JOHN MELLENCAMP
''ON THE RURAL ROUTE 7609, DISC TWO''
JUNE 15 2010
198:28
DISC ONE
1. Longest Days /3:12
2. Grandma's Theme /0:57
3. Rural Route /3:08
4. Jackie Brown /4:04
5. Rain On The Scarecrow /3:20
6. Jim Crow (Read By Cornell West) /0:55
7. Jim Crow /3:21
8. Big Daddy Of Them All /3:32
9. Deep Blue Heart /3:21
10. Forgiveness /4:32
11. Don't Need This Body /3:26
12. Jenny At 16 /1:59
13. Jack & Diane (Writing Demo) /1:07
14. Jack & Diane /4:17
DISC TWO
1. The Real Life /2:36
2. Ghost Towns Along The Highway /4:39
3. The Full Catastrophe /4:21
4. Authority Song /1:54
5. Troubled Land /3:27
6. To Washington /3:11
7. Our Country /3:22
8. Country Gentleman /3:19
9. Freedom's Road /4:14
10. Mr. Bellows /4:00
11. Rodeo Clown /4:28
12. Love And Happiness /3:39
13. Pink Houses /4:44
DISC THREE
1. If I Die Sudden /5:41
2. Someday /3:09
3. Between A Laugh And A Tear /2:55
4. Void In My Heart /2:17
5. Death Letter /6:11
6. Sugar Marie /4:10
7. Theo And Weird Henry /4:51
8. When Jesus Left Birmingham /3:58
9. L.U.V. /3:10
10. Thank You /3:40
11. Women Seem /5:17
12. The World Don't Bother Me None /4:04
13. Cherry Bomb /3:29
14. Someday The Rains Will Fall /4:36
15. A Ride Back Home /3:12
DISC FOUR
1. My Aeroplane /4:43
2. Colored Lights /3:25
3. Just Like You /4:04
4. Young Without Lovers /2:51
5. To M.G. (Wherever She May Be) /4:24
6. Sweet Evening Breeze /4:53
7. What If I Came Knocking /5:09
8. County Fair /3:43
9. Peaceful World /3:14
10. Your Life Is Now /4:00
11. For The Children /4:37
12. Rural Route (Unreleased Version) /3:56
Dave Alvin /Guitar
Nancy Arnold /Oboe
Kenny Aronoff /Drums, Percussion
Joan Baez /Duet, Vocals (Background)
T-Bone Burnett /Bass, Guitar
John Cascella /Accordion, Keyboards, Organ, Piano
Kenny Childers /Duet, Guitar, Vocals (Background)
Dane Clark /Drums, Percussion
Michael Clark /Guitar
Larry Crane /Duet, Guitar, Vocals (Background)
Dennis Crouch /Bass
Milton Davis /Bass
Mike Dupke /Drums
Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds /Duet, Guitar, Vocals (Background)
Karen Fairchild /Duet, Vocals (Background)
Jay Ferguson /Keyboards, Organ, Piano
Robert Frank /Bass, Duet, Vocals (Background)
Lisa Germano /Duet, Violin, Vocals (Background)
David Grissom /Guitar
Reggie Hamilton /Bass
Heather Headley /Duet, Vocals (Background)
Carroll Sue Hill /Duet, Vocals (Background)
Janas Hoyt /Duet, Vocals (Background)
Georgia Jones /Duet, Vocals (Background)
Steve Jordan /Drums, Percussion
Courtney Kaiser /Duet, Vocals (Background)
Troye Kinnett /Keyboards, Organ, Piano
Ricky Lawson /Drums
Jane McLeod /Duet, Vocals (Background)
John Mellencamp /Guitar, Vocals
Laura Mellencamp /Vocals
Moe Z /Drums, Duet, Keyboards, Organ, Percussion, Piano, Vocals (Background)
Toby Myers /Bass, Duet, Vocals (Background)
Jeff Pederson /Keyboards, Organ, Piano
Pat Peterson /Duet, Percussion, Vocals (Background)
Harvey Phillips /Brass
Lonnie Pitchford /Duet, Vocals (Background)
Michael Ramos /Accordion, Duet, Keyboards, Organ, Piano, Vocals (Background)
Sonja Rasmussen /Duet, Vocals (Background)
Dennis Riggins /Brass
Tim Riggins /Brass
Kimberly Roads /Duet, Vocals (Background)
Laurie Robert-Glug /Duet, Vocals (Background)
Mick Ronson /Duet, Guitar, Vocals (Background)
Dave Rowe /Bass
Jimmy Ryser /Duet, Violin, Vocals (Background)
Raphael Saadiq /Bass, Duet, Vocals (Background)
Miriam Sturm /Keyboards, Organ, Piano, Violin
Susan Swaney /Duet, Vocals (Background)
Phillip Sweet /Duet, Vocals (Background)
Crystal Taliefero /Duet, Percussion, Vocals (Background)
Mike Wanchic /Duet, Guitar, Keyboards, Organ, Piano, Producer, Vocals (Background)
