It’s Monday so it’s time for the Monday’s Music Moves Me (4M) blog hop! Last week we used a 4th of July theme and my holiday post included the song, R.O.C.K. in the USA by John Cougar Mellencamp. And during this past week, I’ve just been in a Heartland Rock kind of mood. Heartland rock is a genre of rock music that is exemplified by the commercial success of singer-songwriters Bruce Springsteen, Bob Seger, Tom Petty, and John Mellencamp. It is characterized by a straightforward musical style, a concern with the average, blue-collar American life, and a conviction that rock music has a social or communal purpose beyond just entertainment.
Heartland Rock speaks directly to me. So I decided to do my 4M Freebie post on John Cougar Mellencamp. The following is a little background info on this artist and showcases some of my favorite songs by him. At the end is an extended playlist in case you want to groove all day on the ever-relatable John Cougar Mellencamp.
image sourced my last.fm
John J Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp and now simply as John Mellencamp, is an American musician, singer-songwriter, painter, and actor. He is known for his catchy, populist brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrumentation.
Mellencamp rose to superstardom in the 1980s while honing an almost startlingly plainspoken writing style that, starting in 1982, yielded a string of Top 10 singles including “Hurts So Good,” “Jack & Diane,” “Crumblin’ Down,” “Pink Houses,” “Lonely Ol’ Night,” “Small Town,” “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.,” “Paper in Fire,” and “Cherry Bomb.” He 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. Mellencamp released his latest album, Sad Clowns & Hillbillies, on April 28, 2017, 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. Farm Aid concerts have remained an annual event over the past 32 years, and as of 2017 the organization has raised over $50 million to promote a strong and resilient family farm system of agriculture.
Mellencamp is critically acclaimed and widely respected throughout the industry. Johnny Cash called Mellencamp “one of the 10 best songwriters” in music. 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.”
The late Billboard magazine editor-in-chief Timothy White said in 2001:
John Mellencamp is arguably the most important roots rocker of his generation. John has made fiddles, hammer dulcimers, Autoharps and accordions lead rock instruments on a par with electric guitar, bass and drums, and he also brought what he calls ‘a raw Appalachian’ lyrical outlook to his songs. 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. In his music, mortality, anxiety, acts of God, questions of romance and brotherhood, and crises of conscience all collide and demand hard decisions. This is rock music that tells the truth on both its composer and the culture he’s observing. (Source: Wikipedia)
WHY SO MANY NAMES IS WHAT I WANTED TO KNOW:
To make a long story short: For starters: After about 18 months of traveling back and forth from Indiana to New York City in 1974 and 1975, Mellencamp finally found someone receptive to his music and image in Tony DeFries of MainMan Management. DeFries insisted that Mellencamp’s first album, Chestnut Street Incident, a collection of covers and a handful of original songs, be released under the stage name Johnny Cougar, insisting that the bumpy German name “Mellencamp” was too hard to market. Mellencamp reluctantly agreed, but the album was a complete failure, selling only 12,000 copies. Mellencamp confessed in a 2005 interview: “That (name) was put on me by some manager. I went to New York and everybody said, ‘You sound like a hillbilly.’ And I said, ‘Well, I am.’ So that’s where he came up with that name. I was totally unaware of it until it showed up on the album jacket. When I objected to it, he said, ‘Well, either you’re going to go for it, or we’re not going to put the record out.’ So that was what I had to do… but I thought the name was pretty silly.” (Wikipedia)
He parted ways with that manager and Rod Stewart’s manager Billy Gaff took an interest in him and signed him to the Riva Records label. It was in 1979 when he started going by John Cougar with the release of his self-titled album. In 1980, his album Nothin’ Matters & What If It Did yielded two Top 40 singles, “This Time” (No.27) and “Ain’t Even Done With the Night” (No.17). In 1982, he released his breakthrough album, American Fool, which contained the singles “Hurts So Good,” an uptempo rock tune that spent four weeks at No. 2 and 16 weeks in the top 10, and “Jack & Diane,” which was a No. 1 hit for four weeks. A third single, “Hand to Hold on To,” made it to No. 19. “Hurts So Good” went on to win the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance at the 25th Grammys.
With some commercial success under his belt, Mellencamp had enough clout to force the record company to add his real surname, Mellencamp, to his stage moniker. The first album recorded under his new name John Cougar Mellencamp was 1983’s Uh-Huh, a Top-10 album that spawned the Top 10 singles “Pink Houses” and “Crumblin’ Down” as well as the No. 14 hit “Authority Song,” which he said is “our version of ‘I Fought the Law’.”
