Concert: John Mellencamp

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John Mellencamp

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John Mellencamp is a singer/songwriter from Seymour, IN. He started out as a Bruce Springsteen clone called Johnny Cougar in the 70's. .As he began to mature and evolve, he created a distinctive sound and image for himself. He struggled a lot of get to where he is right now. His music is a careful blend of hard rock and folk-rock.
Although he had achieved commercial success with the consistent sales of his albums. Critics were still skeptical about categorizing him as a serious artist. His 1985 release, "Scare Crow" finally silenced the critics and from thereon he began getting the appreciation from critics he deserved.

He was born in Seymour, IN and early on in his childhood he faced health difficulties. He was born with a neural tube defect called "Spina Bifida," this led to him being hospitalized for long periods as a baby. As a teenager, he was a rebel with a cause and often got into trouble with eh Law&Order authorities. He formed his first band when he was 14 and played continuously throughout his teens. He took a dramatic step when at the age of 17 he eloped with his pregnant girlfriend, Pricilla Esterline. He took up many blue collar jobs as he needed to support his family. At the age of 24, he moved to New York City and staked his claim at stardom.

While in New York, he came into contact with David Bowie's manager, Tony De Fries. De Fries got him signed up in a lucrative deal with MCA. His album of covers called "Chestnut Street Incident" was due to release in 1976, when John discovered that De Fries had billed him as Johnny Cougar. The album bombed and John lost his contract with MCA. His will to succeed, did not let him give up. Two years later he signed up with the smaller Riva Records and released, "A Biography" in 1978. The album met the same fate as his predecessor. But his next album, "Johnny Cougar" released in 1979 got him into the charts. The single "I Need a Lover," became a Top 40 hit. His next compilations came in 1980 and was titled, "Nothin' Matters and What If It Did."The album was produced by Steve Cropper and included Top 30 hits "This Time" and "Ain't Even Done With the Night."

He achieved his first major success with his 1982 released album, "American Fool." The album was a commercial success and scorched to number one on the charts. The album rode on the popularity of the number one single, "Jack and Diane" and the number two "Hurts So Good." The videos of the song were also a rage and became MTV favorites. His 1983 released, "Uh-Huh" was the first album that was credited to John Cougar Mellencamp. The album sustained his popularity and was released when the success of American Fool was on full throttle. American Fool was still high on the charts, this helped "Uh-Huh" to peak at number nine on the charts. The album contained the hit singles, "Crumblin' Down" and "Pink Houses," which reached the Top ten and "Authority Song" which reached number 15.

He finally gained the appreciation of his critics with the release of "Scarecrow" in 1985. The album peaked at number two on consisted of the top ten singles, "Lonely Ol' Night," "Small Town," and "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A." The success of this album created another avenue for Mellencamp. He became an outspoken advocate of the American farmer and organized Farm Aid with Willie Nelson and Neil Young. His next release was 1987's, "The Lonesome Jubilee." The album was another success and reached number six, the included the hit singles, "Paper in Fire," "Cherry Bomb," and "Check It Out." Mellencamp kept forth his exploration of American roots music with "Big Daddy" that was issued in 1989.

"Human Wheels" was released in 1993 and got Mellencamp some of his best reviews. Although the album debuted at number seven on the charts, it did not generate any hit singles and slipped slowly down the charts. Mellencamp returned with a bang in 1994 when his album Dance Naked went gold. It included the duet with Me'Shell NdegéOcello on Van Morrison's "Wild Night" and achieved the number three position on the charts.

Mellencamp moved to Columbia in 1998 and released, "Rough Harvest," a years later. His 20th album and his second for Columbia, "Cuttin Heads" was released in 2001, and generated the radio hit, "Peaceful World." He was honored with the Billboard Century Award for Creative Achievement in 2001. was a collection of unreleased material, appeared a year later. He recorded and released a covers album, "Trouble No More," in 2003 and it topped the Billboard blues Charts.