Willie Weeks /Bass
Cornell West /Readings, Vocals
Jimi Westbrook /Duet, Vocals (Background)
David Wierhake /Accordion
Joanne Woodward /Readings, Vocals
Trisha Yearwood /Duet, Vocals (Background)
Andy York /Bass, Drums, Duet, Guitar, Keyboards, Organ, Percussion, Piano, Vocals (Background)
REVIEW
by Thom Jurek
Only John Mellencamp, whose career began with a series of wrong turns, raw determination, and the audaciousness to demand he be taken seriously could create a box set as strange, representative, and labyrinthine as On the Rural Route 7609. In the era of the “track,” Mellencamp has issued a massive, beautifully packaged, and exhaustively annotated four-disc career retrospective that doesn’t lean on his hits (many aren’t here), but rather on more obscure album cuts, outtakes, rarities (17 selections make their debuts here), and more recent material -- numerous selections come from 2007’s Freedom’s Road and 2008’s Life Love Death and Freedom. In Anthony DeCurtis' excellent liner essay/interview, Mellencamp claims he isn’t “trying to prove anything. . . it was a way for them to discover songs of mine that perhaps were overlooked because of the songs that were so popular on the radio.” Given his choice of material, he may not feel that his career-long demand has been met yet.
The address in the title of On the Rural Route 7609 denotes his recording span: 1976-2009, to date. The box isn’t structured chronologically, but as four free standing albums, each with its own flavor and themes. In the hardbound book-like package, Mellencamp’s and DeCurtis’ comments illustrate each track. Disc one opens with "Longest Days.” Like many of its songs, it deals with death; in this case, his grandmother’s. She makes her own ghostly appearance, singing on the next track! “Rural Route” is next up, a song signifying another side of “Small Town” America (the song isn’t here), where the "air stinks of crystal meth,” as it relates a tale of murder and rape. (It’s a helluva way to open a box set.) Throughout -- in “Jackie Brown,” an alternate “Rain on the Scarecrow,” two versions of “Jim Crow” (one read by Cornell West) -- Mellencamp reveals American darkness and violence, followed by Mellencamp's themes of personal accountability and consequence -- “Big Daddy of Them All,” an alternate “Deep Blue Heart” with Trisha Yearwood, “Forgiveness,” and “Don’t Need This Body." It closes with the burden of nostalgia for simpler times: an early tape of “Jenny at 16,” the model for “Jack and Diane,” is followed by the writing demo for the song and the album version. Disc two begins with Joanne Woodward reading the lyrics to “The Real Life,” and ends with the ironic “Pink Houses.” This disc is about the conflicting perceptions of America’s inhabitants; about what it actually is as its national consciousness changes: a writing demo for “Authority Song,” "The Full Catastrophe" (written for Johnny Cash), “To Washington,” the demo of “Our Country,” and “Rodeo Clown” underscore this. Disc three reflects Mellencamp’s personal side with an acoustic ”Void in My Heart” and “Sugar Marie” (redone), a demo for “Cherry Bomb,” a remixed “L.U.V.,” the single version of “When Jesus Left America,” “Thank You” from a 2004 hits collection, and a new cut, “Some Day the Rains Will Fall.” Disc four concerns itself with memory, regret, acceptance, and the fleeting nature of life. Among its rarities are his version of “Colored Lights” (written for the Blasters), a demo for “Peaceful World,” an acoustic “To M.G. (Wherever She May Be),” and an alternate, scarier “Rural Route.”