It was his 1991 album, Whenever We Wanted, that was the first with a cover billed to John Mellencamp—the Cougar was now gone forever. 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.
And from that point on, through today, he goes by John Mellencamp. Wowsa!
Most recently: In December 2015, Mellencamp began recording a duets album with Carlene Carter (daughter of June Carter), who was his opening act for all shows on the Plain Spoken Tour (promoting his 2014 album) and would join Mellencamp for two songs during his set. “We really enjoyed singing together on tour,” Carter told The Advocate. “Our voices clicked really good. John got the idea to do an album together. I was blown away.” The result was Mellencamp and Carter’s duets album, titled Sad Clowns & Hillbillies, which was released this year on April 28, 2017. “We wrote a couple of songs together, and she wrote some and I wrote some,” Mellencamp told USA Today.
Here are just a few of my favorite John Cougar Mellencamp songs, from various versions of his name incarnations, in no particular order:
Crumblin’ Down – “Crumblin’ Down” is the lead single from John Mellencamp’s 1983 album Uh-Huh. It was a top-ten hit on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Mainstream Rock charts. “Crumblin’ Down” was the first single released by Mellencamp to include his real last name: previous releases were credited to “John Cougar.”
It was written by Mellencamp and longtime writing partner George Green. According to Green, the song attempts to answer the question of what to do when success eventually fades, and “the big-time deal falls through.” The song touches on Mellencamp’s fame as well as the frustrations of losing one’s livelihood: the lyrics were inspired, in part, by Mellencamp’s cousin losing his job as an electrical engineer.
Here’s the video that received heavy play on MTV:
Cherry Bomb – “Cherry Bomb” is a 1987 hit song released as the second single from Mellencamp’s ninth studio album The Lonesome Jubilee.
The song was a success in the U.S., reaching #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, #12 on the Adult Contemporary Chart and becoming a top ten hit on the main Billboard Hot 100 chart, where it reached #8.
“Cherry Bomb” is a nostalgic song that reflects back on Mellencamp’s teenage years hanging out in clubs with his friends. In a 1989 BBC radio interview, Mellencamp said: “Cherry Bomb is just a name of a club that I made up. The real name of the club was The Last Exit—The Last Exit Teen Club actually was the name of the place. It was a place that we went as kids. The whole world seemed to exist there. Everything that was important happened down in the basement of this church is what it was.”
Paper in Fire – another 1987 hit from The Lonesome Jubilee album. The song was a success in the U.S., reaching #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and becoming a top ten hit on the main Billboard Hot 100 chart. It also topped the Canadian Singles Chart, and charted on various European singles charts.
The inspiration for the song was revealed in a 1989 interview with the BBC: Mellencamp said: “‘Paper in Fire’ deals with a lot of biblical things – paper in fire, in fact, is hell, and is referred to in the Bible as hell. ‘A man will be cast into paper in fire.’ It’s in there, believe me, it’s in there. That’s where that term came from.”
The line “we keep no check on our appetites,” from the song’s final verse, was cited in the 1963 movie Hud, which is one of Mellencamp’s favorite movies and has inspired many of his songs.
Rain on the Scarecrow – “Rain on the Scarecrow” was co-written by John Mellencamp and George M. Green for Mellencamp’s eighth studio album Scarecrow. Released in September 1985, it peaked at #2 on the U.S. chart.
About the album: The overall theme of the album is the fading of the American dream in the face of corporate greed. Rolling Stone wrote that songs such as “Face of the Nation,” “Minutes to Memories” and “Small Town” have a “bittersweet, reflective tone.”
In his 2016 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame exhibit, Mellencamp said: “With Scarecrow, I was finally starting to find my feet as a songwriter. Finally, for the first time, I realized what I thought I wanted to say in song. …I wanted it to be more akin to Tennessee Williams, John Steinbeck, Faulkner, as opposed to the Rolling Stones or Bob Dylan.”
