PERHAPS A GIFT VOUCHER FOR MUM?: MOTHER'S DAY
Micheal Elliott is president of Union Mission in Savannah, Georgia. He is a graduate of Georgia Southern University and of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has published seven books. He and his wife live on Tybee Island, Georgia.
You already know John Hiatt is one of our best songwriters, but what you might not know is his life is as great a story as his songsa tale with so many ups and downs from triumph to tragedy and back again, it only makes you love him that much more. He's had a remarkable career and here, finally, is the book of stories behind the master's songs. Compellingly rendered by my fellow North Carolinian Michael Elliott, it's the book you should be reading while listening to Hiatt's 'Bring the Family.' I thought I knew my John Hiatt, but I learned a lot. David Menconi, 2019 North Carolina Piedmont Laureate, author of Step It Up and Go: The Story of North Carolina Popular Music, from Blind Boy Fuller and Doc Watson to Nina Simone and Superchunk One of the things that any admirer of John Hiatt will appreciate about this book is the lack of self-pity, bitterness or reproach when John reflects on the unwise paths taken and even the occasional gamble with sanity. I certainly recognize how we all made regrettable as well as necessary mistakes. Sometimes the heart or mind broken might even be your own but time brings clarity, strength of will has sustained sobriety and I sense and hope John now knows both love and happiness. Elvis Costello, from his foreword John Hiatt gets the bio he deserves and one that matches his music: concise but in-depth, soulful and full of meaning. Have a Little Faith is a great book. Alan Paul, author of Texas Flood: The Inside Story of Stevie Ray Vaughan and One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band Michael Elliott paints a vibrant picture of John Hiatt's journey: from a troubled childhood in Indiana to fledgling songwriter in Nashville to numerous twists and turns in the recording industryand personal ups and downsemerging as one of our most beloved and enduring singer-songwriters. Hiatt's peers like Bonnie Raitt and Rosanne Cash add insight, along with numerous others Elliott has tracked down for this in-depth music biography. Holly George-Warren, author of Janis: Her Life and Music
