Top 10 John Hiatt Songs

Photo: Ron Baker (https://www.flickr.com/photos/kingsnake), CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Our Top 10 John Hiatt songs look back at the songs of one of the most fabulous singer-songwriters of the classic rock era. John Hiatt is an artist known for a catalog of great albums of original music featuring his down-home vocal chops and fantastic guitar playing. John Hiatt is also known as a songwriter whose songs have been covered by many popular artists, including those who have had big hits with his material. John Hiatt released his first album in 1974 entitled Hangin’ Around The Observatory. The music industry took instant notice of his songs right away, as one of the tracks on the album titled “Sure As I’m Sitting Here” was covered by Three Dog Night, who were one of the hottest bands in the world in the early to mid-1970s. From that point on, rock artists and their managers kept an eye on the music of John Hiatt, looking to find their next big hit.

From his 1974 debut album to 2020, John Hiatt has released twenty-two studio albums and two live albums. His latest studio album, The Eclipse Sessions, was released in 2018. During his recording career, John Hiatt has also released over thirty singles. He has also appeared on dozens of recordings as a guest artist. As a nine-time Grammy Award Nominee, John Hiatt stands as one of the most celebrated songwriters of the past forty-five years. Our top 10 John Hiatt songs list features ten of our favorites from the past four decades.

# 10 – Take Off Your Uniform

We open up our top 10 John Hiatt songs list with the new wave-inspired track “Take Off Your Uniform.” The song was released on the album Slug Line. The LP was released in 1979 during the peak of new wave when artists like Elvis Costello, The Cars, Blondie, and many more were celebrating great success on a mass cultural level.

# 9 – Angel Eyes

As we continue our top 10 John Hiatt songs list, we turn to one of those great John Hiatt songs that found super success covered by other artists. Blues-rock artist Jeff Healey recorded a version of John Hiatt’s “Angel Eyes” in 1988 and achieved his biggest career hit with it, as it reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. John Hiatt never released the song as a single.

# 8 – Cry Love

The great John Hiatt released the song “Cry Love” on his spectacular album Walk On. The album was released in 1995. The album featured guest appearances by Bonnie Raitt and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers great keyboardist Benmont Tench.

# 7 – Riding With The King

“Riding With The King” has always been one of our favorite John Hiatt songs and titles. The song also served as the title track to his 1983 album Riding With The King. The song opened side two of the record, which Nick Lowe produced. Nick Lowe also played bass on the track, as well as contributing background vocals. The song also featured the great Paul Carrack on keyboards and backing vocals. The song was later covered by Eric Clapton and B.B King.

# 6 – Memphis In The Meantime

How could you not love the great, gritty groove on this awesome John Hiatt song, “Memphis in the Meantime”? The song was released on the album Bring the Family. The record was released in 1987. The band sounds great on this one. And what a band it was. The album featured Nick Lowe once again on bass, plus the legendary Jim Keltner on drums. The record also featured a guest appearance by guitar God Ry Cooder.

# 5 – Drive South

The John Hiatt song “Drive South” was released on the album Slow Turning. The song opened up the John Hiatt album. Country singer Suzy Bogguss covered the song in 1992. The singer almost had a number one single with the song as it went all the way to number two on the Billboard Hot 100 Country charts.

# 4 – Walk On

“Walk On” was the title track of his great 1998 album. The album broke into the top 50 on the Billboard Hot 200. Three singles were released from the record. However, “Walk On” was not one of them. Nonetheless, we think it was the best track on the record and one of the best John Hiatt songs ever released.

# 3 – Thing Called Love

As we get closer to the number one spot on this top 10 John Hiatt songs list, we turn to one of the most successful songs John Hiatt ever composed. Thanks to Bonnie Raitt’s killer version of John Hiatt’s fantastic “Thing Called Love,” Mr. Hiatt had his biggest hit of the career, at least from a commercial and financial standpoint. The song was featured on Bonnie Raitt’s Grammy Award-winning album Nick of Time. It was also released as the album’s first single. The album went 5x Platinum. That’s a lot of money in royalties,

# 2 – Perfectly Good Guitar

Talk about a perfect title! John Hiatt’s “Perfectly Good Guitar” was the title track to his Perfectly Good Guitar album, which was released in 1993. The Perfectly Good Guitar album would become John Hiatt’s highest-charting album of his career. The album peaked at number forty-seven on the Billboard Top 200 album charts.

# 1 – Have a Little Faith in Me

We close out this John Hiatt songs list with our favorite John Hiatt song of all time. This one is a classic. It’s just one of those songs that you fall in love with the first time you hear it. It’s been covered by multiple artists, including jazz guitarist Bill Frisell, the legendary Joe Cocker, and New Jersey’s Bon Jovi. Pop singer Many Moore also recorded a version, as well as Chaka Khan, Jewell, and the beautiful Dolly Parton. Talk about a diverse lineup of artists recording the same song. It just proves how wonderful a song that is. Yet it’s John Hiatt’s own version that we have always liked the best. The song “Have A Little Faith In Me” was released on the album Bring The Family. The album was released in 1987.