To anybody who's said thank you to me, I say, 'You're very nice, but, really, thank you. Then the band will leave and it'll just be me with an acoustic guitar for 40 minutes, and then there'll be 40 minutes of rock 'n' roll. "[58], Country music star Keith Urban has consistently cited Mellencamp's influence on his music. His emotionally authentic, straightforward rock n' roll reflects his upbringing in the Heartland, combining pop, country, and folk to create poetic grooves that you can also jam out to on a bar's jukebox. The musical debuted in the spring of 2012 at Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, where it ran from April 4 through May 13. "On this record, we ended up quite a bit away from where we started", Mellencamp told Guitar World Acoustic in 1998. I wish I would've been able to enjoy it, but I was too busy slugging. "I see sadness in the world," Mellencamp says. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Issued a day before his 47th birthday in 1998, his self-titled debut for Columbia Records included the singles "Your Life Is Now" and "I'm Not Running Anymore", along with standout album tracks such as "Eden Is Burning", "Miss Missy", "It All Comes True" and "Chance Meeting at the Tarantula". Mellencamp recorded The Kid Inside, the follow-up to Chestnut Street Incident, in 1977, but DeFries eventually decided against releasing the album, and Mellencamp was dropped from MCA records (DeFries finally released The Kid Inside in early 1983, after Mellencamp achieved stardom). Mellencamp recorded the album using a 1955 Ampex portable recording machine and only one microphone, requiring all the musicians to gather together around the mic. Mellencamp co-wrote several of his best-known songs with his childhood friend George Green who, like Mellencamp, was born and raised in Seymour, Indiana. Mellencamp also tried to control how his band members cut loose. John Cougar Mellencamp AKA John Mellencamp Born: 7-Oct - 1951 Birthplace: Seymour, IN Gender: Male Race or Ethnicity: White Sexual orientation: Straight Occupation: Singer/Songwriter Party Affiliation: Democratic Nationality: United States Executive summary: Jack and Diane Surely you can find 12-to-15 songs that will work."[43]. Never has Mellencamp sounded so artful. It was the most expensive record I ever made. The band behind the man presents backup vocals, guitars, bass, keyboard, saxophone, synth, percussion and drums that will leave you wondering if it isn't Mellencamp's or . If it's not fun, I'm not going to do it. A third single, "Hand to Hold on To", made it to No. His older brother, Joe Mellencamp, appears in Falling from Grace as the bandleader during the country club scene along with his band Pure Jam. [68], Mellencamp was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's Class of 2008. His manager dubbed him Johnny Cougar out . Learning those opened the band's vision to try new things on my songs. I'm not part of the music business. Germano played with Mellencamp from 1985-1993 before leaving in 1994 to pursue a solo career. Im talking to you about a record (Strictly a One-Eyed Jack) thats been done for about a year and a half, so Im already on to my new songs not as a job, just as they come. Although Mellencamp had always been outspoken and adamant about not selling any of his songs to corporations to use in commercials, he changed his stance and let Chevrolet use "Our Country" in Chevy Silverado TV commercials that began airing in late September 2006. [56], Johnny Cash called Mellencamp "one of the 10 best songwriters" in music. 46. "But we took it further than an urban record. In its list of the 50 best albums of 2008, Rolling Stone magazine named Life, Death, Love and Freedom No. On September 29, 2021, Mellencamp released the audio and music video for "Wasted Days", a duet with Springsteen, as the lead single from Strictly a One-Eyed Jack. John Mellencamp, also called Johnny Cougar or John Cougar Mellencamp, (born October 7, 1951, Seymour, Indiana, U.S.), American singer-songwriter who became popular in the 1980s by creating basic, often folk-inflected hard rock and presenting himself as a champion of small-town values. He had his first major museum exhibition, Nothing Like I Planned, at Tennessee State Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, from April 12 through June 10, 2012. It wasn't let's go back and try to make this part fit into my song, but I wanted to capture the same feeling the way those songs used to make you feel. "[62], Urban told the Vancouver Sun in 2016: "For me, The Lonesome Jubilee was the defining record and tour. John Mellencamp - Artist Details. Toward the end, I didn't even go to the studio. Mellencamp was Ridley Scott's first choice for Brad Pitt's part in Thelma & Louise Kevin Mazur/Getty Images According to Celebrity Net Worth, John Mellencamp, like his daughter, Teddi Mellencamp, is worth millions. keyboards, organ, backing vocals (19962002), This page was last edited on 12 February 2023, at 20:36. "[29] Mellencamp said Dylan's endorsement was worth more than 10 Grammys.