Musically, there are no missteps; for all its winding paths and circles within circles, On Rural Route 7609 makes its case and perhaps sets a new standard for career retrospectives. Mellencamp is undoubtedly among the best rock & roll American singer/songwriters -- on or off the charts. The question is, does he believe it?
BIOGRAPHY
by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
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 seriously, and his subsequent records were greeted warmly by critics. Furthermore, he sustained his popularity over the ensuing decades, only occasionally experiencing dips in record sales.
A prolonged, acclaimed career seemed an impossibility when Mellencamp released his first album under the name Johnny Cougar in 1976. As a child in Seymour, Indiana, Mellencamp had suffered a number of setbacks, including being born with a neural tube defect called spina bifida that necessitated a lengthy hospitalization as a baby. As a teenager, he was rebellious, often getting in trouble with the law. He formed his first band at the age of 14, and continued to play throughout his teens. When he was 17, he eloped with Priscilla Esterline, his pregnant girlfriend, and proceeded to try to support his family by working a series of blue-collar jobs. By the time he was 24, he had decided to move to New York City to attempt to break into the music industry.
In New York, Mellencamp became a client of David Bowie's manager, Tony DeFries, who signed him to a lucrative deal with MainMan/MCA. Mellencamp recorded an album of covers called Chestnut Street Incident. Upon receiving the finished album in 1976, he was infuriated to learn that DeFries had billed the singer as Johnny Cougar. Chestnut Street Incident was a bomb and MCA immediately dropped the singer. The fiasco of his first album was enough to sour Mellencamp toward the industry for the remainder of his career. Two years later, he signed with Riva Records, releasing A Biography (1978) to little attention. However, Johnny Cougar (1979) spawned the Top 40 hit "I Need a Lover," which also became an AOR hit for Pat Benatar a few years later. Steve Cropper produced 1980's Nothin' Matters and What If It Did, which contained the Top 30 hits "This Time" and "Ain't Even Done with the Night."
Mellencamp's next album, 1982's American Fool, became his breakthrough, both commercially and musically. More focused than his earlier records, American Fool rocketed to number one on the strength of the number two hit "Hurts So Good" and the number one single "Jack & Diane," both of which were supported by videos that became MTV favorites. The success of American Fool meant that he could add "Mellencamp" to his stage name, and 1983's Uh-Huh became the first album credited to John Cougar Mellencamp. Uh-Huh was released while American Fool was still high on the charts, and it became a hit, peaking at number nine and generating the Top Ten hits "Crumblin' Down" and "Pink Houses," as well as the Top 15 "Authority Song." He supported the album with his first headlining tour.
While he had commercial success, Mellencamp made his bid for critical acclaim with his next album, 1985's Scarecrow. Scarecrow displayed a greater social consciousness and musical eclecticism, resulting in his best-reviewed -- as well as his biggest -- album to date. Peaking at number two, Scarecrow generated the Top Ten singles "Lonely Ol' Night," "Small Town," and "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A." Following the release of Scarecrow, Mellencamp became an outspoken advocate of the American farmer, organizing Farm Aid with Willie Nelson and Neil Young. He also became known for his anti-corporate stance, refusing to accept tour sponsorship offers from beer and tobacco companies.
Mellencamp continued to explore social commentary and new musical avenues with 1987's The Lonesome Jubilee. Featuring a distinct Appalachian folk and country influence, The Lonesome Jubilee was a melancholy elegy for the forgotten Middle America, and while it was more adventurous than its predecessors, it was another hit, peaking at number six and generating the hits "Paper in Fire," "Cherry Bomb," and "Check It Out." Mellencamp continued to explore American roots music on Big Daddy (1989). While the album received generally good reviews and peaked at number seven, it failed to produce a big single. Two years later, he returned with Whenever We Wanted, which was another moderate hit, peaking at number 17. Human Wheels (1993) received some of Mellencamp's strongest reviews, yet the record didn't generate a hit single and quickly fell down the charts after debuting at number seven.
