John Hiatt & The Goners - Memphis In The Meantime

From a TV concert in Hamburg, Germany on Oct. 9'th, 1987 - long intro, sorry, song starts around 1:00

[@maxbialystock254]

Was on a flight from Memphis to Houston and saw a guy with a guitar on his back. Thought I recognized him. Once off the plane I saw him at the snack store and asked if he was Sonny Landreth. i think he was surprised to be recognized. Sonny could not be nicer. A very humble guy who can share the stage with anybody and shine.

[@1blastman]

That's Sonny alright. As nice and humble as can be.

[@onoyudont]

Kick myself for passing up seeing him at local clubs. got to make it up to him

[@MrRoundwound]

I saw him 3 times. Got to get a photo with him. A very nice man,as well as his bassist,Dave.

[@sdushdiu]

John Hiatt and Sonny Landreth are a match made in heaven....

[@williepard]

Ain't Sonny just the cat's meow? Slide on a Gibson Firebird, gotta love that stuff. And yeah, he seems to just kick it into gear when he plays with John.

[@goodun2974]

@@williepard , this must have been their first tour in support of Slow Turning; it was the only time I personally saw Sonny play through a Firebird, though there's video on KZbin of him playing one for Firebird Blues, in memoriam to Johnny Winter. I remember seeing them playing on TV (SNL) way back then, and Sonny had a firebird then too. Otherwise, he's almost exclusively a Strat guy, other than occasional flirtation with a Les Paul (copy?) equipped with robotic, motorized, automatic-memory tuning.

[@mretrain]

John Hiatt and Ry Cooder are a match made in heaven. Sonny Landreth is a suitable substitute. For me he’s always overplayed, and does things because they sound impressive, not necessarily because they sound good. That said, I’d kill to be able to play as well as he does.

[@joannehack7588]

😇

[@Nashvilleagain]

. . . I was right there in Hamburg in 1987. Had two tickets for me and my babe in the third row. It was awesome ! ! !

[@bobito8997]

Sonny must be the only guitar player who could step into Ry Cooder's shoes and capture the spirit of the original while still doing it his own way. Brilliant.

[@billalbritton4972]

Sonny did the original

[@stephenkatko3236]

sonny is hiatt's slide player, not ry

[@bobito8997]

​@@billalbritton4972 The original was from the album Bring The Family with Cooder on guitars. Sonny joined for the following album Slow Turning

[@mikehjt]

@@billalbritton4972 Listen to the original and Ry Cooder's sound is immediately apparent. He and Sonny Landreth are both wonderful slide players, but they have distinct sounds.

[@MrRoundwound]

@@billalbritton4972Ry played on the Bring the Family record but Sonny is awesome too

[@岡田和久-u8g]

こんな動画がみれて嬉しいです😂

[@benleblanc4436]

John is a poet whose musical brilliance defines rock and roll. Sonny is a Bayou Legend.

[@BodiSaattva]

My first exposure to hiatt was to get the bring the family from the library. I never listened to it until the day it was due. I put it in the player and heard only the opening licks on this song, turned it off, took the cd back and went out and bought all of his music and have been listening to him ever since. Fantastic.

[@phildirt3]

john hiatt is so great live great personality and always puts on a great show. my alltime favorite song is slow turning

[@redbarchetta8782]

Brings back memories of watching John back in the day in some of the best concerts ever.

[@mic982]

Sonny takes the old slide guitar into a whole new dimension. John was truly great in those days, and still is!

[@calnonhardy4002]

He has really never made a bad record.

[@TSPH1992]

John Hiatt has a voice that ages like a fine gin

[@OthO67]

@@TSPH1992 I’m going to see them tonight, here in Portland, Maine.

[@telecaster24]

All Craftsman of musicianship...Pure elegance to my ear..WoW

[@tonyfry2070]

how good does it get, sonny landreth playing slide on a john hiatt song

[@andyinoregon]

I've been going to rock , blues and country music concerts since the mid-'60s and I'll say without any hesitation that Sonny Landreth is the best slide guitarist I've heard live or on record.

