JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP
John Mellencamp, also known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), is an American rock singer-songwriter, musician, painter, and occasional actor known for his catchy, populist brand of heartland rock which emphasizes traditional instrumentation. Mellencamp rose to superstardom in the 1980’s with 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 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 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. Mellencamp was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 10, 2008. (More from Wikipedia)
John Mellencamp was infuriated to find out that his first album, Chestnut Street Incident had been released under the name Johnny Cougar, and eventually, he set about to reinvent himself, well, back to being himself: After another album under that name, and two under the name John Cougar, the next step was to release his two best albums, Uh Huh and Scarecrow under the name John Cougar Mellencamp. One of his biggest selling albums (it topped the album charts in Canada), The Lonesome Jubilee introduced folk and country forms into his music.
(July 2012)
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Last month I discussed the curious case of John Mellencamp, a/k/a John Cougar Mellencamp, a/k/a John Cougar, a/k/a Johnny Cougar.
(September 2012)