[30]. On the second leg of the tour in the summer of 2005, Fogerty co-headlined with Mellencamp at outdoor amphitheaters across the United States. He opened each show on this tour with a cover of the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" and also played a solo acoustic version of the Cuttin' Heads track "Women Seem" at each show. . Mellencamp's latest painting exhibition, titled Life, Death, Love, and Freedom (named in honor of his critically acclaimed 2008 album's 10th anniversary), was on display at the ACA Galleries from April 26 through June 2, 2018. The album also contained two protest songs in "L.U.V." He resumed recording on the project in March 2021, with plans to cut at least some of the 17 songs he wrote while in quarantine in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. And it don't matter who you care to name U2, The Rolling Stones, anybody. They need to hear stories about frustration, alienation and desperation. "It'll be like Alan Freed, like the old Moondog shows", Mellencamp told Billboard magazine prior to the tour: "When you went to see his shows, there was a movie like The Girl Can't Help It or something, and then three or four bands played. "I was very proud and humbled to have been able to play 'Born in the U.S.A.' in a different fashion that I think was true to the feelings that Bruce had when he wrote it", Mellencamp said. The song was a re-working of the 1964 Bob Dylan song "Only a Pawn in Their Game" that reflected on the killing of Civil Rights activist Medger Evers. (T Bone) produced. Art writer Doug McClemont, in a review for Art Space, stated: "Mellencamp paints handsomely grotesque portraits in oil that are as solemn and stirring as his hit songs are catchy and inspirational. John J. Mellencamp[1] (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. Mellencamp would leave the stage as Donovan played seven or eight of his songs (backed by Mellencamp's band) and then return to finish off his own set after Donovan departed. There's no orchestra, just two twangy acoustic guitars, an accordion, and a fiddle. All the music has been recorded. They thought I was going to turn into the next Neil Diamond. While it was intended to be a flag football thing, it descended into . They stare at the viewer or off into space with eyes both tough and vulnerable, projecting intensity akin to Beckmann's self-portraits with his sad, glowering eyes. Fogerty would join Mellencamp for duets on Fogerty's Creedence Clearwater Revival hit "Green River" and Mellencamp's "Rain on the Scarecrow". ", Mellencamp has also honed his skills by his own self-education in art history, visiting museums across Europe and America whenever he was on tour and studying a broad spectrum of artists and the mechanics of their work and by looking at signs and billboards out the windows of cars and buses while crisscrossing the country. John Cougar. "To be real honest, there's three good songs on that record, and the rest is just sort of filler," Mellencamp told Creem Magazine of American Fool in 1984. Album Rock Heartland Rock Roots Rock Contemporary Pop/Rock Contemporary Folk Contemporary Singer/Songwriter Rock & Roll Bar Band Hard Rock. The CD will come out ahead of time. Hell, as long as you sell a few records and the record company isn't putting a lot of money into promotion, you're making money for 'em and that's all they care about. The induction ceremony took place in New York City on March 10, 2008, and he was inducted by his good friend Billy Joel, who asked Mellencamp to induct him into the Rock Hall back in 1999 (he had to opt out because of another commitment, so Ray Charles inducted Joel). The tour will mark the return of violinist Lisa Germano to Mellencamp's band. "[17], Mellencamp's 1991 album, Whenever We Wanted, was the first with a cover billed to John Mellencamp; the "Cougar" was finally dropped for good. Joan Baez is a 66-year-old woman and the sweetest gal in the world.[80]. Please login or register . 