[@goodun2974]

To those who complain below that they don't like Sonny's playing here, or that this version doesn't have the "groove" of Ry's laid-back playing on the original studio version, I'll remind you that John is in charge here and it is he who approves the arrangements and rearrangements when he goes out on tour with a band. I have seen him play live dozens of times over the years with at least a half dozen different bands and personnel, as well as solo, and with a songwriters' circle, and he often changes the tempo, and the arrangements, to suit himself and whoever he's working with at the time ---- and probably also to prevent himself from getting bored and just going through the motions. If any of you have a problem with this then you'll have to take it up with John. Not to mention that of all the bands and musicians he has worked with over the years, Sonny and the Goners are the ones he keeps coming back to. For what it's worth, I've seen Ry Cooder play a half dozen times, including several times with David Lindley; I've also seen Lindley play many many times including 4 gigs with ElRayo-X back in the Eighties as well as duets with Wally or Hani.....I've seen Johnny Winter and Roy Rogers and John Mooney and Leo Kottke and Martin Simpson and many other fine slide players......I love them all equally! They're all very different stylistically, and choosing one above all the others is a bit like having to choose which of your children you love the most. That said, if you're talking about technique that takes slide guitar to somewhere that it's never been before, and that no one else probably even thought was physically or musically possible, in my opinion that honor belongs to Sonny. If it's possible for somebody else to take it even farther ahead from where Sonny has brung it, I would be absolutely thrilled to hear it done!

[@davegrier523]

Give Kevin Breit a listen. Folk Alarm

[@rumseyplumdarrellr8369]

I've liked John Hiatt for years, he's a great songwriter.

[@kajunmoon]

Sonny Landreth Louisiana's favorite son...when you see him perform live .I swear you almost forget to breathe...

[@salmonesque]

Outrageous singing from john. What a throat that man had in his younger days. Still golden though.

[@goodun2974]

Not any more, unfortunately; John's voice is pretty much gone these days. My wife and I are huge fans and have seen him play many times, going back to 1989, but after listening to some recent live performances on KZbin from the last few years we decided not to go hear him on in this year's tour, preferring to remember what he was like when he was at his best.

[@salmonesque]

@@goodun2974 Sorry to hear that but understand where you're coming from. We've got his albums at least.

[@goodun2974]

@@salmonesque , Sonny's singing voice was never as strong as John's and has become a little weaker with age, but at this point his voice is actually stronger than John's. We've seen Sonny play a number of times over the years, with his high school buddy Dave Ranson on bass and the fabulous Brian Brignac on drums ( I looked him up, He is much in demand as a producer, recording engineer and session player, to the point where I don't know where he finds time to sleep!)

[@goodun2974]

The only folks we listen to regularly who have kept their vocal prowess up are John Fogarty, who sounds pretty near to how he was decades ago, and Richard Thompson, who sounds every bit as deep, resonant and powerful as he ever did, maybe even better.

[@haolefly]

Possibly the loudest gig I ever attended: Sonny Landreth in Honolulu about fifteen years ago. Having lived through a lot of sixtes live bands; quite a statement.

[@orange2006jeep]

still AWESOME today. love the bass!

[@jimdonovan8213]

of all John's bands and collaborations, nothing could touch his time with THE GONERS.

[@MysteryHunterz]

Two entirely different styles in slide guitar discipline, when comparing Ry Cooder and Sonny Landreth that is. They both have entirely unique styles. Both "the best" at what they do. Then again, music is not a contest.. I'd say: They're both Amazing and will be, if not already legends. Love hearing and seeing them play =)

[@dmanlotecka9431]

John Hiatt with Sonny Landreth.... the BEST there is!

[@blackwaterdogs4256]

Hiatt used to host "Sessions at West 54th" back in the `90s....he played with The Goners one night (Reuben Blades was guest host), the version of "Memphis" that they played that night was by far the best I`ve ever heard. Sonny made that guitar sing....same with "I`ll Never Get Over You". I`ve never seen that video here or anywhere else....

