John Hiatt (born August 20, 1952) is an American rock guitarist, pianist, singer, and songwriter. He has played a variety of musical styles on his albums, including new wave, blues and country. Hiatt has been nominated for several Grammy Awards and has been awarded a variety of other distinctions in the music industry. He remains one of the most respected and influential American singer-songwriters.
Hiatt was working as a songwriter for Tree International, a record label in Nashville, when his song "Sure As I'm Sittin' Here" was covered by Three Dog Night. The song became a Top 40 hit, earning Hiatt a recording contract with Epic Records. Since then he has released 21 studio albums, two compilation albums and one live album. His songs have been covered by a variety of artists in multiple genres, including Bob Dylan, The Searchers, Delbert McClinton, Willy DeVille, Ry Cooder, Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Joe Bonamassa, Willie Nelson, Three Dog Night, Joan Baez, Paula Abdul, Buddy Guy, the Desert Rose Band, Jimmy Buffett, Mandy Moore, Iggy Pop, Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Rosanne Cash, Suzy Bogguss, Jewel, Aaron Neville, Jeff Healey, Keith Urban, Joe Cocker, Chaka Khan, Paulini and many others. The Dutch singer/songwriter Ilse DeLange recorded the album Dear John with nine of his songs.
Two Bit Monsters was singer-songwriter John Hiatt's fourth album, released in 1980. It was his second of two albums with MCA Records. It failed to chart, and MCA dropped Hiatt. "It Hasn't Happened Yet" would later be a minor country hit for Rosanne Cash off her album Somewhere in the Stars. Cash also covered "Pink Bedroom" on her next release, Rhythm & Romance.
All tracks written by John Hiatt, except where noted
I was sittin' in the dressing room with Brownie Mcgee
He was drinkin' that milk with that Dewar's Whiskey
Said John, there's nothin' written anywhere
Suggests the blues will set you free
Old days are comin' back to me
I was ridin' in the back seat, with Sonny Terry
Little harmonica player used to drive him around
I think his name was Harry
Tried to get him to eat tofu, raw vegetables, nuts, and berries
But Sonny wasn't havin' any of it
He let me share a room with â'em for a couple of weeks
Sonny slept with his good eye open staring out from under the sheets
I was young and uncomfortable I don't mind tellin' ya kinda gave me the creeps
Old days are comin' back to me
Old days are comin' back to me
Don't know what was so great about â'em
I played practically free
I had nothin' to live up to
Everywhere to be
Old days are comin' back to me
On some dates with Mose Allison somewhere out in the Midwest
Said some of my lyrics reminded him of the poet Kenneth Patchen
I took it as a compliment
He was referring to the line about wearin' neon signs on your wounds
Later on I knew what he meant
Old days are comin' back to me
On a date with John Lee Hooker at a packed joint up in Washington
He came in with a gorgeous woman on each arm as I was singing my song
Walked â'em right up and sat â'em on the edge of the stage as I went singing along
And that's called "evenin' son, I'm the headliner"
Old days are comin' back to me
I don't know what was so great about â'em
I played practically free
But I had nothing to live up to
And everywhere to be
Old days are comin' back to me
Played a gig with John Hammond Jr. up in Vancouver BC
Exotic dancer came in my dressing room, started dancing exotically
They were smoking something in the audience that night, smelled exactly like cat pee
Old days are comin' back to me
Opened up a gig for Gatemouth Brown down in Baton Rouge
He was playing that Hillbilly, Jazz, Cajun, Country, Zydeco, and Blues
Throwin' it out past the walls like some kind of musical centrifuge
Old days are comin' back to me
Old days are comin' back to me
I don't know what was so good about â'em
I played practically free
But I had nothin' to live up to
Everywhere to be
Old days are comin' back to me
Old days are comin' back to me
I don't know what was so great about â'em
I played practically free
But I had nothin' to live up to
Everywhere to be
Old days are comin' back to me
Old days are comin' back to me