Mellencamp bounced back into the Top Ten in 1994, when his duet with Me'Shell NdegéOcello on Van Morrison's "Wild Night" peaked at number three. Its accompanying album, Dance Naked, became his biggest album since Big Daddy, going gold months after its release. Mellencamp planned to support the album with an extensive tour, but he suffered a major heart attack in late 1994 that necessitated its cancellation. Mellencamp spent 1995 recuperating, re-emerging in 1996 with Mr. Happy Go Lucky. Produced by Junior Vasquez and demonstrating a slight dance influence, Mr. Happy Go Lucky was greeted with positive reviews and featured the minor hit single "Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First)," which helped the album go gold. The album was his last for longtime label Mercury, and he moved to Columbia for 1998's John Mellencamp. Rough Harvest, a collection of unreleased material, appeared a year later.
Cuttin' Heads, his second album for Columbia and 20th overall, followed in 2001 and spawned a radio hit with "Peaceful World," featuring neo-soul singer India.Arie on backing vocals. Also in 2001, he won the Billboard Century Award for creative achievement. Inspired by his performance of Robert Johnson's "Stones in My Passway" at an October 2002 tribute concert for the late music journalist Timothy White, Mellencamp recorded a covers album, Trouble No More, in 2003. It was released that summer and topped the Billboard blues chart. The impressive Freedom's Road appeared in 2007, followed by the T-Bone Burnett-produced Life Death Love and Freedom a year later in 2008. An eight-song live set drawn from that album's songs, Life Death Live and Freedom, appeared in 2009, and a deluxe package combining both the original album and the live disc was also released at the same time.
A four-disc box set covering Mellencamp's entire recording career, On the Rural Route 7609 (he released his first album in 1976 -- thus the number in the set's title), appeared in 2010. Also appearing in 2010 was his second collaboration with producer T-Bone Burnett, the critically acclaimed No Better Than This. Mellencamp's next project was an ambitious collaboration with novelist Stephen King. Termed a "Southern gothic musical," Ghost Brothers of Darkland County was scripted by King, with the music coming from Mellencamp, a collaboration that was a bit left-field for both artists. The official set was released in 2012, and included a full audio reading of the musical as staged on two discs, with a third disc of recordings of the songs alone, all of which were again produced by Burnett.
''ON THE RURAL ROUTE 7609, DISC TWO''
JUNE 15 2010
198:28
DISC ONE
1. Longest Days /3:12
2. Grandma's Theme /0:57
3. Rural Route /3:08
4. Jackie Brown /4:04
5. Rain On The Scarecrow /3:20
6. Jim Crow (Read By Cornell West) /0:55
7. Jim Crow /3:21
8. Big Daddy Of Them All /3:32
9. Deep Blue Heart /3:21
10. Forgiveness /4:32
11. Don't Need This Body /3:26
12. Jenny At 16 /1:59
13. Jack & Diane (Writing Demo) /1:07
14. Jack & Diane /4:17
DISC TWO
1. The Real Life /2:36
2. Ghost Towns Along The Highway /4:39
3. The Full Catastrophe /4:21
4. Authority Song /1:54
5. Troubled Land /3:27
6. To Washington /3:11
7. Our Country /3:22
8. Country Gentleman /3:19
9. Freedom's Road /4:14
10. Mr. Bellows /4:00
11. Rodeo Clown /4:28
12. Love And Happiness /3:39
13. Pink Houses /4:44
DISC THREE
1. If I Die Sudden /5:41
2. Someday /3:09
3. Between A Laugh And A Tear /2:55
4. Void In My Heart /2:17
5. Death Letter /6:11
6. Sugar Marie /4:10
7. Theo And Weird Henry /4:51
8. When Jesus Left Birmingham /3:58
9. L.U.V. /3:10
10. Thank You /3:40
11. Women Seem /5:17
12. The World Don't Bother Me None /4:04
13. Cherry Bomb /3:29
