First published 2022
John Hiatt sits in yet another record executive's office, hearing the same crushing news. Three labels have cut him loose. Two marriages have collapsed. Alcohol has become his refuge and his prison. The mid-1980s find him at rock bottom, a talented songwriter whose demons have derailed his dreams. Rehab offers a lifeline, and a new family provides hope. Then a producer and an A&R executive decide to take a chance. February 1987 arrives with a bare-bones budget and a remarkable opportunity. Hiatt enters the studio with handpicked musicians: Ry Cooder wielding his guitar, Nick Lowe anchoring the bass, and Jim Keltner commanding the drums. Together they create Bring the Family, the album that resurrects Hiatt's career. Author Michael Elliott traces this remarkable comeback through extensive interviews with Hiatt himself, plus collaborators and contemporaries like Rosanne Cash and Bonnie Raitt. The story spans decades of American music, from glossy pop through college alternative and heartland rock, revealing how one man's personal redemption became artistic triumph.
Genres: american-fiction, non-fiction, biography-memoir, music
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: redemption, second-chance
Period: 1980s
304 pages · Paperback · Chicago Review Press
Content warnings: addiction, alcohol-abuse