Have A Little Faith: The John Hiatt Story

“An astonishing accomplishment…that very few rock & roll books are able to achieve.” - Americana Highways

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

"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 is an American treasure, as original and brilliant a writer as he is funky and expressive a singer. With his rapier wit and keen insight set to his own blend of indelible roots rock/soul/country, he helped create what we've come to call Americana. His story spans so much of our shared personal and cultural history - I loved getting a glimpse into some of how he's come to be. Releasing his "Thing Called Love" as the first single from my album Nick of Time changed my life forever. I'll always be among his biggest fans. - Bonnie Raitt

”There are just a handful of songwriters who I regard with true awe, and John Hiatt is one of those few. For forty years, I’ve been a Hiatt fan. I’ve recorded his songs, parsed his lyrics, watched his riveting performances, and just generally loved the guy. He is a genius at wrestling his own darkness onto the page, rhyming it and welding it to a backbeat. Michael Elliott thoughtfully and thoroughly deconstructs John’s life and the painful path he took to become who he is. This is a book not just for fans of John’s, but for those who would embrace a fascinating and true story of creativity, addiction, recovery, trauma, love, and the resilience of a great artist." - Rosanne Cash

“I first encountered John Hiatt in a Nashville laundromat, circa 1972. We were both too shy to start a conversation but I was drawn to his quiet intensity and remember thinking this guy has a sense of purpose I want to know more about. Seven years passed before I stumbled onto his songs “Pink Bedroom,” “I Look For Love,” “She Loves the Jerk” and “This Is The Way We Make A Broken Heart,” which I wound up producing on albums by Rosanne Cash, Albert Lee and myself. With Have A Little Faith, Michael Elliott has brought to the page a detailed portrait of the charismatic young artist I first observed pulling a load of clothes out of a coin-operated dryer--- the wit, passion, intelligence, vulnerability, ambition, songwriting mastery, and performance prowess, as well as the time-tested human being we all know and love today. The book confirms my belief that for truth-tellers like John Hiatt, the circuitous route to a fulfilled destiny demands a faith in oneself that sometimes wavers but, in his case, has never failed.” - Rodney Crowell

I’ve started reading through Michael Elliott’s book on John Hiatt, Have A Little Faith: The John Hiatt Story, and he's done an excellent job capturing the obvious aspects of who John is but also the elusive essence that’s nestled in the nooks and crannies of his life and, most importantly, his music. Beautifully done! - Matt Wallace, producer, Faith No More, The Replacements, Maroon 5, Train, John Hiatt

“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 industry—and personal ups and downs—emerging 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

“John Hiatt came up when the "long career" was more of a possibility. Not "long and fun," not "long and easy." The kind of career that starts before anyone can see it happening, way out there on the American margins. Hiatt was an overweight kid with a voice that seemed to come from somewhere better and a point of view to match. It's a career built on false starts, disappointments, booze and drugs, broken hearts, and, just when they were needed, songs. And they were often needed. You could study the history of American popular music from 1960 forward by watching that kid step into it all to get lost there. Michael Elliott takes on that task with a genuine affection for his subject that serves the story and reminds us that the music we love is often made by the ones who stuck it out. John Hiatt's one of the best, about whom we should know more and now can.” —Warren Zanes, author of Petty: The Biography

"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 songs—a 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

Have a Little Faith is not merely a fan’s notes; this is a riveting book that tells the stories of one of our greatest roots musicians and the tenacity that’s grown out of his enduring passion for music. Elliott’s book will introduce new listeners to the genius of Hiatt’s music and stir his fans to drop their favorite Hiatt album on the turntable once more as they read. - No Depression

Have A Little Faith is a fantastic primer on one of the most underrated musicians working today…a compelling look at a remarkably compelling character. - Glide Magazine

Readers will be left feeling like they've just listened to Hiatt's music or attended one of his concerts—appreciative of the time spent with an American treasure, and eager for more. —Library Journal

Have a Little Faith is a highly personal account from an omnivorous lover of music. - Shepherd Express

In writing this biography, Elliott has honoured the work of this incredibly talented artist while creating an engrossing chronicle of Hiatt’s varied career. - PopMatters

Singer-songwriter John Hiatt has long deserved, among many other accolades and tributes, to have a proper biography written about his complex life and career. Thanks to author Michael Elliott’s efforts and extensive research, …a concise and well-written biography can be checked off that list. - Americana UK

Michael Elliott's admiring and incredibly detailed biography Have a Little Faith: The John Hiatt Story (Chicago Review Press) traces his life and career from Indiana boyhood in a problematic family to sobriety and a long-standing happy marriage to his third wife. There's minutiae galore on his sessions as well as sessions where others covered him. Along the way, we read how he tossed off a chorus for the soundtrack of The Border's title song with the film's producer listening outside the bathroom window. And how Krist Novoselic accidentally inspired “Perfectly Good Guitar.” - Goldmine Magazine

“Writer Michael Elliott goes there and far beyond in this mesmerizing biography that travels all the way to John Hiatt’s earliest years, and then has the understanding and clarity to convey what has really happened in what followed. It’s really an astonishing accomplishment, and one that very few rock & roll books are able to achieve. A lot of that is because of the dramatic twists and turns of the life Hiatt has lived. But it wouldn’t have been such an irresistible tale unless Elliott had the story-telling talent and taken the prodigious research time it must have involved to find out what really happened.” - Americana Highways