John Robert Hiatt (born August 20, 1952) is an American singer-songwriter. He has played a variety of musical styles on his albums, including new wave,

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

, and

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

. Hiatt has been nominated for nine

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

and has been awarded a variety of other distinctions in the music industry. Hiatt was working as a songwriter for Tree International, a record label in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, when his song " Sure As I'm Sittin' Here" was covered by

Three Dog Night Three Dog Night is an American rock band formed in 1967, founded by vocalists Chuck Negron, Cory Wells, and Danny Hutton. This lineup was soon augmented by Jimmy Greenspoon (keyboards), Joe Schermie (bass), Michael Allsup (guitar), and Floyd Sn ...

. The song became a Top 40 hit, earning Hiatt a recording contract with

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

. Since then he has released 22 studio albums, two compilation albums and one live album.

Early life

John Hiatt and The Combo ZMF 2015 jm43231

Hiatt was born in 1952 to Robert and Ruth Hiatt, the sixth of seven children in a Roman Catholic family from

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, Indiana. When he was 9 years old, Hiatt's 21-year-old brother Michael died by suicide. Two years later, his father died after a long illness. To escape the stress of his early life, Hiatt watched

IndyCar IndyCar, LLC (stylized as INDYCAR), is an auto racing sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The organization sanctions two racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with the Indianapolis ...

racing and listened to

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

, Bob Dylan, and the

. In his youth, Hiatt reports that he and several others stole a

Ford Thunderbird The Ford Thunderbird is a personal luxury car manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company for model years 1955 to 2005, with a hiatus from 1998 to 2001. Ultimately gaining a broadly used colloquial nickname, the ''T-Bird'', Ford Introduce ...

, a crime for which he was caught by the owners but got away with posing as a hitchhiker. He learned to play the guitar when he was 11 and began his musical career in Indianapolis as a teenager. He played in various local clubs such as the Hummingbird and also with bands, including The Four-Fifths and John Lynch & the Hangmen.

Career

Hiatt moved to Nashville, Tennessee, when he was 18 years old and got a job as a songwriter for the Tree-Music Publishing Company for $25 a week (equivalent to about $203 in 2024). Hiatt, who was unable to read or write scores, had to record all 250 songs he wrote for the company. In 1972 he also began playing with the band White Duck as one of three singer-songwriters within the group. White Duck had already recorded one album before Hiatt joined. He wrote and performed two songs on their second album ''In Season''. Hiatt performed live in many clubs around Nashville with White Duck and also as a solo act.

Early solo career (1974–78)

Hiatt met

Don Ellis Donald Johnson Ellis (July 25, 1934 – December 17, 1978) was an American jazz trumpeter, drummer, composer, and bandleader. He is best known for his extensive musical experimentation, particularly in the area of time signatures. Later in his ...

in 1973, and received a record deal, releasing his first single "We Make Spirit" later that year. That same year Hiatt wrote the song "Sure as I'm Sitting Here" recorded by Three Dog Night, which went to number 16 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' chart in 1974. In 1974, Hiatt released '' Hangin' Around the Observatory'', which was a critical success but a commercial failure. A year later, '' Overcoats'' was released and when it also failed to sell, Epic Records released Hiatt from his contract. For the next four years he was without a recording contract. During this time his style evolved from country-rock to new wave of

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...

, Nick Lowe and Graham Parker, among others.

MCA/Geffen years (1979–1986)

Hiatt was picked up by the MCA label in 1979. He released two albums for the label – '' Slug Line'' (1979) and '' Two Bit Monsters'' (1980) – neither of which met with commercial success. He received a few good reviews for these albums by critics in the Netherlands. He performed at Paradiso in Amsterdam for the first time in 1979 (opening for Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes) and came back often and built a solid fan base. In 1982, "Across the Borderline", written by Hiatt with

Ry Cooder Ryland Peter Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, and h ...

and Jim Dickinson, appeared on the soundtrack to the motion picture ''The Border'', sung by country star

Freddy Fender Freddy Fender (born Baldemar Garza Huerta; June 4, 1937 – October 14, 2006) was an American Country and Tejano singer, known for his work as a solo artist and in the groups Los Super Seven and the Texas Tornados. His signature sound fused cou ...

. The song was later covered on albums by

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...

, Paul Young, Rubén Blades and

Willy DeVille Willy DeVille (born William Paul Borsey Jr.; August 25, 1950 – August 6, 2009) was an American singer and songwriter. During his thirty-five-year career, first with his band Mink DeVille (1974–1986) and later on his own, DeVille created song ...