Check It Out – “Check It Out” is a 1987 song by John Mellencamp released as the third single from his album The Lonesome Jubilee in 1988. The single was a top 20 hit, reaching number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The music in this song is fantastic and I love the electric violin especially. Here is the live performance from a concert on December 11, 1987 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Indiana:
Pink Houses – “Pink Houses” was released on the 1983 album Uh-Huh on Riva Records. It reached #8 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in early 1984. “Pink Houses” was ranked #439 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Recorded in a farmhouse in Brownstown, Indiana, the song was inspired when Mellencamp was driving along an overpass on the way home to Bloomington, Indiana from the Indianapolis airport. There was an old black man sitting outside his little pink shotgun house with his cat in his arms, completely unperturbed by the traffic speeding along the highway in his front yard. “He waved, and I waved back,” Mellencamp said in an interview with Rolling Stone. “That’s how ‘Pink Houses’ started.”
The song also served as a scathing critique of Yuppies and Reaganomics and the overall “Greed is good” atmosphere of the time.
Its Use in Politics: In 2004, the song was played at events for Senator John Edwards’ presidential campaign. The song was also used at events for Edwards’ 2008 presidential campaign.
“Pink Houses” along with “Our Country” was played by Senator John McCain at political events for his 2008 presidential campaign. Mellencamp contacted the McCain campaign pointing out Mellencamp’s support for the progressive wing of the Democratic Party and questioning McCain’s use of his music; in response, the McCain campaign ceased using Mellencamp’s songs.
In January 2009, Mellencamp played “Pink Houses” at We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial.
In 2010, “Pink Houses” was used by the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) at events opposing same-sex marriage. At Mellencamp’s instruction, his publicist sent a cease and desist letter to NOM stating that “Mr. Mellencamp’s views on same sex marriage and equal rights for people of all sexual orientations are at odds with NOM’s stated agenda” and requesting that NOM “find music from a source more in harmony with your views than Mr. Mellencamp in the future.”
Love it!
Small Town – “Small Town” is a song released on the 1985 album Scarecrow. The song reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Mellencamp wrote the song about his experiences growing up in a small town in Indiana, having been born in Seymour, Indiana, and living in Bloomington, Indiana, which, at the time of the release of the song, was much smaller. The music video has references to both towns.
“I wrote that song in the laundry room of my old house,” Mellencamp told American Songwriter magazine in 2004. “We had company, and I had to go write the song. And the people upstairs could hear me writing and they were all laughing when I came up. They said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding.’ What else can you say about it?”
Here John Mellencamp performs “Small Town” at Farm Aid III held on September 19, 1987 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp founded Farm Aid in 1985 and serve on the board of directors. The three agreed that family farmers were in dire need of assistance and decided to plan a concert for America. Farm Aid III was held in Lincoln, Nebraska at Memorial Stadium. Artists including Emmylou Harris, Steppenwolf, Vince Gill, Lyle Lovett, John Denver, Lou Reed, Joe Walsh, and many more performed).
And here’s a few of his earlier songs: “The singles were stupid little pop songs,” Mellencamp told Record Magazine in 1983:
Ain’t Even Done with the Night – One of Mellencamp’s earliest of hit songs, from the 1981 album Nothin’ Matters and What If It Did. It was his fourth studio album, under his pseudonym of John Cougar. It includes the moderate hits “Ain’t Even Done with the Night,” which reached #17 on the Billboard Hot 100 as the album’s second single.
Here’s a live performance of Ain’t Even Done with the Night in 1981, with some odd costuming, in my opinion:
This Time – “This Time” is the lead single, also from the 1981 album Nothin’ Matters and What If It Did. The song peaked at #27 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The woman on the album’s cover and in the music video for “This Time” is actress Edith Massey, a member of the Dreamlanders troupe who often appeared in the films of John Waters. Massey was chosen because, as Mellencamp told Rolling Stone in late 1980, “I was looking for a typical heavy woman to convey a lower-middle-class way of living.”
A decade later, this next song is a powerful social commentary from Mellencamp’s 1991 album Whenever We Wanted. This, his 11th album, is the first to be credited simply to Mellencamp’s given name (i.e., without the “Cougar” name).
The album includes the hits “Get A Leg Up” (#1 for three weeks on the Album Rock Tracks chart), “Now More Than Ever” (#3 on the Album Rock Tracks chart), “Last Chance” (#12 on the Album Rock Tracks chart), and “Again Tonight” (#1 for two weeks on the Album Rock Tracks chart). “Get A Leg Up” (#14) and “Again Tonight’ (#36) also cracked the Billboard Hot 100. (You can see these videos in my full playlist below).
Regarding the styling of the album: After his previous two albums (The Lonesome Jubilee and Big Daddy) featured such non-traditional rock instruments as the accordion and violin, Mellencamp said that on Whenever We Wanted he wanted to put those instruments “back in their cases” and return to a harder-edged sound. Mellencamp further elaborated on the album, saying: “It’s very rock ‘n’ roll. I just wanted to get back to the basics.”
