John Hiatt

One of America's most respected singer-songwriters, John Hiatt also inadvertently became something of a hitmaker thanks to a wide-ranging body of work which produced several modern standards. Born in Indianapolis, IN, Hiatt first picked up the guitar aged eleven and played in local bands The Four-Fifths and John Lynch & the Hangmen before moving to Nashville in his late teens where he landed a $25 a week job writing and recording songs at the Tree-Music Publishing Company. Following a brief stint in White Duck, Hiatt signed a solo deal with Epic Records and saw his song "Sure as I'm Sitting Here" become a Top 20 hit for Three Dog Night in 1974. Later that same year, Hiatt released his genre-hopping own studio effort, Hangin' Around the Observatory, which like '75 follow-up Overcoats achieved critical acclaim but few sales, resulting in the first of many record company exits. Released through MCA, 1979's new wave-inspired Slug Line and '80 LP Two Bit Monsters suffered the same fate and Hiatt spent the next two years performing as a member of Ry Cooder's backing band. 1982's Tony Visconti-produced All of a Sudden, 83's roots rock return Riding with the King and 85's soul-tinged Warming up to the Ice Age also continued the trend and led to Hiatt's third major label departure. Following a turbulent period in which he lost his second wife to suicide, entered rehab for alcoholism, and married for a third time, Hiatt finally scored a breakthrough of sorts with 1987's Bring the Family. Featuring a backing band which included Cooder, Jim Keltner and Nick Lowe, the record became his first to reach the Billboard 200 and included songs that would later become hits for acts as diverse as Mandy Moore and Bonnie Raitt. 1988's Slow Turning then spawned Hiatt's biggest radio hit in the shape of its title track, and kickstarted a run of four consecutive Top 100 albums including '93's Perfectly Good Guitar and '95's Grammy-nominated Walk On. Hiatt also reunited with Cooder, Keltner and Lowe for a '92 album recorded under the guise of Little Village and saw Bob Dylan and Iggy Pop add their names to the list of greats who covered his work. Hiatt remained just as adventurous and prolific in the 21st Century, venturing into bluegrass territory on his 2000 first indie release, Crossing Muddy Waters, scoring a new US chart peak with 2012's funky Mystic Pinball and going almost entirely acoustic on 2014's Terms of My Surrender.