, among others, as well as by

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...

and Bob Dylan in concert. Hiatt was signed in 1982 to Geffen (which later absorbed MCA), where he recorded three diverse albums from 1982 to 1985. The first, '' All of a Sudden'', was produced by

Tony Visconti Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...

, and featured use of keyboards and synthesizers; his future albums combined country and soul influences. '' Riding with the King'' appeared in 1983, produced by Scott Mathews, Ron Nagle and

Nick Lowe Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in Pub rock (United Kingdom), pub rock, power pop and New wave music, new wave, Hiatt began making "critics choice" lists and building a large European following. The title track of ''Riding with the King'' (taken from an odd dream Scott Mathews had) was re-recorded two decades later by Eric Clapton and B. B. King and went double platinum. During this period, Rosanne Cash covered several Hiatt compositions, taking "It Hasn't Happened Yet" to the Top 20 on the country charts. In 1983, Cash did a duet with Hiatt on his " The Way We Make a Broken Heart" produced by Nick Lowe. When Geffen failed to release the single, Cash re-recorded it in 1987 and it went to No. 1 on the US country charts. It was during this time that

Asleep at the Wheel Asleep at the Wheel is an American country music, Western swing music group that was formed in Paw Paw, West Virginia, in 1970, and is based in Austin, Texas. The band has won nine Grammy Awards, released over 20 albums, and has charted more t ...

covered the song.

Ricky Nelson Eric Hilliard "Ricky" Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985) was an American musician and actor. From age eight, he starred alongside his family in the radio and television series ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet''. In 1957, he began a ...

covered "It Hasn't Happened Yet" on his 1981 album ''Playing to Win''. Hiatt recorded a duet with Elvis Costello, a cover version of the Spinners' song "Living a Little, Laughing a Little", which appeared on '' Warming Up to the Ice Age''. Shortly after its release, Bob Dylan covered Hiatt's song "The Usual", which had appeared on the soundtrack to '' Hearts of Fire''. However, Geffen dropped Hiatt from the label after ''Ice Age'' failed to chart.

Success (1987–1989)

Hiatt finally came into success in 1987, when he released '' Bring the Family''. For the album, Hiatt had a backing band consisting of

Nick Lowe Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in Pub rock (United Kingdom), pub rock, power pop and New wave music, new wave,Jim Keltner James Lee Keltner (born April 27, 1942) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America". Howard Sounes. ''Do ...

. Two of the songs on the album have been extensively covered: " Have a Little Faith in Me," which has been interpreted by a number of artists, including

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances featuring expressive body movements. Most of his best-known singles, such as "Feelin' Alright ...

Delbert McClinton Delbert McClinton (born November 4, 1940) is an American blues rock and electric blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, harmonica player, and pianist. From his first professional stage appearance in 1957 to his most recent national tour in 2018, h ...

, Jewel,

Bill Frisell William Richard Frisell (born March 18, 1951) is an American jazz guitarist. He first came to prominence at ECM Records in the 1980s, as both a session player and a leader. He went on to work in a variety of contexts, notably as a participant ...

Mandy Moore Amanda Leigh "Mandy" Moore (born April 10, 1984) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She rose to fame with her 1999 debut single "Candy (Mandy Moore song), Candy", which peaked at number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot ...

and

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...

; and "Memphis in the Meantime", which has been covered by

Carl Perkins Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998)#nytimesobit, Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, Tennes ...

, Chris Smither, Spafford, and

Gregg Allman Gregory LeNoir Allman (December 8, 1947 – May 27, 2017) was an American musician, singer and songwriter. He was known for performing in the Allman Brothers Band. Allman grew up with an interest in rhythm and blues music, and the Allman B ...

. "Thank You Girl" was a moderate radio hit, and the B-side of the single featured a non-album duet with

Loudon Wainwright III Loudon Snowden Wainwright III (born September 5, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actor. He has released twenty-six studio albums, four live albums, and six compilations. Some of his best-known songs include "The Swimmin ...

on a cover of the Temptations’ hit "My Girl" (Hiatt returned the favor on the B-side of Wainwright's single "Your Mother and I"). Most notably, Bonnie Raitt brought "Thing Called Love" to No. 11 on the US charts with her 1989 release '' Nick of Time''. Following ''Bring the Family'', Hiatt had a string of nine straight studio albums which hit the ''Billboard'' 200. In 1988, he returned to the studio with Glyn Johns producing to record '' Slow Turning'', which was his first album to hit the upper half of the Billboard 200. It featured his only top 10 chart single, the title track, which hit No. 8 on the

Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart published by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. It is an administrative category that combines the " active rock" and " heritage rock" ...

chart, and "Tennessee Plates", which was used in the soundtrack of the

Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is an English film director and producer. He directs films in the Science fiction film, science fiction, Crime film, crime, and historical drama, historical epic genres, with an atmospheric and highly co ...

directed and

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

-winning film '' Thelma and Louise'' in 1991.

