51. Michael Elliott Discusses John Hiatt, Bring the Family

Send us Fan MailEver since hearing the title track of Slow Turning back around 1990, I’ve been curious about John Hiatt and his career, but never did much actual exploring. I am fortunate to have Michael Elliott, author of Have a Little Faith: The Story of John Hiatt, join me for this episode to walk me through one of Hiatt’s most important and critically-acclaimed albums, Bring the Family. Michael talks about his roughly 30 years of work in the radio industry, the process behind writing his Hiatt biography and his thoughts about the featured album.You can follow Mike on Twitter and Instagram at @mikejelliott.As Mike mentioned, if you visit his site, michael-elliott.com, you’ll get to see what he has been up to, with links to his blog and latest pieces in No Depression, Pop Matters and several other publications.Al is on Twitter at @almelchiorBB, and this show has accounts on Twitter and Instagram at @youmealbum. Be sure to follow @youmealbum to find out in advance about upcoming guests and featured albums for this podcast.1:22 Michael joins the show3:37 Michael talks about his career in radio9:19 Al and Michael geek out over King Crimson10:09 One of Michael’s sons introduced him to mashups12:35 Michael and Al bemoan radio’s diminishing role in helping people discover music15:04 Al learned about John Hiatt at a time when many others did, too17:28 Michael explains how his book on Hiatt came to be23:30 Michael’s book gave Al an appreciation for Hiatt’s contributions to music25:40 Michael illustrates why Bring the Family holds a key place in Hiatt’s discography29:50 The themes of Bring the Family reflect a new level of maturity, introspection and vulnerability for HiattBreakdown of the album’s tracks35:29 Stood Up39:58 Your Dad Did40:59 Michael explains how Hiatt got the band he had for Bring the Family47:23 Have a Little Faith in Me48:22 Learning How to Love You50:58 Memphis in the Meantime53:51 Your Dad Did (again)54:57 Thing Called Love59:09 Alone in the Dark1:01:06 Lipstick Sunset1:03:58 Thank You Girl1:05:29 Tip of My Tongue1:08:18 Michael talks about playing in cover bands1:11:10 Michael discusses his current projects and future plansSupport the show