John Mellencamp - Songs, Spouses and Children (2023)

Who is John Mellencamp?

John Mellencamp began his musical career in the mid-1970s as Johnny Cougar. A pop sensation in the 1980s, Mellencamp have become one of rock's most enduring bands. He has often expressed the small-town American experience in his music, something he knows all too well from growing up in Indiana. His groundbreaking 1982 album,american fool,it included the number 1 track "Jack & Diane" and cemented his popularity throughout the decade with hits like "Pink Houses" and "Small Town."Liberty Walk. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame the following year, he continues to release new material and tour regularly.

entrance to the race

John Mellencamp was born on October 7, 1951 in Seymour, Indiana. Mellencamp, who was recovering from neonatal surgery to correct a spinal defect, developed an early interest in music. He started playing in a cover band called Crepe Soul in his teens. With a rebellious streak, Mellencamp would hang out with his friends and party instead of dedicating himself intensely to his studies. His disciplined father, an executive at a local electronics company, tried to motivate him to exercise and continue his studies, but to no avail. At 18, Mellencamp broke up with his pregnant girlfriend of 21 years, Priscilla Esterline. The couple soon welcomed a daughter, Michelle.

Mellencamp enrolled at Indiana Vincennes University and tried to find steady employment before returning to music. He recorded several demos of his songs and took them to New York City to launch his career. After several flops, the budding musician landed a manager, Tony DeFries, who had worked with artists likeDavid Bowie. DeFries decided to change Mellencamp's last name to Cougar because he believed it would make him more appealing to the record-buying audience. Mellencamp was not happy with the decision and later reverted to his birth name.

johnny pumas first album,Incidente en Chestnut Street, was released by MCA in 1976 but failed to sell many copies. Ridiculed by critics, Mellencamp was seen by some as an inferior version ofBruce Springsteenor Bob Seger. MCA never released his second album and dropped him from the label, and Mellencamp soon parted ways with DeFries as well.

Mainstream hits: „Jack & Diane“ and „Hurts Good“

Mellencamp's luck finally turned for the better. Her single "I Need a Lover" became a hit in Australia in 1978 and a top 30 song in the US after its release with Thejohn cougaralbum in 1979. His next attempt,Nothing matters even if it does(1980) successfully released singles like "This Time" and "Ain't Even Done With the Night."

As his career accelerated, Mellencamp underwent some changes in his personal life. His first marriage ended in divorce and he married Vicky Granucci in 1981. The couple had two daughters, Teddi Jo and Justice, before divorcing in 1989.

Mellencamp's big break came in 1982 with the chart-topping albumamerican fool. His ode to a young Central American couple, Jack & Diane, topped the charts. For "Hurts So Good", another hit from the album, Mellencamp won the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance. Videos for both songs were played widely on MTV, further increasing the artist's popularity.

The following year, Mellencamp enjoyed further commercial success withUH Huh, which became a Top 10 album thanks to three hit singles: "Crumblin' Down", "Pink Houses" and "Authority Song". Now calling himself John Cougar Mellencamp, he has also received increasing critical acclaim for his songwriting abilities.

Mellencamp's next album, the acclaimedstraw man(1985), showcased a mix of styles, from the uptempo "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A (A Salute to 60's Rock)" to the more introspective "Small Town" and the stormy dirge "Rain on the Scarecrow," which tackles the difficult situation of the peasant family. This was an issue close to his heart: As a co-founder of Farm Aid, an American organization supporting family farming, Mellencamp helped organize his first show in 1985 and remained active on the charity's board of directors.

mature sound

Mellencamp continued to mature as an artist with his next recording,the lonely anniversary(1987), which included some experiments with a folk-rock sound. Three tracks from the album, "Paper in Fire", "Cherry Bomb" and "Check It Out", reached the top 20 of the charts.