28). "Neither candidate is as liberal as he would prefer, but he's happy to contribute what he can", Merlis said. It wasn't just me. [34] Mellencamp and Carter debuted two songs from the album, "Indigo Sunset" and "My Soul's Got Wings", during Mellencamp's concert in Tulsa on April 1, 2016 (Carter served as the opening act for the show). Like Freedom's Road, Life, Death, Love and Freedom also sold 56,000 copies in its first week. The tour finally concluded with a tour of Canada in the summer of 2012. [57], Mellencamp's musical style has been described as rock,[55][58] heartland rock,[59] roots rock,[55][60] and folk rock. To bend over? Said Carter in 2015: "The way John Mellencamp and I met was he invited me to come and sing this song he had written for the movie that Meg Ryan has coming out called Ithaca. Mellencamp released a compilation album of cover songs titled Other People's Stuff on December 7, 2018. '"[19] (In 2021, Mellencamp would partner with Turner Classic Movies to release a documentary of the tour on YouTube. In the fall of 2015, a showing of Mellencamp's artwork, titled "John Mellencamp: The Isolation of Mister", ran at the ACA Galleries in New York City. [31][32] Mellencamp and Carter's duets album, titled Sad Clowns & Hillbillies, was released on April 28, 2017. He wrote about half of it after I read him the script, and then the next half after he saw the movie. ", "John Cougar" redirects here. Mellencamp would play a handful of songs before introducing Donovan and then duetting with him on the 1966 hit "Sunshine Superman". In 1980, Mellencamp returned with the Steve Cropper-produced Nothin' Matters and What If It Did, which yielded two Top 40 singles "This Time" (No. 17). Concerts. in a little town called Selma. (The song would later be included, in a re-recorded version, on Mellencamp's 2017 album Sad Clowns & Hillbillies.) For Mellencamp, painting has always been a refuge, a solitary antidote to the hectic life of touring and performing. Whenever We Wanted yielded the Top 40 hits "Get a Leg Up" and "Again Tonight", but "Last Chance", "Love and Happiness" and "Now More Than Ever" all garnered significant airplay on rock radio. I'd listen to this record, that record. Mellencamp has won one Grammy Award (Best Male Rock Performer for "Hurts So Good" in 1983) and been nominated for 12 others. This other step that people keep wanting me to take to become another level of recording artist to be Madonna? Mellencamp took part in two Woody Guthrie tribute concerts in 2012 as part of a year-long celebration surrounding the 100-year anniversary of the folk icon's birth. At Gaff's request, Mellencamp moved to London, England, for nearly a year to record, promote, and tour behind 1978's A Biography. "I agonized", Mellencamp told USA Today's Edna Gundersen in 2007 over his decision to license "Our Country" to Chevrolet. Dane Clark filed for unemployment benefits last week, a career first for the Indiana musician who's played drums in John Mellencamp's band since 1996. Right now, Elvis Costello, Meg Ryan, Kris Kristofferson and Matthew McConaughey are doing table readings like an old radio play. Mellencamp has made several forays into acting over the years, appearing in four films: Falling from Grace (which he also directed) (1992), Madison (2005, narration only), After Image (2001), and Lone Star State of Mind (2002). Freedom's Road peaked at No. There would be four or five days like that when I would be completely gone. And as far as putting on a performance and entertaining goes, we were undeniably great. ", An exhibition called The Paintings of John Mellencamp came to the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio from November 3, 2013, to January 12, 2014, and was Mellencamp's first major exhibition in an art museum. "It's very rock 'n' roll", Mellencamp said of Whenever We Wanted: "I just wanted to get back to the basics. Trouble No More was released in 2003, dedicated to Mellencamp's friend Timothy White, and spent several weeks at No. So I just put those songs on a shelf, and cut it back down to a single record. Meanwhile, the piano-heavy "Seeing You Around" has the sound of a 1940s standard (the movie takes place during World War II) and is made all the more authentically '40s-sounding by Redbone's gruff, baritone vocals. "He played me this song", Yearwood told Country.com, "and he said, 'I kind of have an idea of like when Emmylou Harris sang on Bob Dylan's record, just kind of harmony all the way through.'". They don't care how they hear it as long as they hear it good and loud and clear the way you've always been saying it all along. Mellencamp participated in the Vote for Change tour in October 2004 leading up to the 2004 U.S. Presidential election. "Our Country", the first single from Freedom's Road, was played as the opening song on Mellencamp's 2006 spring tour, and the band that opened for him on that tour, Little Big Town, was called on to record harmonies on the studio version of "Our Country", as well as seven other songs on Freedom's Road. He intended for Freedom's Road to have a 1960s rock sound while still remaining contemporary, and he feels that goal was achieved. "Wild Night" became Mellencamp's biggest hit in years, peaking at No. (1/1) Thadrequet: Jon E. Gee Talks about Doing the Extra to Stand Above the Rest. Take an election; take an oil field; take advantage of your own people a game of political Three-Card Monte.