John Hiatt has one of the most distinctive singing voices in popular music, a soulful rasp that applies a layer of sweet grit to everything he sings. So you'd think he might be nervous at the prospect of messing with it. But last year, he had surgery to fix a deviated septum -- and came through it with his voice intact, fortunately. Better than ever, in fact.

"I've always had trouble breathing through my nose and with allergies, and I finally had that corrected," Hiatt said in a recent interview. "It's made a great difference. My ear-nose-and-throat guy is really great. He said, 'You'll wonder why you didn't do this 20 years ago,' and he was right. It's made everything easier, and I don't have to work as hard to get the notes out. I've got more of my head to work with, and breathing is easier."

For more on what Hiatt does with that voice, plus details on his Triangle show next week, see the interview in Friday's paper.

By now, there's a canon for just about everything -- including rock history's greatest guitar smashes. Check it out, even if John Hiatt would not approve. I think my favorite is No. 7, "'Priceless' Kid."

(Thanks, Bob.)

Click through for a bunch more verbiage on John Hiatt than the blurb that's in Friday's paper.