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John Hiatt is a songwriter's songwriter.

Even if you don't recognize the name, which is unlikely at this point, surely you know the songs.

They've been covered by some of the biggest artists in the business. The best known among them would have to be "Thing Called Love," the sly, funky number that sent Bonnie Raitt's career into high orbit.

But that just scratches the surface.

Songs of Hiatt's have been recorded by musicians such as Three Dog Night ("Sure As I'm Sittin' Here") and Willie Nelson ("The Most Unoriginal Sin," which Nelson called "the best song I've ever heard"). Other Hiatt compositions that have made an impact in various musicians' hands include "Angel Eyes," a Top 10 hit for the late Jeff Healey, and "Riding With the King," which B.B. King and Eric Clapton anointed the title track for their collaboration.

The list of artists who have covered Hiatt is seemingly endless. On the female side are Roseanne Cash, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Jewel and Paula Abdul. Two highly disparate icons, Bob Dylan and Iggy Pop, each have had a go at a John Hiatt song. Even Disney's cartoon bear band sang a Hiatt tune in the 2002 film "The Country Bears."

It's no accident that John Hiatt has won a Songwriter of the Year award, a Lifetime Achievement in Songwriting honor and been proclaimed "the poet laureate of Nashville's inner circle." His appeal extends to rock, folk, blues, Americana and even country-music fans and musicians.

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John Hiatt is a singer's singer.

It's always good to hear others interpret him, but Hiatt's own delivery of his songs adds an extra measure of veracity. His voice is, by turns, gruff and tender, sly and wise, crackling with humor and emotionally nuanced.

On his acknowledged classic "Bring the Family," released in 1987, Hiatt turned to unvarnished autobiography, singing with honest, unguarded passion. On the other hand, his raucous live album "Hiatt Comes Alive at Budokan" found him shouting with the fiery abandon of a '50s rock 'n' roller.

Born in Indianapolis, Hiatt's course was set from a young age. He claims to have written his first song when he was 11.

Like his fellow Hoosier John Mellencamp, Hiatt always has been a rebellious Midwesterner at heart with a scrappy streak running through him. When he sings, he hides nothing about himself or his characters. Just listen to "Have a Little Faith in Me," from "Bring the Family," which is as naked as it gets.

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John Hiatt is a guitarist's guitarist.

Well, maybe that's an exaggeration, but he's pretty darn good. Good enough, in fact, to be handpicked as rhythm guitarist for a band assembled by no less a virtuoso than Ry Cooder.

Musicianship is probably Hiatt's most overlooked talent, but he's a rock-solid rhythm guitarist and pianist.

If you really want to savor his playing, listen to the stripped-down "Crossing Muddy Waters," where he shines on acoustic guitar. Or catch one of his solo shows.

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John Hiatt is a survivor's survivor.

By the mid-1980s, about the time he released "Warming Up to the Ice Age," a good album that he claims not to remember much about making, a lifetime of living in the fast lane caught up with him.

"Drinking and doing drugs were very much a part of my life," he said. "I lived my life in bars."

Hiatt confronted his excesses and completely turned himself around. He thereupon embarked on a rewarding, new chapter, doing his best work while fully embracing family life. These days he lives on a horse farm south of Nashville, Tenn., where he tinkers on race cars. He says there's always music in the air. Hiatt's musical tastes are eclectic, as befits a singer/songwriter who defies pigeonholing.

"You'll hear Merle Haggard out of one corner and jazz out of another, and I've usually got the country station on in my race-car shop," he told me in a 2001 interview. "It's a beautiful cacophony that goes on out here on the farm."

Having beaten back his demons, he channeled his predilection for the edge into oval-track auto racing. And he has won some trophies on the track, too.

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John Hiatt is an artist's artist.

His numerous recordings date back to 1974's "Hangin' Around the Observatory." There isn't a bad disc in his catalog, and several are essential to any well-rounded collection. Foremost among them is his recovery trilogy -- "Bring the Family," "Slow Turning" and "Stolen Moments" -- which came out in the late 1980s.

But don't overlook the albums that came before that, especially "Riding With the King," or his raw, rocking, garage-days-revisited blowout from 1993, "Perfectly Good Guitar."

Among his releases in this decade, "Master of Disaster" is an especially worthy contender. Hiatt's 40-song, double-disc "Anthology," which appeared in 2001, is a well-programmed career overview.

Hiatt's latest release, "Same Old Man," is his fourth for New West, an Americana label that makes an ideal fit for his rootsy, down-to-earth sensibility. It continues to mine the theme of growing older, first addressed on 2003's "Beneath This Gruff Exterior," which he drolly described as "my ascent to curmudgeonhood."

Overall, "Same Old Man" is a more ruminative, low-key, acoustic affair whose strength is in its subtlety.

"Truth is I never was young/Shot like a bullet from a rusty old gun," he sings in the title song.

The voice shows a bit more wear, like a well-traveled leather jacket whose imperfections only add to its character. "Old Days," one of the best songs on "Same Old Man," is a story-telling reminiscence of legends with whom he has shared a stage, such as Brownie McGhee and John Lee Hooker.

"Old days are coming back to me," he sings with a bemused cackle as some amazing memories spill from his lips.

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Finally, John Hiatt is a performer's performer.

I've seen him a number of times, and like a sports team that leaves it all on the field, he holds nothing back onstage. Like the cars he sings about on the new album's "Cherry Red" and the previous album's "Thunderbird," Hiatt is an American classic.

"I love writing songs and making records," Hiatt has said, "and I love the idea that you can go out and play and people will show up. That's a pretty wonderful feeling."

Parke Puterbaugh is a freelance contributor who lives in Greensboro. Contact him at parkeputerbaugh@earthlink.net.