[@1stSaintsFan]

I wonder if you get that CBS streaming package that supposedly shows all of the old programming, would that be available?

[@MeanOldFireman]

This one brings back great memories. I saw this band open for Little Feat in Manchester, NH ('87?, '88?). It was the first time I saw Sonny and I was blown away. Great player and a really great guy to boot.

[@jayrayinnv]

And I thought seeing the Clash open for the Who was the greatest double bill ever. :-)

[@gle062]

WHAT? WHAT? these old rockers were out on tour last year? Milwaukee.. John Hiatt with Sonny Landreth, Tiki bar july 23 2022..

[@goodun2974]

Unfortunately John has pretty much lost his voice at this point.😮 My wife and I have seen him play many times, beginning in 1989, but we elected not to go see him on the most recent tours and prefer to remember how good he was when his voice was at its peak.

[@YvesB1]

And by the way: that drum-play is SUPERB!!!!!

[@junglechef1951]

I saw this band at Liberty Lunch in Austin in '87 and for anyone who has never seen or heard Sonny Landreth live you are in for a treat. And this was 27 years ago! You should hear him now. I've seen Ry, David Lindley and yes, Roy Rogers, and I love them all, but Sonny outdoes them all for dynamics and innovation.

[@patrickhoulihan7210]

I prefer Roy Rogers.Because I favour country music over rock music.If you prefer rock over country,you will favour Sonny.

[@1blastman]

Would love to hear them play together in a jam.

[@stevieross1402]

1blastman If you like Sony, you should have a listen to Joey Landreth.......no relation, just a crazy coincidence.......you'll love him.

[@nelsonlugo45]

I done seen everyone and everything, and I absolutely agree. Born in '52. Yeah that's right y'all... The Right Time

[@ABCGUITAR]

@@nelsonlugo45 Saw him with Derek Trucks it was fantastic,

[@ckesquivel]

Saw Ry Cooder kick this in the ass at The Wiltern in '82. Still got Little Village t-shirt... "Don't Bug Me When I'm Working". Some guy once asked when I saw The Village people? ... Guess you had to be there.

[@nomadjeff1922]

Saw Sonny solo a few years ago. Helluva show. I was living in Germany in 1987.

[@eyedby]

saw John last night, always a treat fortunate to see this peformed a few tears ago & Sonny tore it up!

[@aaronexists4308]

The goners are the best. They just work perfectly together, like songs and emotion changing

[@YvesB1]

I always loved this song! One of the best tunes in music-history!

[@kandylangford5886]

John Hiatt & Co rocks big time...

[@kenster007]

American treasure right there.

[@holgerlarsen1864]

Love it........such a great band

[@stephenchase3352]

you come out and open w this ..... aint nuthin better......whoa. vibra lux turned up to 10.

[@ForrestSweasy]

I've heard lots of slide players in my 63 years. Sonny and Derek Trucks (and Duane) are the ones I keep coming back to. Luckily, two of those folks are still making music.

[@1bigrowdy]

Have to agree and I would add Colin Linden if you you've never heard him besides solo he plays with Blackie and the Rodeo Kings

[@davegrier523]

@@1bigrowdy Or Kevin Breit, another Canadian boy.

[@jonnyo2006]

I was at the first show (if i remember correctly) of the Bring The Family tour at a great, SMALL venue in Columbus, Ohio called Stache and Little Brothers. THE BEST show I have ever seen and I've seen a buttload of 'em. JH did the "lobster dance" and we all (bout 200 of us) joined him dancing on the tables. Crazy. I ran into John at the Willie Nelson tribute in Nashville a few years back and did my version of "the dance" for him . The look on his face was priceless....Great artist , Great show!

