JOHN HIATT

More than thirty years after the release of his debut album, John Hiatt remains one of America’s most respected and influential singer-songwriters. Revered for his keen wit, narrative flair and refusal to pen a sloppy or sappy line, Indiana native John Hiatt moved to Nashville at 18 years old, signed a publishing deal, and began writing chart topping hits for other artists. By the early-1970s, Hiatt signed a record deal of his own, and in 1974 his first album, Hangin Around The Observatory, was released. Fans appreciated his trademark cleverness and idiomatic versatility, as well as his slashing guitar playing and emotive vocal delivery. Today, John Hiatt has released eighteen albums in his lauded 30 year career and his songs have been covered by everyone from Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson and Bruce Springsteen to Joe Cocker, Iggy Pop and B.B. King and Eric Clapton. As the Los Angeles Times has written, “(Hiatt) writes the funniest sad songs--and the saddest funny songs--of just about anybody alive.” His most recent album, Master of Disaster (with Cody and Luther Dickinson of the North Mississippi Allstars) reveals the depth of Hiatt’s musical influence, drawing on ragtime, jazz, country music and the blues.