14. Someday The Rains Will Fall /4:36
15. A Ride Back Home /3:12
DISC FOUR
1. My Aeroplane /4:43
2. Colored Lights /3:25
3. Just Like You /4:04
4. Young Without Lovers /2:51
5. To M.G. (Wherever She May Be) /4:24
6. Sweet Evening Breeze /4:53
7. What If I Came Knocking /5:09
8. County Fair /3:43
9. Peaceful World /3:14
10. Your Life Is Now /4:00
11. For The Children /4:37
12. Rural Route (Unreleased Version) /3:56
Dave Alvin /Guitar
Nancy Arnold /Oboe
Kenny Aronoff /Drums, Percussion
Joan Baez /Duet, Vocals (Background)
T-Bone Burnett /Bass, Guitar
John Cascella /Accordion, Keyboards, Organ, Piano
Kenny Childers /Duet, Guitar, Vocals (Background)
Dane Clark /Drums, Percussion
Michael Clark /Guitar
Larry Crane /Duet, Guitar, Vocals (Background)
Dennis Crouch /Bass
Milton Davis /Bass
Mike Dupke /Drums
Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds /Duet, Guitar, Vocals (Background)
Karen Fairchild /Duet, Vocals (Background)
Jay Ferguson /Keyboards, Organ, Piano
Robert Frank /Bass, Duet, Vocals (Background)
Lisa Germano /Duet, Violin, Vocals (Background)
David Grissom /Guitar
Reggie Hamilton /Bass
Heather Headley /Duet, Vocals (Background)
Carroll Sue Hill /Duet, Vocals (Background)
Janas Hoyt /Duet, Vocals (Background)
Georgia Jones /Duet, Vocals (Background)
Steve Jordan /Drums, Percussion
Courtney Kaiser /Duet, Vocals (Background)
Troye Kinnett /Keyboards, Organ, Piano
Ricky Lawson /Drums
Jane McLeod /Duet, Vocals (Background)
John Mellencamp /Guitar, Vocals
Laura Mellencamp /Vocals
Moe Z /Drums, Duet, Keyboards, Organ, Percussion, Piano, Vocals (Background)
Toby Myers /Bass, Duet, Vocals (Background)
Jeff Pederson /Keyboards, Organ, Piano
Pat Peterson /Duet, Percussion, Vocals (Background)
Harvey Phillips /Brass
Lonnie Pitchford /Duet, Vocals (Background)
Michael Ramos /Accordion, Duet, Keyboards, Organ, Piano, Vocals (Background)
Sonja Rasmussen /Duet, Vocals (Background)
Dennis Riggins /Brass
Tim Riggins /Brass
Kimberly Roads /Duet, Vocals (Background)
Laurie Robert-Glug /Duet, Vocals (Background)
Mick Ronson /Duet, Guitar, Vocals (Background)
Dave Rowe /Bass
Jimmy Ryser /Duet, Violin, Vocals (Background)
Raphael Saadiq /Bass, Duet, Vocals (Background)
Miriam Sturm /Keyboards, Organ, Piano, Violin
Susan Swaney /Duet, Vocals (Background)
Phillip Sweet /Duet, Vocals (Background)
Crystal Taliefero /Duet, Percussion, Vocals (Background)
Mike Wanchic /Duet, Guitar, Keyboards, Organ, Piano, Producer, Vocals (Background)
Willie Weeks /Bass
Cornell West /Readings, Vocals
Jimi Westbrook /Duet, Vocals (Background)
David Wierhake /Accordion
Joanne Woodward /Readings, Vocals
Trisha Yearwood /Duet, Vocals (Background)
Andy York /Bass, Drums, Duet, Guitar, Keyboards, Organ, Percussion, Piano, Vocals (Background)
REVIEW
by Thom Jurek
Only John Mellencamp, whose career began with a series of wrong turns, raw determination, and the audaciousness to demand he be taken seriously could create a box set as strange, representative, and labyrinthine as On the Rural Route 7609. In the era of the “track,” Mellencamp has issued a massive, beautifully packaged, and exhaustively annotated four-disc career retrospective that doesn’t lean on his hits (many aren’t here), but rather on more obscure album cuts, outtakes, rarities (17 selections make their debuts here), and more recent material -- numerous selections come from 2007’s Freedom’s Road and 2008’s Life Love Death and Freedom. In Anthony DeCurtis' excellent liner essay/interview, Mellencamp claims he isn’t “trying to prove anything. . . it was a way for them to discover songs of mine that perhaps were overlooked because of the songs that were so popular on the radio.” Given his choice of material, he may not feel that his career-long demand has been met yet.
