John Mellencamp

It was just a few years after his birth (10/7/51) in Seymour, Indiana that John Mellencamp fell in love with music. By the time he was 14, he was gigging in local bars and fronting a soul band. After college and the birth of his first child, his career began in earnest when, in 1976, MCA Records released his first album, The Chestnut Street Incident. His manager dubbed him Johnny Cougar, noting, nobody's ever going to buy a record by anybody named Mellencamp. John begged to differ but was overruled.

After releasing a few not-so-successful albums, his first hit, "I Need A Lover," broke through in 1979. His fifth album, 1982's American Fool, on the strength of two huge hits "Hurts So Good," and the number 1 single "Jack & Diane,"was the best selling album of 1982.

The albums that followed in the 80's, Uh-Huh, Scarecrow, Lonesome Jubilee, and Big Daddy, were released under the name John Cougar Mellencamp. Hit singles during this period included "Pink Houses," "Crumblin Down," "The Authority Song," "Small Town," "Rain On The Scarecrow," "Lonely Ol Night," ""R.O.C.K. In The U.S.A.," "Paper In Fire," "Check It Out," "Cherry Bomb," "Pop Singer,"and "Jackie Brown." Mellencamp took the music on the road with a band that is generally regarded as the best in the business with several world tours and, literally, a thousand shows in the 80's.