Michael Elliott's Blog

Ghosts Everywhere: John Hiatt's 'Crossing Muddy Waters' at 25

John Hiatt’s Crossing Muddy Waters was released 25 years ago on September 26th, 2000, during an important turning point in the music industry. If the contents of the album sounded as if they came from a century earlier, its presentation looked to the future.

At the time, Hiatt was a free agent, having recently been set free from Capitol after two studio albums and a best-of package. He and his manager noticed that a group called eMusic1 were leading the race at the time to become the world’s fir...

When New York Had Her Heart Broke

What follows is an excerpt from Chapter 18, “The Caveman Cometh,” of Have a Little Faith: The John Hiatt Story. It details the recording of the last track on Hiatt’s 2011 album, Dirty Jeans and Mudslide Hymns , “When New York Had Her Heart Broke.” Included here are interview excerpts from producer Kevin “Caveman” Shirley, guitarist Doug Lancio, and Hiatt.

But first, an excerpt from Chapter 16, “Crossing Muddy Waters,” that details Hiatt and the Goners’ experience in NYC on 9/11/01.

Interestingly, T...

John Hiatt: Covered

Outtake from the cover shoot for Hiatt’s second album, ‘Overcoats.’ Photo by Jim McGuire

Since we’ve picked up a few new subscribers over the last year (welcome!), I thought I’d put together the ultimate covers-of-John Hiatt-songs mixtape—73 songs—to celebrate his 73rd birthday.

Until he hit his stride with Bring the Family, Hiatt hopped from label to label while shopping his songs to anyone who’d listen. Thankfully, some of music’s greatest voices were listening, and they agreed that Hiatt’s pen ...

Happy 75th, Rodney Crowell

Wherever your allegiances lie between country or rock in the ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s, and beyond, chances are you’ve heard a Rodney Crowell song. He’s been covered by everyone from Emmylou Harris and Bob Seger to Tim McGraw and the Grateful Dead. Throughout his career, he’s achieved the rare feat of successfully acquiring both mainstream acceptance and critical acclaim without sacrificing genuine outlaw cred. His lyrics have the power to bite, provoke, charm, and seduce, all while exhibiting a timeless...

The Bottom of the Top: Remembering Dusty Hill

Once in 1984, the gap year between Eliminator and Afterburner, Dusty Hill accidentally shot himself in the abdomen with his Derringer when it fell from his boot. He then drove himself to the hospital, ultimately making a full recovery. It was just another day in the life of the long-bearded Texan from East Dallas.

Billy F. Gibbons may have been the mouthpiece, the cool daddy-o, the guiding vision of ZZ Top, but his literal right-hand man for more than 50 years, who kept the boom in the room while...

New Sounds for Summer '25

A lot of magnificent music has passed through these ears this year, but I haven’t had much time to stop and listen as closely as I’d like. (I bowed out of contributing one of those “best of the year so far” posts for that very reason.) Still, here are eleven tracks that inspired me enough to jot down some thoughts about them.

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Wet Leg - “CPR”

Hester Chambers and Rhian Teasdale bring their touring band into ...

30 Years of Gov't Mule

A couple of the bands I was in back in the day covered a couple of Gov’t Mule songs, if for no one else’s enjoyment but ours (they never really went over in rural NC clubs that wanted to hear “Sweet Home Alabama” or “Mustang Sally” or “Brown-Eyed Girl” over and over). “Rockin’ Horse” was a favorite; so many twists and dynamics, and I never tired of singing it, even if its ending was followed by the view of an empty dancefloor and the sound of crickets from the room, save for the distant clink or...

Celebrating 100 Years of the Zydeco King

Today, June 25th, marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Clifton Chenier, the King of Zydeco. To honor his legacy, this Friday, Valcour Records is releasing A Tribute to the King of Zydeco, featuring several generations of artists offering their take on a genre that has been gaining traction in the public consciousness lately.

The biggest news surrounding the tribute is the involvement of The Rolling Stones, who place their swaggering stamp on Chenier’s “Zydeco Sont Pas Sales,”

Thanks for rea...

The Best of 1985

It was the era of massive reverb, big snares, and synths. So. Many. Synths.

TV and Film

The Dukes of Hazzard aired its final episode in February, and Miami Vice was quickly becoming the hottest show on TV. By 1985, it was obvious that the zeitgeist had shifted from good ol’ boys in a modified Dodge Charger yee-hawing through the backroads of a fictional county in Georgia to the slick and stylish MTV-inspired adventures of two vice cops cruising through Miami—on land and by sea—and taking down high...

Summer's End

Photo: Annie Leibovitz

Apologies for hitting up your inbox for the second time in as many days, but, as they say, these are unprecedented times. Times I apparently wasn’t made for, neither was Brian Wilson…

Growing up, Beach Music to me meant the Drifters, the Tams, the Chairmen of the Board, and the mostly white bands they influenced: the Embers, the Fantastic Shakers, and the Band of Oz, among others. It was the sound of the Carolinas, both North and South, where shagging means dancing and the o...