b. 7 October 1951, Seymour, Indiana, USA. Mellencamp survived an early phase as a glam-rocker to become one of America’s most successful mainstream rock singers of the past three decades.
Mellencamp played in local band Trash with guitarist Larry Crane, who remained with the singer throughout the 80s. In 1976, David Bowie’s manager Tony DeFries signed him to a recording contract with MainMan Management. Mellencamp’s name was changed to Johnny Cougar and he was given a James Dean-style image. The rush-released Chestnut Street Incident (1976), comprised mainly of cover versions, did not chart. He left MainMan and moved back to Indiana, formed the Zone and recorded 1977’s self-pennedThe Kid Inside. Shortly afterwards he signed to Riva Records, owned by Rod Stewart’s manager Billy Gaff who presented the singer as the next Bruce Springsteen. His first chart action came courtesy ofJohn Cougar, which included the US Top 30 single ‘I Need A Lover’ in December 1979. Cougar and his band toured constantly, a strategy which paid off in 1982 when American Fool headed the US album chart (USA sales by 1996 were 5 million) while both ‘Hurts So Good’ (which won the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance) and ‘Jack And Diane’ (a US chart-topper) were million-sellers.
The following year the singer became John Cougar Mellencamp, eventually dropping the ‘Cougar’ part in 1989. Many of his songs were now dealing with social problems, and Mellencamp was one of the organisers of the Farm Aid series of benefit concerts. His straight-ahead rock numbers also brought a string of big hits in the second half of the 80s. Among the most notable were ‘Crumblin’ Down’, ‘Pink Houses’, ‘Lonely Ol’ Night’, ‘Small Town’, ‘R.O.C.K. In The USA (A Salute To 60’s Rock)’, ‘Paper In Fire’ and ‘Cherry Bomb’. The singer’s debut for Mercury Records, 1987’s The Lonesome Jubilee used fiddles and accordions to illustrate bleak portraits of America in recession, while ‘Pop Singer’ from 1989’s Big Daddy expressed Mellencamp’s disillusionment with the current state of the music business.
At the start of the 90s, Mellencamp took time off to concentrate on painting but returned in 1992 with Whenever We Wanted, which recaptured the muscular rock sound of his earlier albums. The same year, Mellencamp directed and starred in the movie Falling From Grace. He continued to hit the US charts with amazing rapidity and, up until early 1991, he had charted 21 singles in the US Hot 100 of which nine were Top 10, with one number 1, ‘Jack And Diane’ in 1982.
After the relative commercial failure of 1993’s Human Wheels, Mellencamp made a strong comeback the following year with Dance Naked and the attendant Top 5 cover version of Van Morrison’s ‘Wild Night’ (featuring Me’Shell NdegeoCello). Mellencamp suffered a major heart attack shortly after the release of Dance Naked, and following this scare was sidelined for over a year. He returned in 1996 with Mr. Happy Go Lucky, on which his sound was augmented by the work of noted dance producer Junior Vasquez. A more traditional self-titled set, his first for new label Columbia Records, was released in 1998, earning Mellencamp his best reviews in years. In 2000, Mellencamp teamed up with novelist Stephen King to write a full-length ghost story stage musical. He also completed work on Cuttin’ Heads, another rootsy collection that also found the time to include a guest rap from Chuck D. on the title track and a duet with India.Arie on ‘Peaceful World’.
Mellencamp’s final recording for Columbia was 2003’s “Trouble No More”, a collection of blues and folk cover versions and a rewrite of the traditional ‘To Washington’ that explicitly criticised President George W. Bush and his involvement in the Iraq War. Mellencamp switched to the Universal Republic stable for his next album. Released at the start of 2007, Freedom’s Road proved the artist’s longevity by becoming the highest debuting album of his career. He was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in March 2008.
