Artist:John Hiatt
Song:Riding With The King
Album:Y'All Caught?:The Ones That Got Away 1979-1985
Singer songwriter John Hiatt has been around since the 70s but record companies couldn't figure out how to sell him until his first A & M Records album Bring The Family in 1987. This comp covers excellent music recorded before his commercial success. He was born Aug. 20, 1952 in Indianapolis. He played in local garage bands as a teen but moved to Nashville at age 16 and worked as a songwriter for Tree Music Publishing. His songs were recorded by others and Three Dog Night had a big hit in 1974 with his song Sure As I'm Sittin' Here. Hiatt signed with Epic Records in 1974 but his two records didn't sell and he was dropped and moved to Los Angeles. Guitarist Leo Kottke helped him get a new manager and this led to a record deal with MCA Records. MCA attempted to sell Hiatt as an angry New Wave artist similar to Elvis Costello or Graham Parker. His two albums were well received but didn't sell and MCA dropped him. Meanwhile, Hiatt played guitar and toured with Ry Cooder. He signed with Geffen Records at the end of 1981. 1983's Riding With The King was the second of his three albums for Geffen. Half the album was produced by Ron Nagel & Scott Matthews AKA The Durocs but the other half including the song Riding With The King was produced by British rocker Nick Lowe. His wife Rosanne Cash had recorded some of Hiatt's songs. Hiatt again was dropped and he was having alcohol problems and his wife committed suicide in 1985. Hiatt went through rehab and signed with A & M and his 1987 album Bring The Family was his first commercial success. Today John Hiatt is a highly respected singer songwriter and his latest CD Same Old Man was released on New West Records in May 2008. But this Geffen comp is worth checking out as Hiatt made some great music before his success. Here's John Hiatt with Sonny Landreth performing Riding With The King.
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