In support of her newest album with Blue Élan Records, Safe in the Arms of Time, Rita Coolidge returns to her musical roots and poignant songwriting as she did in her acclaimed 2015 memoir, Delta Lady, drawing inspiration from her personal journey.

“I’ve written so many songs assuming a role like an actor, but this time I got to write from experience,” says Coolidge, who co-wrote three of the album’s 12 wondrous cuts. “This is the best record I’ve ever done. I’m extremely proud of it.”

In many ways, Safe in the Arms of Time is both a reflection and a continuation of Coolidge’s remarkable history, one that took flight during the heyday of the ‘70s L.A. music scene when she sang backup on Stephen Stills’ “Love the One You’re With” and Eric Clapton’s “After Midnight.” (And astute music fans are well aware of how she contributed the classic – and uncredited – piano coda to Derek & the Dominoes’ “Layla.”) “The idea was making an album that had the same appeal of my early records – to make a roots record about my own roots,” Coolidge says.