The Jeff Healey Band Norman Jeffrey Healey (March 25, 1966 – March 2, 2008) was a Canadian blues, Rock music, rock and jazz guitarist, singer and songwriter who attained popularity in the 1980s and 1990s. He reached No. 5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboa ...

covered the Hiatt-penned song " Angel Eyes" and took it to the top five of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

1990s and beyond

John Hiatt op Halfway Amsterdam festival 1994 - 13

In 1992, Cooder, Keltner, and Lowe again backed up Hiatt, but this time they gave themselves the band name Little Village, a reference to a

Sonny Boy Williamson II Alex or Aleck Miller (originally Ford, possibly December 5, 1912 – May 24, 1965), known later in his career as Sonny Boy Williamson, was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter. He was an early and influential blues harp s ...

song. Expectations for the '' Little Village'' album were high, but the album failed to even chart as high as Hiatt's last solo album. The group disbanded after a moderately successful tour. Conversely, country artist

Suzy Bogguss Susan Kay Bogguss (born December 30, 1956) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She began her career in the 1980s as a solo singer. In the 1990s, six of her songs were Top 10 hits, three albums were certified gold, and one album ...

scored a No. 2 hit that year with a cover of Hiatt's song "Drive South." Hiatt recorded '' Perfectly Good Guitar'' with members of alternative rock groups School of Fish and Wire Train in 1993. Hiatt recorded the album with producer Matt Wallace, who had worked most prominently with

Faith No More Faith No More is an American Rock music, rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before September 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. Bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist/rhythm guitarist ...

, a band that Hiatt's 15-year-old stepson had recommended for him. It was Hiatt's highest-peaking album at No. 47, but was not the commercial breakthrough A&M expected. Also in 1993, ''Love Gets Strange: The Songs of John Hiatt,'' a compilation album of covers of Hiatt's songs, was released. This was followed by an album of original covers ''Rollin' into Memphis: Songs of John Hiatt'' in 2000, and a second compilation album with a few originals, titled ''It'll Come To You...The Songs of John Hiatt,'' in 2003. In 1994, Hiatt released '' Hiatt Comes Alive at Budokan?'', his first official live album and his last album with

A&M Records A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and functions as a branch of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscope-Geffen-A&M. Established in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the label initially operated independent ...

. A CD and DVD of his performance on ''

Austin City Limits ''Austin City Limits'' is an American Concert, live music Television show, television program recorded and produced by KLRU, Austin PBS. The show helped Austin become widely known in the United States as the "Live Music Capital of the World", an ...

'' was released in 2005. Hiatt previously released two live promotional "official bootlegs", ''Riot with Hiatt'' in 1985, and ''Live at the Hiatt'' in 1993, as well as the EP ''Live at the Palace'' in 1991. Hiatt received his first Grammy nomination in 1995 for his album ''Walk On''. In 2000, Hiatt released his first independent album on

Vanguard Records Vanguard Recording Society is an American record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the so ...

, '' Crossing Muddy Waters'', which saw a heavy influence of bluegrass in his music. Later that year, he was named songwriter/artist of the year at the Nashville Music Awards. In 2001, ''Crossing Muddy Waters'' was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album, with Davey Faragher and David Immerglück as his only accompanists. In 2002, Hiatt performed several songs for the soundtrack of the

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

's '' The Country Bears'' movie, again with Johns producing, representing the voice of the lead singer. The movie featured covers of Hiatt songs by Bonnie Raitt and

Don Henley Donald Hugh Henley (born July 22, 1947) is an American musician who is a founding member of the rock band the Eagles, for whom he is the drummer and co-lead vocalist, as well as its sole continuous member. Henley sang the lead vocals on Eagles ...

