Rateliff grew up in rural Missouri, learning to play the drums at age seven. As a young teenager, he taught himself guitar and began writing his own songs. At eighteen, Rateliff moved to Denver for missionary work. Nathaniel Rateliff and the Wheel released Desire and Dissolving Men on Public Service Records in 2007. Nathaniel Rateliff then released In Memory of Loss in the USA on Rounder Records in May 2010, and then in the UK on Decca in March 2011. In Memory of Loss, crafted with producer Brian Deck (Iron & Wine)[captured the attention of Amazon.com, which listed his album as the number-one album you might have missed in 2010. The New York Times pushed his show in New York City to Mojo, which gave his record a four-star review. On September 17, 2013, Rateliff secretly released his second album alling Faster Than You Can Run on Mod y Vi Records. On the same day he set out on a tour with The Lumineers and Dr. Dog, in support of the album.
On June 24, 2015, the self-titled release of Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats via Stax Records was announced with the lead single being “S.O.B.“. The Night Sweats feature guitarist Joseph Pope III, Mark Shusterman (keyboards) and Patrick Meese (drums).[9] Other band members include Luke Mossman, Wesley Watkins, and Andy Wild.
Rateliff developed a dedicated following within the Denver music community. The New York Times dubbed him a Denver local folk-pop hero. Spin praised his “massive, alluring” voice. Billboard dubbed the unsigned singer-songwriter a “must hear.”[ This wave of acclaim led to a solo tour opening for The Fray, which brought his work to the attention of national and international audiences. Rateliff was featured on the late-night music television series Later… with Jools Holland on BBC in 2011 along with Donovan and Blondie.Rteliff has also shared the stage with artists such as Bon Iver, Mason Jennings, Iron & Wine, Ben Howard, Michael Kiwanuka, The Low Anthem, Mumford & Sons, Laura Marling and Rosanne Cash, among others including The Lumineers in Denver for the United States presidential election debates, 2012. On August 5, 2015, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats made their late-night television debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
