![]() So many different recording studios, managers, mixers, vocalists, guest vocalists, record company fights, and disappointments. Musical genius interspersed with horrific anger and verbal abuse. Friends, he will call on the phone every day and unending respect for the American legends - Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Srevie Wonder, and Johnny Cash to name a few.Įvery album from his first to his current has been a different journey. So very close to his Grandfather and any bandmate or friend who has a loved one ill, you can count on John to be caring and concerned. Tough on his kids but his love for them shows no bounds. Some of his band have performed on his albums, toured with him, and then basically been shut out. Many a bandmate has he fired, re-hired, and fired again. John has a litany of failed relationships and marriages behind him. The problem comes when he needs to get a message across, the people skills are non-existent. John Mellencamp is a tightly strung perfectionist, he never wants to fail and there is nothing wrong with that. He has no tolerance for what he needs as an artist, and that is managers and record companies. To his bandmates he is verbally abusive, blaming, and shaming. He has a foul temper, he is a control freak and so very hard to get along with. What a great guy! Well, maybe but John Mellencamp is a prick. John Mellencamp was and is a small-town boy who loves the American backbone farming community, hates all forms of racism and discrimination, shuns the megastar spotlight, and is true to his roots. Yet on stage, he was the ultimate performer, his shows were great and filled with hits. Hated performing standard rock and pop songs, hated one of his biggest hits with a passion - Hurts So Good. He hated the 'Cougar' tag given to him for a tougher image by record execs. Yet he never truly performed how he wanted. Mellencamp was up there with the highest selling artists. Jack and Diane, Hurts So Good, I Need a Lover, Paper in Fire, Cherry Bomb, Small Town, Rain on the Scarecrow, Pink Houses, Authority Song, Lonely Old Night, R.O.C.K in the U.S.A, Rave on, Pop Singer, Get a Leg up, etc. Like him or not, if you were around in the '80s and '90s you knew his stuff or heard it often. This was the turning point for John when he began shunning the rock music for the music he produces today. I owned all of his albums, on CD and vinyl, right up until 1991's Whenever We Wanted. ![]() ![]() ![]() I loved his music, saw him twice in Melbourne on his Lonesome Jubilee tour, and was generally a fan. John 'Cougar' Mellencamp was a staple in my formative years. From the Summer of Love to the growing divisiveness of American politics and beyond, his music has served as the backdrop to this evolving country for millions of fans.įeaturing exclusive interviews with friends, family, and colleagues, and exploring everything from the founding of Farm Aid to his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, this is a fresh and expansive look at a true original. His coming of age as an artist and evolution into legendary status directly reflected the major changes of the last fifty years. Mellencamp’s story is also the story of the American heartland. Now, this fascinating biography fully charts the life of one of this country’s most important voices in American music. With music inspired by the work of William Faulkner, John Steinbeck, and other giants of American literature, he has experienced a colorful career unlike any other. John Mellencamp is not your typical rock star. Perfect for fans of Janis and Born to Run. The definitive biography of John Mellencamp, the iconic American rock and roll original, featuring exclusive in-depth interviews and never-before-told details.
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