Mellencamp's subsequent albums continued to sell well, although he released fewer charting singles.big dad(1989) included the selfish hit "Pop Singer."when we wanted(1991) featured "Get a Leg Up". For the artist, the creation of the album was a life-changing event: not only was it his first release under the John Mellencamp moniker, but it also allowed him to meet model Elaine Irwin, who appeared on the cover and video. from the album. of "Lift a Leg". The couple married in 1992 and had sons, Hud and Speck.

Around this time, Mellencamp tried his hand at acting. She directed and starred in the function.fall from grace(1992), a semi-autobiographical drama about a successful musician returning to his small-town roots. The script was written by the famous western author Larry McMurtry.

Mellencamp continued his song and deliveredhuman wheels(1993) and got solid radio play with its title track and "What if I Came Knocking". your next release,dance naked(1994) featured their biggest hit in years, a cover of Van Morrison's "Wild Night" featuring Meshell singer Ndegeocello. That year, however, Mellencamp had to abruptly cancel a tour after suffering a heart attack. This health crisis caused some changes in the artist's lifestyle, who managed to overcome a severe addiction to nicotine and began to exercise. "I didn't train until I had the heart attack," he said later.PeopleMagazine.

recognition and reactivation

Back in the studio, Mellencamp teamed up with dance music producer Junior Vasquez to createSr. Happy Go Lucky(1996) with a modest hit on "Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First)". She returned to touring regularly the following year.

Although he was no longer on the pop charts, the artist continued to produce music that reflected his reflections on life and the Middle Ages through his albums.John Mellencamp(1998),raw harvest(1999) misevered heads(2001). He was also honored with the 2001 award for his impressive work.billboardCentury Award. "John Mellencamp is possibly the most important roots rocker of his generation," he said.billboardEditor-in-Chief Timothy White. "Mellencamp's best music is rock 'n' roll without any escapism, directly describing the messiness of life as it is actually lived."

The release of a greatest hits album in 2005 seemed to herald a return to the pop culture spotlight, and in 2007 Mellencamp built on the momentum with the release ofLiberty Walk. Debut at number 5 of thebillboardChart,Liberty Walkit contained the ubiquitous single "Our Country", which was featured in several Chevrolet commercials and was nominated for a Grammy.

In 2008 he found his music in the middle of the political campaign. Mellencamp, a well-known Democratic supporter, had his representatives question the Republican presidential nominee.Juan McCainstopped playing his songs "Nuestro País" and "Casas Rosadas" out loud during his ralliesPeopleMagazine.

In March of that year, Mellencamp was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, an opportunity he marked with a rousing rendition of "Authority Song" with his son Speck on guitar. Not content to rest on past achievements, he followed up with another acclaimed album,Life, death, love and freedom.

still strong

on tour withBob Dylanmiwillie nelsonIn 2009, Mellencamp recorded new songs at various historic locations in the South, including the First African Baptist Church in Savannah, Georgia and Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee. The result was slimmed down and serious.nothing better than that, which was released in August 2010 to good reviews. Later that year, he announced that he was separating from his wife Elaine and the divorce was finalized the following summer.

With decades of success in pop music, Mellencamp has shown a willingness to explore new frontiers. A long-planned collaboration with the novelist.Stephen Kingfinally came to fruition in 2012 when the production ofDarkland County Ghost Brothersbegan its run at the Alliance Theater in Atlanta, Georgia. Mellencamp wrote the songs for this southern gothic musical about two feuding brothers and the ghosts that haunt his family.

It was also around this time that Mellencamp revealed his talents as a painter to a wider audience. Having devoted more energy to this hobby in recent years, he assembled a collection that led to his first exhibition.Nothing as I Planned: The Art of John Mellencamp,at the Tennessee State Museum in Nashville in 2012. Since then, her work has also been exhibited in galleries in Georgia, Ohio, and New York City.

Still, there was a lot of new music to create. In 2014, Mellencamp released his first studio album in four years, filled with folk and blues.simply spoken. The tireless rocker went on tour in support of the album, the final leg of which wrapped up in the fall of 2016.

Mellencamp has been romantically involved with the actress in recent years.y ryanand supermodel Christie Brinkley.

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