Album Tracks:
01. Track One 02. Track Two 03. Track Three 04. Track Four 05. Track Five 06. Track Six 07. Track Seven 08. Track Eight 09. Track Nine 10. Track Ten 11. Track Eleven 12. Track Twelve 13. Track Thirteen 14. Track Fourteen
Born: October 07, 1951, Seymour, IN Period: `70s, `80s, `90s, 2000s
Biography:
Throughout his career, John Mellencamp has had to fight, whether it was for the right to record under his own name or for respect as an artist. Of course, he never made it easy on himself. Mellencamp began his career in the late `70s as a Bruce Springsteen clone called Johnny Cougar. As his career progressed, his music became more distinctive, developing into a Stonesy blend of hard rock and folk-rock. His musical development coincided with his growth in popularity -- by the time "Hurts So Good" and "Jack and Diane" became hits in 1982, Mellencamp had created his own variation of the heartland rock of Springsteen, Tom Petty, and Bob Seger. While he had the record sales, it took several years before rock critics took him seriously. For some artists, this would be easy to ignore, but Mellencamp had the desire to be a serious social commentator, chronicling the times and trials of Midwestern baby boomers. Scarecrow, released in 1985, fulfilled his wish of being taken serious, and every record he released after it was greeted warmly by critics. Furthermore, he sustained his popularity into the late `90s, only occasionally experiencing dips in record sales.
A prolonged, acclaimed career seemed an impossibility when Mellencamp released his first album under t ...