Love and Happiness
Finally, here is one of Mellencamp’s newly released songs from his 23rd studio album, Sad Clowns & Hillbillies (released April 28, 2017):
Easy Target – Politically-charged “Easy Target” was dropped (premiered) on the eve of Trump’s inauguration (January 19, 2017) on Yahoo’s The Katie Couric Interview. It is John’s reflection on the state of our country.
Ahead of the performance, John Mellencamp sat down with Yahoo Global News Anchor Katie Couric to discuss the inspiration behind the song, the Trump inauguration, and his views on a divided country. An outspoken artist, Mellencamp continues his journey to convey the truth through this passionate and plain-spoken song.
As for the album’s cover art:
The artwork on the front cover of Sad Clowns & Hillbillies was taken from a 2005 Mellencamp painting called “Twelve Dreams.” This marks the first time since 1991’s Whenever We Wanted that Mellencamp has displayed one of his paintings on an album cover.
Without further ado, here is “Easy Target”:
JOHN MELLENCAMP INTERVIEW: CBS SUNDAY MORNING
Mellencamp was interviewed earlier this month by Jane Pauley and aired on CBS Sunday Morning (July 2, 2017). Thanks Alana (Ramblin’ with AM), for the reminder! This is a fantastic interview and gives great insight into John Mellencamp the man. Take a few minutes and check it out:
Didn’t get enough? Below is a comprehensive playlist of Mellencamp songs (30 of them, including some of his newest material) that I really enjoy so if you want to listen to a big long block of John Cougar Mellencamp today, here’s your ticket:
Monday’s Music Moves Me (4M) is a blog hop hosted by X-Mas Dolly, and co-hosted by JAmerican Spice, Stacy Uncorked and Curious as a Cathy. Be sure to stop by the hosts and visit the other participants.
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This list will close in 5 days, 0 hrs, 30 min (7/14/2017 11:59 PM North America – Central Standard Time)
Angels Bark 
What an amazing talent John Cougar is. I had seen the interview on CBS Sunday Morning (?) recently and was heartbroken to see what a heavy smoker he is. He laughed at the prospect of smoking destroying his voice. He’s quite an artist, too.
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Yes, yes, yes! Thank you! I forgot about that interview! It’s a great interview and in fact I just went in and added it into the post (and thanked you for the reminder). I love his attitude. He’s so genuine and real. That’s what I like about him and his music.
So glad you came by today Alana. Thanks.
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Michele,
I recall how confused I was when people call him by John Cougar or John Mellencamp. It took me a long time before I realized he was the same person. I think it wasn’t long after he went by John Cougar Mellencamp. I enjoyed reading about him and through your post I’ve come to appreciate this artist all the more. If he sounds like a hillbilly I can’t tell when he sings. lol I think he has a fabulous voice and I think I want to get his greatest hits now. Thanks for sharing and rockin’ with the 4M gals! 😉
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Thanks Cathy! He has sooo many hits! What a prolific artist. I really enjoyed putting this together because it took me back in time and like you, I’ve gained an even better appreciation of John Mellencamp. He’s so down to earth, I could totally hang with him.
Thanks for coming by. Have a great week…
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Hi, Michele!
I’m happy to see that you made good on your pledge to feature John Cougar Mellencamp in a post. Of the heartland rock/roots rock singers and songwriters you listed, Mellencamp is my favorite. His songs tell stories about the ups and downs of life for ordinary folk such as impulsive small town teenagers in love. I appreciate the simple, stripped down, direct, straightforward, earnest, unpretentious style of Mellencamp’s songs, recordings and music videos. His vids were heavily requested by viewers of the MTV station where I worked in the 80s and 90s. I also admire Mellencamp for his activism as one of the founding members of Farm Aid.
Thanks for explaining why John’s stage name changed so often over the years. It doesn’t surprise me that his manager insisted that he avoid the cumbersome name Mellencamp and go with the catchier, flashier stage name “Johnny Cougar,” a name that reminds me of The Brady Bunch and Greg’s stage name “Johnny Bravo.” The mentality of Mellencamp’s manager was fairly typical. It revealed a lack of faith in John’s talent and marketability and it underestimated the growing sophistication of mid 1970s audiences and record buyers. Apparently the guy never heard of a successful recording artist by the name of Engelbert Humperdinck. For nearly a decade, Humperdinck performed under the name “Gerry Dorsey,” derived from his birth name, Arnold George Dorsey, and his imitations of comic legend Jerry Lewis. In Dorsey’s case, a manager recommended that he change his stage name to “the more arresting” Engelbert Humperdinck and, from that point on, the moniker served him well.