The address in the title of On the Rural Route 7609 denotes his recording span: 1976-2009, to date. The box isn’t structured chronologically, but as four free standing albums, each with its own flavor and themes. In the hardbound book-like package, Mellencamp’s and DeCurtis’ comments illustrate each track. Disc one opens with "Longest Days.” Like many of its songs, it deals with death; in this case, his grandmother’s. She makes her own ghostly appearance, singing on the next track! “Rural Route” is next up, a song signifying another side of “Small Town” America (the song isn’t here), where the "air stinks of crystal meth,” as it relates a tale of murder and rape. (It’s a helluva way to open a box set.) Throughout -- in “Jackie Brown,” an alternate “Rain on the Scarecrow,” two versions of “Jim Crow” (one read by Cornell West) -- Mellencamp reveals American darkness and violence, followed by Mellencamp's themes of personal accountability and consequence -- “Big Daddy of Them All,” an alternate “Deep Blue Heart” with Trisha Yearwood, “Forgiveness,” and “Don’t Need This Body." It closes with the burden of nostalgia for simpler times: an early tape of “Jenny at 16,” the model for “Jack and Diane,” is followed by the writing demo for the song and the album version. Disc two begins with Joanne Woodward reading the lyrics to “The Real Life,” and ends with the ironic “Pink Houses.” This disc is about the conflicting perceptions of America’s inhabitants; about what it actually is as its national consciousness changes: a writing demo for “Authority Song,” "The Full Catastrophe" (written for Johnny Cash), “To Washington,” the demo of “Our Country,” and “Rodeo Clown” underscore this. Disc three reflects Mellencamp’s personal side with an acoustic ”Void in My Heart” and “Sugar Marie” (redone), a demo for “Cherry Bomb,” a remixed “L.U.V.,” the single version of “When Jesus Left America,” “Thank You” from a 2004 hits collection, and a new cut, “Some Day the Rains Will Fall.” Disc four concerns itself with memory, regret, acceptance, and the fleeting nature of life. Among its rarities are his version of “Colored Lights” (written for the Blasters), a demo for “Peaceful World,” an acoustic “To M.G. (Wherever She May Be),” and an alternate, scarier “Rural Route.”
Musically, there are no missteps; for all its winding paths and circles within circles, On Rural Route 7609 makes its case and perhaps sets a new standard for career retrospectives. Mellencamp is undoubtedly among the best rock & roll American singer/songwriters -- on or off the charts. The question is, does he believe it?
BIOGRAPHY
by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
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 seriously, and his subsequent records were greeted warmly by critics. Furthermore, he sustained his popularity over the ensuing decades, only occasionally experiencing dips in record sales.
A prolonged, acclaimed career seemed an impossibility when Mellencamp released his first album under the name Johnny Cougar in 1976. As a child in Seymour, Indiana, Mellencamp had suffered a number of setbacks, including being born with a neural tube defect called spina bifida that necessitated a lengthy hospitalization as a baby. As a teenager, he was rebellious, often getting in trouble with the law. He formed his first band at the age of 14, and continued to play throughout his teens. When he was 17, he eloped with Priscilla Esterline, his pregnant girlfriend, and proceeded to try to support his family by working a series of blue-collar jobs. By the time he was 24, he had decided to move to New York City to attempt to break into the music industry.
In New York, Mellencamp became a client of David Bowie's manager, Tony DeFries, who signed him to a lucrative deal with MainMan/MCA. Mellencamp recorded an album of covers called Chestnut Street Incident. Upon receiving the finished album in 1976, he was infuriated to learn that DeFries had billed the singer as Johnny Cougar. Chestnut Street Incident was a bomb and MCA immediately dropped the singer. The fiasco of his first album was enough to sour Mellencamp toward the industry for the remainder of his career. Two years later, he signed with Riva Records, releasing A Biography (1978) to little attention. However, Johnny Cougar (1979) spawned the Top 40 hit "I Need a Lover," which also became an AOR hit for Pat Benatar a few years later. Steve Cropper produced 1980's Nothin' Matters and What If It Did, which contained the Top 30 hits "This Time" and "Ain't Even Done with the Night."
