If I Didn't Know Better Trivia Quiz

Answer: Arrested Development

There is a wonderful dichotomy in this song between the upbeat melody with its hint of a calypso sound coupled with the gloomy lyrics that deal with a love that's gone south. "Cry Love" is both the opening track and the first single from Hiatt's 1995 album "Walk On". Hiatt would receive two Grammy nominations for the single, Best Rock Song and Best Male Vocal Performance, at the 1996 awards.

Knowing the song's background you would then understand its poignancy in the television series "Arrested Development". In episode 4, "Key Decisions", of season 1 (2003) G.O.B is in prison and, while he's there, Michael takes his girlfriend Marta to an awards ceremony, where he starts to fall for her. When G.O.B is stabbed in the back by another prisoner and rushed to hospital, the family rushes to his side and he re-affirms his love to Marta. Michael is too much of a good guy and so he stands back and says nothing. As they walk away, John Hiatt is wailing "Cry Love" in the background, while G.O.B begins to realise he might have made a mistake.

Answer: True Lies

"Bring the Family" (1987) is, arguably, John Hiatt's best album and, on this track, he is at his confessional best, making an explicit reference to his battle with alcoholism. He almost makes the hairs on your arm stand on end as he views life through the lens of a shot glass ("I'm all alone on my knees, at last").

The growl of the electric guitar in this number, however, is used to great effect in the movie "True Lies" (1994). In one of the film's most memorable scenes Helen Tasker (Jamie Lee Curtis), pretending to be a spy, is asked by a man, masked by the shadows in a hotel bedroom, to perform an exotic dance for him. She is totally unaware that the man in the shadows is her husband, Harry Tasker, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger. This is that memorable number that she performs to.

Answer: Crossing Jordan

It is quite remarkable how the coupling of both sound and film can raise the dimension of either media. "Thirty Years of Tears" shows up on John Hiatt's 1990 album "Stolen Moments". It is a solid song but, on an album as strong as "Stolen Moments", which delivers such a powerful array of songs such as "Real Fine Love", "Back of My Mind" and "Child of the Wild Blue Yonder", it is easily overlooked or skipped on the turntable. However, in the pilot episode of "Crossing Jordan" (2001), in the final scene, we are treated to a tender moment where Jordan kisses her father on the forehead as he is asleep in his chair. He stirs and hugs his daughter and comforts her as she weeps. "Thirty Years of Tears" creeps through your speakers and adds volumes to the moment and suddenly you're thinking to yourself... "what is that song"?

"Crossing Jordan" would utilise this song a second time, once again in the final montage of episode 17 ("Crash") in season six (2007).

Answer: James Reyne

James Reyne will eventually be inducted into the Australian Music Hall of Fame, both for his contributions as the frontman and songwriter for the seminal band Australian Crawl and his own solo contributions. His 1991 album "Electric Digger Dandy" was his third solo effort and will, most likely, wind up his career as his best selling disc.

John Hiatt recorded "Stood Up" for his 1987 album "Bring the Family" and it is another track that addresses his conflict with alcohol, however, on this occasion, he tells us his tale in a positive manner ("Now they gave last call for alcohol/And no one has to carry, me home,"). It is delivered in a matter-of-fact drawl that is likely to give one goosebumps.

Knowing the history of this song I had fears when I saw it listed on Reyne's album that he would place an uptempo slant to it and remove the chills. However, he manages to strip the number right back and he utilises that mumbling style of his to add another dimension that seems to indicate that the alcoholic in the author has won this fight but the battle is still raging.

Answer: Michael

"Michael" is a 1996 comedy that has John Travolta playing the role of the archangel Michael. We find him living in Iowa, sharing a house with an old lady, Pansy Milbank played by Jean Stapleton. We soon learn that his mission on Earth is to bring together two people, played by Andie MacDowell and William Hurt, both of whom had been, previously, wounded in love.

"Through Your Hands" was chosen for the film's soundtrack because it sat beautifully with the overall theme of the film rather than as an enhancement to a specific scene. This is one of John Hiatt's most powerful songs and it features on his 1990 album "Stolen Moments". As strong as Hiatt's version is it does pale a little to the version delivered in the film by founding Eagles member, Don Henly. Henley caresses the track with a gentleness and a sense of patience and understanding that Hiatt's gruff delivery can only aspire to. Henley's version, when released as a single in 1996, managed to climb to number thirty three on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Sadly though, the only album you will find it on is the soundtrack to the film.