[@artprince9163]

I too saw John first in 1985 in Columbus at the the Agora as it was called then. Wish I could remember who played guitar for him but pretty sure it was not Sonny. He was great but really loud. Small crowd that night. Very early in his career. Saw him 10 years ago or so in Cleveland at HoBlues. Saw Sonny 2 years ago and he was great but with John and his songs they are a force of nature!

[@ben909ben]

@prosound442 Slide on "Bring the Family" was Ry Cooder, not Sonny, bass was Nick Lowe, drums was Jim Keltner.

[@salinasbeat]

Damn! I was in Hamburg in '87 right about that time😥

[@bluessiren78]

i was 9 when this concert happened, but i totally knew who john hiatt was cuz of my parents. it rules!

[@loripain8131]

Your parents brought you up right!

[@blueoctgal]

Same here! My kids still love John Hyatt❤️

[@benzkeavantgarde2824]

Same story here. 😁 I'm from 1980. Still listening to Hiatt, Landreth, The Guilty dogs.... 👌🏼

[@prosound442]

Sonny Landreth might be the best slide guitar player on this (or any other) planet. This is the backing band he used on his breakout "Bring the Family" tour in 1987. He always picks unusual, but very talented musicians to back him up. Check out the Fugitive Popes and the Guilty Dogs, too. Outstanding!

[@toslinked]

bring the family was recorded by hiatt, ry cooder, nick lowe and jim keltner. an amazing album, but the goners stepped it up live A LOT.

[@goodun2974]

​@@toslinked, The same foursome recorded again about 6 years later as Little Village; The record was merely okay, strangely lacking in energy, but I have a bootleg CD of one of their live shows and they were fantastic.

[@toslinked]

@@goodun2974 I still have that record and loved it dearly when it came out. today it sounds a bit too clean for my taste.

[@goodun2974]

@@toslinked , There are a couple of very good live TV performances from Little Village on KZbin, primarily playing "Don't Bug Me When I'm Working" and "She Runs Hot For Me". There's also a performance of "Crying In My Sleep" which wasn't on the record but presumably came from Nick Lowe's back catalog; it's the most powerfully caustic "break-up" song I've ever heard. It's also found on my bootleg CD, along with a stunningly sad and poetic version of "Lipstick Sunset", where Ry wrings more feeling out of his slide guitar than you'd ever think possible. It's a shame they weren't able to capture that same level of energy on the studio recording. The rumor I heard was that somebody in the group wanted more money and that's why they never came together to do a second record. It might interest you to know that before John hooked up with Sonny and the Goners to record Slow Turning there was an abortive effort to record it with David Lindley and bassist John Doe of the band X. Lindley said in an interview that they were playing live in the studio and there was way too much leakage between the microphones and it didn't sound good, so the session was shelved; However, somebody apparently had access to those tapes, and if you search on KZbin you can find an audio-only recording of several songs from that session including the song Ride Along.

[@joannehack7588]

Oh my, what a cool trip it was

[@hdfatboy2k]

LOL Amen. The music is THAT good!!! Thanks for the chuckle. Slan abhaile

[@Blackwaterdogs]

@MrJerryWallace That`s not Jim KeLTner on drums, it`s Kenny Blevins, longtime Goners member. Kenny has a completely different style than Keltner.....

[@davegrier523]

WOW!! That is some kick ass rock and roll there!

[@richardburkholder7955]

Stunning. Thank you SO much.

[@paulelliott3220]

Superb playing - Hiatt in great form, with Sonny playing brilliantly on guitar Love it, thanks for posting

[@mojogypsy]

Great song, great performance!

[@ben909ben]

David Lindley Ry was the guitarist on the album version of this..

[@alancopeland7370]

Is this Sonny Landreth..?? Writer of Congo Square..??

[@VonBluesman]

Yes Alan, that is the one and only Sonny Landreth on guitar.

[@VonBluesman]

Sonny will be playing the New Orleans Jazz Fest on April 26, on a Saturday, Eric Clapton plays on April 27, 2014 Sunday. Hope you can make it.

