John Mellencamp

Artist Image: John Mellencamp
Attribution
Image Credit: Martin Overstrom (Own work), CC BY 3.0

Biography

John Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951) is an American rock singer-songwriter, musician, painter and occasional actor known for his catchy, populist brand of heartland rock which emphasizes traditional instrumentation. He has sold over 40 million albums worldwide and has amassed 22 Top 40 hits in the United States. In addition, he holds the record for the most tracks by a solo artist to hit number-one on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, with seven, and has been nominated for 13 Grammy Awards, winning one. His latest album, No Better Than This, was released on August 17, 2010 to widespread critical acclaim. Mellencamp is also one of the founding members of Farm Aid, an organization that began in 1985 with a concert in Champaign, Illinois to raise awareness about the loss of family farms and to raise funds to keep farm families on their land. The Farm Aid concerts have remained an annual event over the past 27 years, and as of 2012 the organization has raised over $40 million to promote a strong and resilient family farm system of agriculture. Mellencamp was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 10, 2008 by Billy Joel. His biggest musical influences are Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, James Brown and The Rolling Stones. Said longtime Rolling Stone contributor Anthony DeCurtis: "Mellencamp has created an important body of work that has earned him both critical regard and an enormous audience. His songs document the joys and struggles of ordinary people seeking to make their way, and he has consistently brought the fresh air of common experience to the typically glamour-addled world of popular music."

Details

Item Name Item Details
Year Formed 1976
Number of Albums 43
Record Label
Website www.johnmellencamp.com
Wikipedia John Mellencamp on Wikipedia
Social Networks

Trivia

What charity did he cofound in 1985?

Farm Aid

...olved toward socially conscious storytelling; he cofounded the charity Farm Aid the same year he released his defining album, 1985's Scarecrow, which ...
Scarecrow was released in what year?

1985

...unded the charity Farm Aid the same year he released his defining album, 1985 's Scarecrow, which reflects the same kind of populist philosophies. Elem...
What was the name of his defining album?

Scarecrow

... charity Farm Aid the same year he released his defining album, 1985's Scarecrow , which reflects the same kind of populist philosophies. Elements of f...
What was the name of Mellencamp's first album?

Johnny Cougar

...mpossibility when Mellencamp released his first album under the name Johnny Cougar in 1976. As a child in Seymour, Indiana, Mellencamp had suffered a ...
In what state was he born?

Indiana

...irst album under the name Johnny Cougar in 1976. As a child in Seymour, Indiana , Mellencamp had suffered a number of setbacks, including being born wi...
At what age did he form his first band?

14

...n getting in trouble with the law. He formed his first band at the age of 14 , and continued to play throughout his teens. When he was 17, he eloped wi...
What was his pregnant girlfriend's name?

Priscilla Esterline

...nued to play throughout his teens. When he was 17, he eloped with Priscilla Esterline , his pregnant girlfriend, and proceeded to try to support his fa...
What was the name of MellenCamp's album of covers?

Chestnut Street Incident

... decided to move to New York City to attempt to break into the music industry. Mellencamp recorded an album of covers called Chestnut Street Incident ....
What genre of music did Mellencamp first listen to?

Motown soul music

...Paul Rees Atria BooksSimon & Schuster The first music he loved was Motown soul music that he listened to on AM radio stations from Detroit, Chicago, a...
Where did he listen to Motown soul music?

AM radio stations

... first music he loved was Motown soul music that he listened to on AM radio stations from Detroit, Chicago, and Louisville. (He says thats when he beg...
What was John's dad's name?

Richard Mellencamp

...certain. In class, he was sullen, smartmouthed. John and his dad, Richard Mellencamp , didnt get along; they fought about a lot of things that fathers ...
What is the name of the British writer who wrote Mellencamp?

Paul Rees

...Mellencamp By Paul Rees Atria BooksSimon & Schuster The first music he loved was Motown soul music that he listened to on AM radio stations from Detro...
What did Rees dislike about the book?

heartland rock

...a midwestern teenager growing into a musician who came to represent heartland rock , a term he disliked. The book, written with the cooperation and sup...
What genre of music did Mellencamp primarily focus on in the 1960s?

classic guitar rock

... rural midwesterners. Until the 1990s he was mainly rooted in the classic guitar rock of 1960s bands like the Rolling Stones and Them as well as the A...
What Depression era songwriter was a major influence on his music?

Woody Guthrie

... well as the American folk tradition of the Depressionera songwriter Woody Guthrie . Later Mellencamp branched out to experiment with electronic beats,...
What was Mellencamp's home base?

Southern Indiana

...world. Mellencamp has never strayed far from his midwestern roots. Southern Indiana remains his home base. He became an activist for the plight of fam...
Who was Woody Guthrie?

Depressionera songwriter

... Stones and Them as well as the American folk tradition of the Depressionera songwriter Woody Guthrie. Later Mellencamp branched out to experiment wit...
What prevented him from getting the radio exposure he enjoyed in his early days?

his advancing age

... shows became a jukebox of career hits. He later acknowledged that his advancing age prevented him from getting the radio exposure he enjoyed in his e...
What was he connecting the politics of the day with?

the lives of average Americans

...e gave up worrying about writing hit singles. Instead, he explored folk music, connecting the politics of the day with the lives of average Americans ....
What was the name of his first hit album?

I Need a Lover

...e; however, repackaged as a heartland rocker, he had his first hit, I Need a Lover , in late 1979. With two more big hits, Hurts So Good and Jack and D...
What was the name of the album that made him a star?