. Hiatt's next album, '' Master of Disaster'', was released on June 21, 2005. The album was produced by Jim Dickinson, and Hiatt was backed up by the bassist

David Hood David Hood (born September 21, 1943) is an American musician, hailing from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, He is known for playing the bass guitar and trombone, and is a member of the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. Early life and education Hood was b ...

and several members of the North Mississippi Allstars. The album achieved modest sales, becoming a top 10 independent album, but failed to achieve significant commercial success. Hiatt

On February 12, 2008, during a concert with

Lyle Lovett Lyle Pearce Lovett (born November 1, 1957) Lyle Lovett Pageat Allmusic – Lovett's Genre and Styles. Retrieved February 2, 2007 is an American country singer and actor. Active since 1980, he has recorded 14 albums and released 25 singles to dat ...

at the

National Arts Centre The National Arts Centre (NAC) () is a Arts centre, performing arts organization in Ottawa, Ontario, along the Rideau Canal. It is based in the eponymous National Arts Centre (building), National Arts Centre building. History The NAC was one ...

in Ottawa, Ontario, Hiatt said that his new album would be titled ''Same Old Man''. It was released on May 27, 2008. On September 17, 2008, he appeared in Levon Helm's Ramble at the Ryman singing "

The Weight "The Weight" is a song by the Canadian-American group the Band that was released as a single in 1968 and on the group's debut album '' Music from Big Pink''. It was their first release under this name, after their previous releases as Canadian ...

" at the historic Ryman Auditorium, in Nashville. Hiatt appeared as a performer in ''The House of Blues'' in the sixth episode of the second season of '' Treme'', with the episode title taken from his song '' Feels Like Rain''. The episode aired May 29, 2011. Hiatt presented an Americana Lifetime Achievement Award to Bonnie Raitt on September 12, 2012. The two performed "Thing Called Love" together at the ceremony. On July 15, 2014, Hiatt released ''Terms of My Surrender'', his 22nd studio album. It earned him two Grammy nominations. On October 12, 2018, Hiatt released ''The Eclipse Sessions'', an LP via New West Records. The album, his first in four years, was recorded over four days in the summer of 2017, a period that included the August 21 solar eclipse. Hiatt recorded the album as part of a trio of guitar, bass (Patrick O’Hearn), and drums (Kenneth Blevins).

Personal life

Hiatt has two daughters, singer-songwriter Lilly Hiatt and Georgia Rae Hiatt, and a stepson, Robert.

Discography

* '' Hangin' Around the Observatory'' (

Epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...

, 1974) * '' Overcoats'' (Epic, 1975) * '' Slug Line'' ( MCA, 1979) * '' Two Bit Monsters'' (MCA, 1980) * '' All of a Sudden'' ( Geffen, 1982) * '' Riding with the King'' (Geffen, 1983) * '' Warming Up to the Ice Age'' (Geffen, 1985) * '' Bring the Family'' ( A&M, 1987) * '' Slow Turning'' (A&M, 1988) * '' Stolen Moments'' (A&M, 1990) * '' Perfectly Good Guitar'' (A&M, 1993) * '' Walk On'' ( Capitol, 1995) * '' Little Head'' (Capitol, 1997) * '' Crossing Muddy Waters'' (

Vanguard The vanguard (sometimes abbreviated to van and also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. ...

, 2000) * '' The Tiki Bar is Open'' (Vanguard, 2001) * '' Beneath This Gruff Exterior'' (

New West New West Records is a record label based in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville and Athens, Georgia. It previously had offices in Burbank, California and Beverly Hills, California. From 2013 to 2018, New West's records in the U.S. were distributed b ...

, 2003) * '' Master of Disaster'' (New West, 2005) * '' Same Old Man'' (New West, 2008) * '' The Open Road'' (New West, 2010) * '' Dirty Jeans and Mudslide Hymns'' (New West, 2011) * '' Mystic Pinball'' (New West, 2012) * '' Terms of My Surrender'' (New West, 2014) * '' The Eclipse Sessions'' (New West, 2018) * '' Leftover Feelings'' – with the

Jerry Douglas Gerald Calvin Douglas (born May 28, 1956) is an American Dobro and lap steel guitar player and record producer. He is widely regarded as "perhaps the finest Dobro player in contemporary acoustic music, and certainly the most celebrated and prol ...

Band (2021)

Awards

* 2000 Nashville Music Awards: Songwriter/Artist of the Year * 2008 Americana Music Association: Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting * 2019 BMI Troubador Award

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hiatt, John 1952 births American blues guitarists American country guitarists American male guitarists American rock guitarists Musicians from Indianapolis Vanguard Records artists Living people New West Records artists Columbia Records artists American rock singers American rock songwriters American male singer-songwriters American blues singer-songwriters American country rock singers American country singer-songwriters Capitol Records artists A&M Records artists Epic Records artists Geffen Records artists MCA Records artists Country musicians from Indiana Guitarists from Indiana 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians Singer-songwriters from Indiana Sanctuary Records artists