[@gitanoespana7694]

You ain't heard slide guitar until you've heard this track. Muchas gracias mi amigos

[@benzell4]

Amazing shit, Johnny and Sonny! Yowzer!

[@theresawescott4476]

John's got it right about Memphis. Love that he loves my town!

[@dennisrichards4722]

Cooder/Landreth? Both brilliant. And both worked with one of the great songwriters of our times. Go figure.

[@rjwh67220]

Wow, an original Firebird with the banjo tuners. And don’t it sound sweet!

[@shoppersteve]

Incredible!!! I've head cassettes of a few of these shows that I've been listening to for 25 years and to "see" this is unbelievable...Thanks so much for uploading!

[@coopm12]

@prosound442 You ever seen Bonnie Raitt whale on her slide?

[@Imw101]

Play The Beatles 'I Feel Fine" in your head while this is on.

[@PCN023]

~ For more awesome slide playing check out johnny winter doing highway 61 at dylan's 30th anniversary show. But when it comes to guitarists, or any other artist, we should stop with the 'this and/or they are the best' mentality. you never hear the top hands talk like that because they know better. What's too bad though, is that there are and have been a great many who are or were skilled players and never really heard of, never could make a living.

[@1blastman]

Wanna take a trip? Sonny's gonna drive. 'Nuff said!!

[@JHAM3232]

They still are. What country currently has better songwriters than Todd Snider, Hayes Carll, Jason Isbell, Justin Townes Earle, and Ryan Bingham? I might just move there.

[@HeartRateMonitor1]

You guys are forgetting the late Lowell George of Little Feat, he was no slouch either. They are all very good and I really like Sonny to be sure.

[@artprince9163]

Three best are Roy Rogers, Sonny Landreth, and Derek Trucks. IMHO

[@goodun2974]

​@@artprince9163, Dave Hole is another great one, and John Mooney is excellent.

[@sixstrangtwang]

It dont get any better than this. I mean Dayum.

[@paocap1101]

awesome live set!

[@starke2908]

when I saw them in Davenport Iowa Sonny was his lead player

[@tarpontales]

Hello everyone . Takin nuthin from all of these talented guitarists , but Derek Trucks rules the slide guitar . Hands down !!!!!!

[@SidLaw500]

Kick ass band

[@1stSaintsFan]

I still think his best as a fan of Swamp Music.

[@panpeeker]

I saw him & The Goners after this (in 1988 I think) when he opened a show for Robert Cray at Radio City Music Hall in NYC. I wasn't impressed with Cray but half way into the 2nd song (I think it was this one), something happened that I can't explain well. The band started cooking...and I mean COOKING!! I and everyone else in RCMH was absolutely ecstatic with their performance.

[@alexbowie6316]

What a band that was!

[@paocap1101]

After many years of hard work, of life in the underworld, and obvious disappointment, in 1987 John Hyatt leaves the pits with a large, but big Album, "Bring the family", which will decide definitively the excellence of songwriting, so as evidenced by the flood of covers that will follow later. To promote enterprise, and with an exaggerated badget for a "loser" as he did, the man start on tour with a band finally worthy of note (and not with the usual alcoholics, alcohol well for John is an old acquaintance ). According to the regulations, the location type is a collection Clubbino size, a small group of fellow adventurers and the first row at 10 cm from the stage. Among the others a young Sonny Landreth on Gibson Firebird, here almost at the beginning or almost one then that will give us great guitar themes. I was reminded, because that tour will also run in Italy ... November 1987 Rolling Stone Club , 200 people max + me, a beast cold outside, a large warm the soul within .... Too bad missing Ry Cooder Nick Lowe (in practice, the Little Village, which will be some time later). ....John at his top

[@SwampDaddy7]

@prosound442 That's the cool thing about Rock N' Roll. If done right, they could bring in four or so musicians from EXTREMELY different backgrounds to make awesome music together. Tom Waits does a similar thing in his band.