“Pink Houses” is probably my favorite Mellencamp song but I like everything in his catalog. It is refreshing to find an artist whose music reflects a high degree social awareness and responsibility, one who doesn’t rely on gimmicks, glitz, glam, pyrotechnics and jiggling bikini-clad women to sell records, get his videos played and fill concert venues – just honest, truthful storytelling set to a guitar driven melody with a beat.
Thank you very much for shining the spotlight on John Mellencamp, dear friend Michele!
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Hey Tom. Happy new week! So glad you stopped by to sample my “Mellencamp Monday”! Your Pink Houses paragraph is spot on. Mellencamp is so real and earthy and genuine, he very quickly earned tremendous respect throughout the music industry. And he is a wildly talented songwriter. His blood just courses raw talent. His new stuff is really good too. Have you heard any of it? The 2017 album Sad Clowns and Hillbillies has some incredible songs. In fact I think I’m going to go back in and add the song Easy Targets. He wrote this on the night of Trump’s inauguration. (it’s included in my playlist, along with a few other cuts from the album, but I think I’ll feature it separately too in the post with a little bit of background info).
Regarding his name: I love the name Mellencamp! I think that’s way cooler than Cougar. Sounds like his manager had a dated marketing mentality.
Thanks for coming to hang with me over here. Hey, another 4M participant (Alana) reminded me in her comment about Jane Pauley’s interview of Mellencamp that aired on CBS Sunday Morning last weekend and I went back in and added the video of the entire sit-down with him. If you have a few minutes, check it out. It’s awesome !
Talk soon. Have a great week…
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Hi again, Michele!
I just watched “Easy Targets” and wow – it is a powerful piece. John’s vocals sound like those of the gritty, black, rural blues artists of old. The words and images are compelling. After watching the video and being moved to tears, I dared to read the comments posted beneath it on YouTube. Sure enough, the haters are out in force, claiming that Mellencamp is a rich guy out of touch with the real America. I believe John got it right. America is a nation with a broken heart.
Thanks again, dear friend!
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Isn’t it a great song, Tom?! I really like it. Funny that you said his vocals sound like the “gritty, black, rural blues artists”: Did you happen to watch the Jane Pauley interview that I added into the post? She was talking to him about giving up cigarettes because he had a voice to protect and his comeback was something about how smoking all these years (since he was 10) is what has enabled his voice to now sound like a “black guy”…which is what he always wanted!
Oh yeah, reading the comments on some of these things more often than not has me shaking my head and saying out loud, “Oh. My. God.” and then I cuss and call them idiots and morons… The hate out there is really outrageous. It turns my stomach. Truly. I can’t even…
With that being said, I’m going to (finally) head to bed! (been up all night and it’s noon now). Good night…
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Hi Michele! This is a fabulous post, highlighting the career of John Mellencamp. I remember the story about the multiple names. Such silliness to force a stage name on someone! 😛 Roots rock is so down to earth, similar to folk rock. He’s a great storyteller and, although I’m not a huge fan, I do recognize his significant contribution to music history. This made me smile: ‘You sound like a hillbilly.’ And I said, ‘Well, I am.’ You gotta love people who tell it like it is! I’ve added my link to this blogfest as well, but it seems to be missing from your list. Oh well; maybe it will turn up later. Have a great week! 🙂
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I have your link added. It wasn’t there when I copied the participants list first thing this morning but you’re up on my post now. 🙂
Thanks so much for stopping by and for taking the time to read up on John Mellencamp’s great accomplishments. He’s so impressive, in so many ways: personally, professionally, morally. Love this guy! I’m actually surprised you don’t really care for his music. But then I like his stuff so much that I can’t imagine anyone not liking it… 🙂
talk soon. XOXO
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I love him. He is one of our true American voices. Great songs with rel meaning behind him. A couple of years ago, I got to see him with Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan-what an amazing show. Thanks for all the research behind him.
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Oh wow Patrick, I bet that was an amazing show, Mellencamp, Bob Dylan and Willie! That sounds like a blast!
So glad you’re a fan of John’s! I loved putting this post together: you just can’t get burnt out on Mellencamp, I mean his stuff is great!
anks for stopping by and checking out my post.
