John Hiatt finally came into success in 1987, when he released his first big hit, Bring the Family. For the album, Hiatt had a backing band consisting of Ry Cooder, Nick Lowe, and Jim Keltner. One of the cuts from the album, "Have a Little Faith in Me," would be covered by a number of artists, including Joe Cocker, Delbert McClinton, Jewel, Bill Frisell, Mandy Moore and Bon Jovi. "Thank You Girl" was a moderate radio hit, but nothing that would garner Hiatt national attention. But most notably, Bonnie Raitt would bring "Thing Called Love" to #11 on the U.S. charts with her 1989 release, Nick of Time.
Following Bring the Family, Hiatt had a string of nine straight studio albums hit the Billboard 200.
During this period, Rosanne Cash covered several John Hiatt compositions, taking "It Hasn't Happened Yet" to the Top 20 on the country charts. In 1983, Cash would duet with Hiatt on his "The Way We Make a Broken Heart" produced by Mathews and Nagle. When Geffen failed to release the single, Cash re-recorded it in 1987 and it went to #1 on the US country charts. Rick Nelson also covered "It Hasn't Happened Yet" on his 1981 album Playing to Win.
John Hiatt recorded a duet with 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 the film, Hearts of Fire. However, Geffen dropped Hiatt from the label after Ice Age failed to chart.
John Hiatt was picked up by the MCA label in 1979. John Hiatt released two albums for the label in 1979 and 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 the 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. John Hiatt was signed to Geffen in 1982, where he recorded three diverse albums from 1982-85. The first, All of a Sudden was produced by Tony Visconti, and featured use of keyboards and synthesisers; his future albums combined country and soul influences. Riding With the King appeared in 1983, produced by Scott Mathews, Ron Nagle and Nick Lowe. Hiatt began making 'critics choice' lists and building a large European following. The title track (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.
John Hiatt met Don Ellis of Epic Records in 1973, and received a record deal, releasing his first single, "We Make Spirit," later that year with Ellis on drums and Michael Bell, a young but powerhouse guitar player from Hampton Virgina on second lead guitar. That same year Hiatt wrote the song "Sure As I'm Sitting Here," which was recorded by Three Dog Night, and went to number 16 on the Billboard chart in 1974. Bell, a student of Ferguson High School in Newport News Virgina went on to play lead guitar after graduation until 1980 where he went lead for Carl Ellis and Juke Box Heros while drummer Ellis remained.
In 1974 John Hiatt released Hangin' Around the Observatory, which was a critical success and a commercial failure. A year later, Overcoats was released, and when it also failed to sell, Epic released Hiatt from his contract. For the next four years John Hiatt was without a recording contract. During this time his style evolved from country-rock to New Wave influenced rock in the style of Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe and Graham Parker.
John Hiatt was born in 1952 to Robert and Ruth Hiatt. When Hiatt was nine years old, his twenty-one year old brother Michael committed suicide. Only two years later, his father died after a long sickness. To escape from the stress of his early life, Hiatt watched Formula One racing and listened to Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, and the blues. In his youth, Hiatt reports that he and several others stole a Ford Thunderbird, a crime for which he was caught by the owners but got away with, posing as a hitchhiker. John Hiatt learned to play the guitar when he was eleven, and began his musical career in Indianapolis, Indiana as a teenager. John Hiatt played in a variety of local clubs, most notably the Hummingbird. Hiatt played with a variety of bands, including The Four-Fifths and John Lynch & the Hangmen.
Hiatt moved to Nashville, Tennessee when he was eighteen years old and got a job as a songwriter for the Tree-Music Publishing Company for twenty-five dollars a week. Hiatt, who was unable to read or write scores, had to record all 250 songs he wrote for the company. 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 appeared on their second album, In Season (1972). Hiatt performed live in many clubs around Nashville with White Duck, and as a solo act.
John Hiatt (born August 20, 1952, Indianapolis, Indiana) is an American rock guitarist, pianist, singer, and songwriter. John Hiatt has played a variety of musical styles on his albums, including New Wave, blues and country. Hiatt has been nominated for eleven Grammy Awards 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 when his song "Sure As I'm Sittin' Here" was covered by Three Dog Night. The song became a Top 40 hit, earning Hiatt a recording contract with Epic Records. Since then John Hiatt has released eighteen studio albums and two live albums.
