranked number 50 in Rolling Stone‘s list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time, and she was placed on the magazine’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. In 2000, Raitt was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

We love that a woman who proudly sports a gray streak in her hair and is old enough to be Harry Styles’s grandmother is hanging in there, still delivering the hits and the inspiration.

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