Mellencamp's next album, 1982's American Fool, became his breakthrough, both commercially and musically. More focused than his earlier records, American Fool rocketed to number one on the strength of the number two hit "Hurts So Good" and the number one single "Jack & Diane," both of which were supported by videos that became MTV favorites. The success of American Fool meant that he could add "Mellencamp" to his stage name, and 1983's Uh-Huh became the first album credited to John Cougar Mellencamp. Uh-Huh was released while American Fool was still high on the charts, and it became a hit, peaking at number nine and generating the Top Ten hits "Crumblin' Down" and "Pink Houses," as well as the Top 15 "Authority Song." He supported the album with his first headlining tour.
While he had commercial success, Mellencamp made his bid for critical acclaim with his next album, 1985's Scarecrow. Scarecrow displayed a greater social consciousness and musical eclecticism, resulting in his best-reviewed -- as well as his biggest -- album to date. Peaking at number two, Scarecrow generated the Top Ten singles "Lonely Ol' Night," "Small Town," and "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A." Following the release of Scarecrow, Mellencamp became an outspoken advocate of the American farmer, organizing Farm Aid with Willie Nelson and Neil Young. He also became known for his anti-corporate stance, refusing to accept tour sponsorship offers from beer and tobacco companies.
Mellencamp continued to explore social commentary and new musical avenues with 1987's The Lonesome Jubilee. Featuring a distinct Appalachian folk and country influence, The Lonesome Jubilee was a melancholy elegy for the forgotten Middle America, and while it was more adventurous than its predecessors, it was another hit, peaking at number six and generating the hits "Paper in Fire," "Cherry Bomb," and "Check It Out." Mellencamp continued to explore American roots music on Big Daddy (1989). While the album received generally good reviews and peaked at number seven, it failed to produce a big single. Two years later, he returned with Whenever We Wanted, which was another moderate hit, peaking at number 17. Human Wheels (1993) received some of Mellencamp's strongest reviews, yet the record didn't generate a hit single and quickly fell down the charts after debuting at number seven.
Mellencamp bounced back into the Top Ten in 1994, when his duet with Me'Shell NdegéOcello on Van Morrison's "Wild Night" peaked at number three. Its accompanying album, Dance Naked, became his biggest album since Big Daddy, going gold months after its release. Mellencamp planned to support the album with an extensive tour, but he suffered a major heart attack in late 1994 that necessitated its cancellation. Mellencamp spent 1995 recuperating, re-emerging in 1996 with Mr. Happy Go Lucky. Produced by Junior Vasquez and demonstrating a slight dance influence, Mr. Happy Go Lucky was greeted with positive reviews and featured the minor hit single "Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First)," which helped the album go gold. The album was his last for longtime label Mercury, and he moved to Columbia for 1998's John Mellencamp. Rough Harvest, a collection of unreleased material, appeared a year later.
Cuttin' Heads, his second album for Columbia and 20th overall, followed in 2001 and spawned a radio hit with "Peaceful World," featuring neo-soul singer India.Arie on backing vocals. Also in 2001, he won the Billboard Century Award for creative achievement. Inspired by his performance of Robert Johnson's "Stones in My Passway" at an October 2002 tribute concert for the late music journalist Timothy White, Mellencamp recorded a covers album, Trouble No More, in 2003. It was released that summer and topped the Billboard blues chart. The impressive Freedom's Road appeared in 2007, followed by the T-Bone Burnett-produced Life Death Love and Freedom a year later in 2008. An eight-song live set drawn from that album's songs, Life Death Live and Freedom, appeared in 2009, and a deluxe package combining both the original album and the live disc was also released at the same time.
A four-disc box set covering Mellencamp's entire recording career, On the Rural Route 7609 (he released his first album in 1976 -- thus the number in the set's title), appeared in 2010. Also appearing in 2010 was his second collaboration with producer T-Bone Burnett, the critically acclaimed No Better Than This. Mellencamp's next project was an ambitious collaboration with novelist Stephen King. Termed a "Southern gothic musical," Ghost Brothers of Darkland County was scripted by King, with the music coming from Mellencamp, a collaboration that was a bit left-field for both artists. The official set was released in 2012, and included a full audio reading of the musical as staged on two discs, with a third disc of recordings of the songs alone, all of which were again produced by Burnett.