[@davechae5890]

John. Campbell. 👍Howling. Mercy. Is. The. Lp. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸Pick. A. Tune. Maybe. Like. Down. In. The. Hole. Or. Saddle. Up. My. Pony. 👍👍

[@goodun2974]

I bought that record some years ago expecting great things, but I was disappointed.

[@panpeeker]

Saw them open for Robert Cray at Radio City Music Hall in late 80s. One of my top 10 concerts of all time. I felt sorry for Robert Cray. His performance, while very good, just could not match these guys.

[@goodun2974]

Yeah, saw them both on the Slow Turning tour ---- the Goners were great, Cray was just bleh....

[@goodun2974]

There's footage on KZbin of Sonny and the Goners playing at the Pistoia Blues festival in Italy where , as sonny tells the audience, it took 3 flights for them to get to the show, they hadn't slept, and none of their equipment arrived; Sonny was playing with a Strat and a Marshall borrowed from Robert Cray. He still sounds great however!

[@angel.k7117]

superbe !

[@cayogator]

love that "Firebird" that Sonny has !!!

[@rockitflash]

Is there a dvd available of this,I would order today if so

[@WichitaGuy56]

John Hiatt is great, but even the best can screw it up at times. wtf was that at 2:55, John? Forgot the lyrics, eh? Sa da ba doo dum de dada! lol Great cover up!

[@donaldjoy4023]

WichitaGuy56 Yeah he just blanked out on the words lol

[@vapormissile]

I was too busy wondering what the other guys were talking about. Reminded me of the ine Apocalyptica where Jason Newkid is wondering similarly. Like a busted string and an unplugged mic.. I would never notice but for their reactions. :)

[@nicolaperfetti8458]

god, it was the best part "Sure I like country music I like mandolins But right now I need a telecaster Through a vibro-lux turned up to ten"

[@kfm908]

he forgot he likes mandolins !

[@goodun2974]

​@@kfm908, I've actually seen John play mandolin in a solo show.

[@spacedoginnebraska]

Forever great.

[@daf827]

John's best performances are with the Goners. Great chemistry.

[@allenkennedy6748]

The first 90 seconds are electrifying! Cue all the hipster remarks.

[@neilsthepoet]

Sonny!!! Damn 💕🎶jon🎶💕

[@dirkhebgeennaamachter9056]

Fantastic performance, Sonny starts first at 1:35 minutes

[@williamgoldrick2341]

johnny boy is cooking this song makes me wanna jump up and dance

[@jackl3586]

John, your dressed a little like a hip undertaker!

[@kcdurkin8498]

I was a Sonny Landreth fan before being a John Hiatt fan... Has come so far from the Bayou.

[@Qwazier3]

Seen John with a full band and just himself and his key board. Excellent however he shows up.

[@johntrik]

Sonny playing a Firebird,that is so f****** awesome,yeaaaaa......!

[@christineschmidt8494]

Love Greg Allmans version of this!

[@allengoyne]

I wonder if John H got sidetracked by how kickass Sonny's guitar playing was and forgot the lyric

[@MonaAllegra]

Amen! Johnny done reallll good!

[@nofider1]

Just love sonny......Can you imagine Lowell George and sonny together.....Battle or what ! C.

[@SuperGrumpy247]

That just kicked my ass ;^)}

[@silver-hammer]

The song is basically 19th Nervous Breakdown/Stones, though!

[@asoulfulsoundnow]

John and Sonny.. i think my head just exploded!

[@furball321]

2:55 probably *IS* forgetting the words. Much more impressive - listen to the beginning vamp and then what the band does with the meter! WOW.

[@kenster007]

Sonny Landreth could make a shoebox with rubber bands sound awesome.

[@MysteryHunterz]

@prosound442 Sonny is probably the best slide guitarist in his genre/style yea :D

[@martymiles784]

Sonny's playing is spot on, but I'd love to see what Johnny Winter could do with this song.. That Gibson Firebird is smokin"

[@coopm12]

B. B. King once said Bonnie Raitt is the best slide guit player he'd ever worked with. I'll take his word over any of the other experts here lol.