Two legends of rock and blues satisfied a raucous crowd at the Weill Center on Thursday September 4th.

Born in Indianapolis in 1952, Hiatt followed his musical passion by playing in a number of garage bands, and emulating Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones.  Following his high school graduation, Hiatt landed a job as a songwriter for Tree Publishing, where his songs began being recorded by Conway Twitty, Tracy Nelson and Three Dog Night.

Hiatt’s hardwork soon paid off with Epic Records signing him in 1974.  He released two albums under that label, Hangin’ Around the Observatory and Overcoats.

In 1979, Hiatt then secured a record contract with MCA Records and released Slug Line and Two Bit Monsters.  Albums to follow included All of a Sudden, Riding with the King and Warming Up to the Ice Age, all being released under the Geffen Records label.  By 1987, Hiatt assembled a small band and released Bring the Family which peaked at 107 on the U.S. charts.  The follow-up album, Slow Turning, was released a year later and spent 31 weeks on the U.S. charts and peaked at 98.  Other artists like Bonnie Raitt, Ronnie Milsap and Iggy Pop then picked up Hiatt’s songs.  Perfectly Good Guitar was the next album released where it spent 11 weeks on the charts and peaked at number 47. 

In 1998, Hiatt released Greatest Hits - Crossing Muddy Waters under the Vanguard label where it reached number 2 on the Top Independent Albums. Then in 2001, The Tiki Bar is Open was released and reached number four on the Top Independent Albums chart. Currently, Hiatt formed the band, John Hiatt + the Goners and released the recorded-live album Beneath This Gruff Exterior on New West Records. After nearly three decades of writing and making records, Hiatt still looks forward to touring and finding new things to write about.

It has been said that B.B. King is the blues ambassador to the world and someday that unofficial title will pass to Robert Cray. Cray’s polished and smooth style of blues has been entertaining fans for almost 25 years and he continues to impress the music industry with yet another album, Time Will Tell, scheduled to release in July. Cray got his first guitar in 1965 at the age of 12, and has since become a five-time Grammy Award-winning recording artist and Grammy nominee. The Robert Cray Band began recording in 1980 with the album Who’s Been Talkin’, shortly followed by Bad Influence, False Accusations and Showdown.

A year later, their breakthrough Strong Persuader album for Mercury won him a Grammy. Soon after, Cray collaborated with artists like Eric Clapton, Tina Turner, John Lee Hooker, B.B. King and Bonnie Raitt, with each project receiving a Grammy or Grammy nomination. Several albums followed including Midnight Stroll, Too Many Cooks, Sweet Potato Pie and Shoulda Been Home.

Cray created a blues style all his own by blending R & B, blues, rock and gospel and has album sales in the millions. He credits his success largely to his ability to go with the flow and let things happen as they will. The Robert Cray Band has opened up yet another chapter of opportunity through their new album, Time Will Tell, with lyrics that focus on personal relationships and political insights.