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I was never a big fan of his but appreciate all the background information! It makes for a lot more interesting reading and listening! Thanks for “introducing” him to me!
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Hey Janet. So glad that I could bring about a new appreciation for John Mellencamp for you!
Thanks so much for stopping by.
Have a great week…
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Hey Janet,
I was just back at your blog and went back to the exceptional post you did about tips for taking photos at concerts: I left you a comment there but I’m not seeing it. Did you not get it?
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Yes, I saw it but I have two blogs, one on WordPress and one on Blogger. Your 1st comment was on blogger and I really appreciate your following up to make sure I got it!!
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I thought your blog looked different yesterday when I went there! I thought you did a redesign! Are they both the same as far as posts go? Which one do you use most often? Please send me the links to both so I can bookmark each of them. Thanks Janet.
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Thanks to John Holton’s clever instructions about using IFTT I post mainly on Blogger but then it automatically posts to WordPress. A couple of times though I have posted on the WordPress only. Here are both links. I wouldn’t want you to miss anything important 🙂
https://scr4pl80.wordpress.com
https://asmile4ufromjanet.blogspot.com
Thanks for your friendship, Michele
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I think it’s crazy how managers think that a person can’t use their own name to market their songs or even actors. I can understand if there is already someone with the same name that they would want to use a different name, but to tell someone they can’t use their own name is ridiculous. Look at how many different names Sean Combs has used. He was recently interviewed by Wendy Williams, and she didn’t know what name to use because he had changed it so many different times.
I’ve always liked John Mellencamp. I remember in the 80s when a lot of his videos came out, and I remember watching Farm Aid. He truly seems down to earth – the kind of guy I like!
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mm, mmm… Me too Mary! I like that kind of guy all the way around! I bet he is just so cool to hang with…
Lol, I forgot about Sean Combs/PuffDaddy/Diddy et al. So do you remember what he told Wendy Williams to call him??
Yeah, John Mellencamp sure did get a ton of MTV airtime! He has some really fine videos.
So glad you’re a fan!
Thanks for stopping by today!
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He told her to call him whatever she was comfortable with. She replied, ‘well I knew you first as Puffy, so I’m calling you Puffy.’ He just grinned and said something to the effect that he was just glad that she was talking to him. I don’t even recall if he was promoting a new album or anything, Just that she was happy to see him. She said it was good to see old school hip/hop artists still out doing their thing because too many of the newer ones weren’t doing so well or lasting nearly as long.
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Hey Girlfriend, are you signing up under the linky? I’ll tell you if you see a comment from me then you are there. If not, then I don’t know if you stopped by. Leave a comment on the Post and let me know…
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Not sure what you mean exactly. I entered my link on the Linky thing. You can see my logo there right? I was the 5th one today. I’ll go back to your post from today and leave a test comment right now. Let me know if you get it…
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Okay, I just left 2 comments and both are showing up. What has happened to my other comments from the last 3 Monday’s Music Moves Me posts?? I left you really decent full comments so it’s bugging me that you never saw them. Where could they be? I did the same thing that I did just now… and just now the comments showed up. I don’t get it…
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I read through all this great information you compiled and decided I couldn’t choose a favorite John Mellencamp song because I love so much of his work. He was a hot young dude, too.
Love,
Janie
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Girl, don’t you know it! Lord, he was fine lookin’, that’s for sure. He still has a nice head of hair too. I’m like you, I can’t pick a favorite. I like them all really! I just know he would’ve been so cool to hang out with…
Thanks so much for stopping by and taking the time to read what I put together. I so appreciate that! XOXO
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I was paying attention to music when the whole name change thing went down, so most of this I already knew. A great talent. It’s a different time now. Back then, those in the public eye changed their names so that they were easier to remember. There’s a reason old movie stars had names like Cary Grant and John Wayne. Only fairly recently have people realized that we the public can learn and remember names that aren’t simple.
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Hi Liz.
Yeah back in the “olden” days stage names and pseudonyms were the rule of the day. Glad that has changed.
Thanks for stopping by!
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I was always a fan of John Cougar Mellencamp. Wow! He’s 65 years old. It’s hard to envision young rockers as senior citizens!
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I know! Boy the years sure pile on, don’t they? I watch these videos and it’s as if he’s still looking like that … and then you realize, hey, that was 30 years ago! We all be gettin’ old… 🙂
Thanks for stopping by Joyce. So glad to know you’re a JCM fan too!
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