Answer: Eric Clapton

Released in 2000, "Riding With the King" is the first collaborative effort between two of the masters of blues in B.B. King and Eric Clapton. It is such a dream pairing that one wonders how it hadn't happened earlier. Commercially the album was a massive success, reaching double platinum sales in the United States and winning the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album.

The album's title and opening track was also the title and opening track of John Hiatt's sixth studio album. This is an album that proved to be a small landmark in Hiatt's career. He cited it as the record where he finally started to get it all together. Hiatt would re-write some of the lyrics of "Riding with the King" to make it suitable for Clapton and B.B. King.

Answer: Thelma & Louise

The Ridley Scott-directed "Thelma and Louise" (1991) is a female-buddy road-trip film that follows the adventures (or misadventures) of two friends played by Sarandon (Louise) and Davis (Thelma). Along the way they find themselves in a bar and, in the background, you can see the local band belting out John Hiatt's "Tennessee Plates". The lead singer of the band is Charlie Sexton, who served as a guitarist for Bob Dylan's band for a number of years. Sexton recorded the song for the film's soundtrack.

"Tennessee Plates" appears on John Hiatt's ninth studio album "Slow Turning", released in 1988. This track is much more rambunctious than any of the tracks John had produced on his previous album, the ground-breaking "Bring the Family". With a sharper tempo, a bit more twang and a little less blues it proves to be quite the outlaw rocker.

Answer: Felicity

Created by J.J Abrams, "Felicity" (1998-2002) takes you through the trials of Felicity Porter (Keri Russell) as she makes her way through the University of New York. The central relationship in the show is between Felicity and Ben Covington (Scott Speedman) but in episode 6 of season 2 ("The Love Bug") Ben's interest is in a married caterer named Maggie (Teri Polo). He is trying to win her over as they're walking in the rain. Rather appropriately, "Feels Like Rain", delivered by the dulcet tones of Aaron Neville, plays out in the background.

"Feels Like Rain" appears on John Hiatt's 1988 album "Slow Turning". Aaron Neville's cover can be found on his 1991 album "Warm Your Heart". The track also shows up on the soundtracks to "The Big Easy" (1986) and Kate Hudson's 2004 film "Raising Helen".

Answer: Bonnie Raitt

Bonnie Raitt was down on her luck. Her first three albums had failed to sell and her record label had abandoned her. She turned to booze. She had a skiing accident and became hospitalized for two months. She could no longer pay her band and had to let them go. She allowed depression to overtake her. The best thing she did was not blame anyone but herself. She entered Alcoholics Anonymous and adopted a new outlook on life. She signed with Capitol Records, got an advance and went into the studio to record the record of her life. The album would garner three Grammys including the coveted Album of the Year. The first single from the album was her cover version of "Thing Called Love".

This song also appears on John Hiatt's 1987 album "Bring the Family" and it was written as a plea for acceptance to his estranged wife Nancy. He pleads his case with the evocative line "I ain't no porcupine, take off your kid gloves", but, for this author, the amusement in the song lay with Hiatt rhyming "amoeba" with "Queen of Sheba".

Answer: Alias

In the first season of "Alias" (2001) Charlie Bernard, fiancé to Sydney Bristow's (Jennifer Garner) friend, Francie Calfo (Merrin Dungey) had been keeping a secret. He eventually reveals that he'd been practising to be a singer and, at the end of episode six ("Reckoning") he performs his first gig, singing this number.

Possibly John Hiatt's most popular song and one of his best, it appears on his 1987 album "Bring the Family". It was the first song that he'd written after coming clean from his addictions with booze and drugs, vices that had led to the breakdown of his marriage and having his recording contract cancelled. His first attempt to record this song was as an overblown dedication to his estranged wife. When she committed suicide, a short time later, he re-recorded with a simple piano backing. The track has been used with great effect on numerous films, including "Benny and Joon", "Look Who's Talking Now" (both 1993) and the John Travolta film "Phenomenon" (1996).