Did You Know...

Born into a difficult family situation, John Hiatt found an early escape in music. He began to play the guitar at age eleven, and soon he was writing songs. With such influences as Elvis, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix and Muddy Waters echoing in his mind, it's no surprise that Hiatt would develop the folky-bluesy rock sound he displays today.

Hiatt made his way onto the Indianapolis stage in his early teens, when he weighed 260 pounds. Rubbing elbows with the adult musicians led to a drinking problem early on (in hopes of taking off some weight), as well as some drug use. He dropped out of high school at 16 and scraped together enough cash to get him to Nashville. He signed on as a staff songwriter with Tree Music Publishing, and his first success was a song that Tracy Nelson recorded, 'Thinking of You.' In his spare time, Hiatt played in Nashville clubs, but the songwriting contract and the nightclub gigs were not quick tickets to success.

What made it happen for John Hiatt was an interview with Don Ellis of Epic Records, who let Hiatt record an album, 1974's HANGIN' AROUND THE OBSERVATORY. The album itself was not the hit it should have been, but one cut, 'Sure As I'm Sittin' Here,' was covered by Three Dog Night and made the Top 40.