American Fool

... With two more big hits, Hurts So Good and Jack and Diane, the album American Fool (1982) made Mellencamp a star. His lyrics grew more empathic, and h...
In what year did American Fool come out?

1982

...ore big hits, Hurts So Good and Jack and Diane, the album American Fool ( 1982 ) made Mellencamp a star. His lyrics grew more empathic, and his music ac...
What was the name of Mellencamp's 1994 album?

Dance Naked

...ved as his work from the mid1980s. The most notable of these included Dance Naked (1994), which went gold on the strength of its cover version of Van ...
What year was Dance Naked released?

1994

... work from the mid1980s. The most notable of these included Dance Naked ( 1994 ), which went gold on the strength of its cover version of Van Morrison s...
Trouble No More topped the blues with what type of cover?

strippeddown

...tled John Mellencamp (1998); and Trouble No More (2003), an album of strippeddown covers that topped the blues charts. Freedoms Road (2007) yielded th...
Who produced No Better Than This?

T Bone Burnett

...007) yielded the minor hit Our Country. Later releases included the T Bone Burnett produced No Better Than This (2010), Plain Spoken (2014), and Sad C...
How many people live in Seymour, Indiana?

20,000

...collar town about forty minutes from Bloomington, is populated by about 20,000 , mostly electronics industry workers. But it also produced at least one...
How far from Bloomington is Semour?

forty minutes

...Seymour, Indiana, a blue collar town about forty minutes from Bloomington, is populated by about 20,000, mostly electronics industry workers. But it a...
What was John Mellencamp's father's job title?

vice president

... his two sisters and two brothers, was raised strictly. His father, vice president of Robbins Electric in Seymour, pushed Mellencamp to excel at schoo...
At what age did John take his first steps in life?

eighteen

...hool and sports, neither of which the boy took to heart. At the age of eighteen , Mellencamp took off to Kentucky and married his twentythree year old ...
How many sisters and brothers were there in John's family?

two

...granted, is hard when you've never really left. John Mellencamp, with his two sisters and two brothers, was raised strictly. His father, vice presiden...
What was the name of the company that pushed John to excel at?

Robbins Electric

...d two brothers, was raised strictly. His father, vice president of Robbins Electric in Seymour, pushed Mellencamp to excel at school and sports, neith...
What did Mellencamp attend junior college and study?

communications

...their newborn daughter Michelle. Attending junior college, studying communications , and barely holding down a job for more than a few months, Mellenca...
Where did the newlyweds live?

Priscilla's parents' house

...t of making a living for themselves, the newlyweds moved into Priscilla's parents' house with their newborn daughter Michelle. Attending junior colleg...
Where did my father grow up?

Oklahoma

... better yet, he's got a mind of his own. Like my father who grew up in Oklahoma , John started out as a son of the midwest, heir to generations of farm...
What are fighters often hot headed, impulsive and laser focused on?

their sense of right and wrong

...ghters are often hot headed, impulsive and laser focused on their sense of right and wrong . Their punches are meant to land and fall their opponents; ...
What are their punches meant to land and fall their opponents?

Injustice, Racism, and even Capitalism itself

... punches are meant to land and fall their opponents; Injustice, Racism, and even Capitalism itself . My father sang, When I was a little boy, first I h...
Who sang, When I was little boy, first I had to grow?

My father

...d fall their opponents; Injustice, Racism, and even Capitalism itself. My father sang, When I was a little boy, first I had to grow. Someone's got to ...
How many Top 40 hits has he amassed in the US?

22

...rtland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrumentation. He has amassed 22 Top 40 hits in the United States. In addition, he holds the record for th...
What is the record for the most tracks by a solo artist to hit number one on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart?

seven

...o artist to hit number one on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, with seven . His latest album of original songs, Strictly a OneEyed Jack, was relea...
How many albums has Mellencamp sold in the US?

over 30 million

...OneEyed Jack, was released on January 21, 2022. Mellencamp has sold over 30 million albums in the US and over 60 million worldwide. Mellencamp is also...
Where did the first Farm Aid concert take place?

Champaign, Illinois

...of Farm Aid, an organization that began in 1985 with a concert in Champaign, Illinois , to raise awareness about the loss of family farms and to raise ...
How many years have Farm Aid concerts been held?

37

...ies on their land. Farm Aid concerts have remained an annual event over the past 37 years, and as of 2022 the organization has raised over 60 million....
What was the No. 1 track on American Fool?

Jack & Diane

...His breakthrough 1982 album, American Fool, featured the No. 1 track Jack & Diane , and throughout the decade he cemented his popularity through hits l...
What was the name of Mellencamp's 2007 album?

Freedom's Road

...is sound matured, returning to the spotlight in 2007 with his album Freedom's Road . Elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame the following year, he c...
In what year was Freedom's Road released?

2007

...d churning out music as his sound matured, returning to the spotlight in 2007 with his album Freedom's Road. Elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...
What was the reason for MellenCamp's early interest in music?

neonatal surgery to correct a spinal defect

...al and tour regularly. Mellencamp, who recovered from neonatal surgery to correct a spinal defect , developed an early interest in music. With a rebell...
What kind of father tried to motivate his son to pursue athletics and studies?

disciplinarian

... and partied instead of paying much attention to his schooling. His disciplinarian father, an executive with a local electronics firm, tried to motiva...