[79]. During his induction speech for Mellencamp, Joel said:[69]. The 76-stop run is set to kick off with a two-night stand in . "Indigo Sunset" was written by both Mellencamp and Carter, while Mellencamp wrote the music to "My Soul's Got Wings", giving life to a previously unheard lyric written by American folk singer Woody Guthrie. I think we came up with a pretty timeless sounding album", Mellencamp told his online radio station in late 2006. John J. Mellencamp [1] (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. 61) along with the popular album tracks "Hard Times for an Honest Man" and "The Real Life", both of which cracked the top 10 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart. In October 2002, Mellencamp performed the Robert Johnson song "Stones in My Passway" at two benefit concerts for his friend, Billboard magazine editor-in-chief Timothy White, who died from a heart attack in 2002. With guitarist Andy York now on board as Larry Crane's full-time replacement, Mellencamp launched his Dance Naked Tour in the summer of 1994, but had a minor heart attack after a show at Jones Beach in New York on August 8 of that year. During the recording of Uh-Huh, Mellencamp's backing band settled on the lineup it retained for the next several albums: Kenny Aronoff on drums and percussion, Larry Crane and Mike Wanchic on guitars, Toby Myers on bass and John Cascella on keyboards. Mellencamp participated in a tribute concert for Pete Seeger's 90th birthday on May 3, 2009, at Madison Square Garden in New York City which raised funds for an environmental organization founded by Seeger to preserve and protect the Hudson River. The album was released on September 23, 2014. Mellencamp and Green had a falling out in the early 2000s, and Green ultimately moved from Bloomington, Indiana to Taos, New Mexico in 2001. They're recording the dialogue now and we're putting out a record of the entire show before it comes out. This is rock music that tells the truth on both its composer and the culture he's observing.[55]. Mellencamp and Green's final collaboration was "Yours Forever", a song that was included on the soundtrack to the 2000 movie, The Perfect Storm. Jon E. Gee) fits in to the John Mellencamp band so well is because of his dedication to what he does. The tracks for the album were recorded at historic locations, such as the First African Baptist Church in Savannah, Georgia as well as at the Sun Studio in Memphis and the Sheraton Gunter Hotel in San Antonio where blues pioneer Robert Johnson recorded "Sweet Home Chicago" and "Crossroad Blues". [65], On September 9, 2010, Mellencamp received the Americana Lifetime Achievement Award in Nashville. Oct 07, 2022 People are scared, and people are angry. 2 and 16 weeks in the top 10, and "Jack & Diane", which was a No. He did everything," said Ryan, Mellencamp's on-again, off-again girlfriend. The songs are both haunting and all-American. It was a different sound.". [61] AllMusic describes Mellencamp's sound as a "heartland blend of Stonesy hard rock and folk. I want to write my songs, do some little shows. Mellencamp's next studio album, 1987's The Lonesome Jubilee, included the singles "Paper in Fire" (No. [87], Mellencamp is a supporter of Indiana University and the Indiana Hoosiers, and received an honorary doctorate from the university in 2000. "Think about it: Isn't that where music started? When we walked out onstage, there wasn't a band on Earth to touch us. "There were personal problems, cross-pollinated with professional issues. John Mellencamp, Maggie Rogers, Tank & the Bangas: music in New Orleans for week of Feb. 23 Comedian Katt Williams is also in town this week 1 of 7 John Mellencamp performs at the 17th. In 2005, Mellencamp toured with Donovan and John Fogerty. For the album, see, 19761982: Performing as Johnny Cougar and John Cougar, 19831990: Performing as John Cougar Mellencamp, Last edited on 12 February 2023, at 20:36, Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance, R.O.C.K. In addition to the exhibitions listed above, Mellencamp was part of a group show at the Gerald Peters Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Mellencamp's best music is rock 'n roll stripped of all escapism, and it looks directly at the messiness of life as it's actually lived. Mellencamp sees Scarecrow as the start of the alternative country genre: "I think I invented that whole 'No Depression' thing with the Scarecrow album, though I don't get the credit," he told Classic Rock magazine in October 2008.[11]. 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