a biography john mellencamp

John Mellencamp

A pop sensation in the 1980s, singer-songwriter John Mellencamp has evolved into one of rock’s most enduring acts, and given voice to the small-town experience.

Who Is John Mellencamp?

John Mellencamp began his musical career in the mid-1970s as Johnny Cougar. A pop sensation in the 1980s, Mellencamp has evolved into one of rock’s most enduring acts. He often gave a voice to the American small-town experience in his music — something he knows quite well from his childhood in Indiana. His breakthrough 1982 album, American Fool, featured the No. 1 track "Jack & Diane," and throughout the decade he cemented his popularity through hits like "Pink Houses and "Small Town." Mellencamp continued churning out music as his sound matured, returning to the spotlight in 2007 with his album Freedom's Road . Elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame the following year, he continues to release new material and tour regularly.

Early Career

John Mellencamp was born on October 7, 1951, in Seymour, Indiana. Mellencamp, who recovered from neonatal surgery to correct a spinal defect, developed an early interest in music. He started playing in a cover band called Crepe Soul in his early teens. With a rebellious streak, Mellencamp hung out with his friends and partied instead of paying much attention to his schooling. His disciplinarian father, an executive with a local electronics firm, tried to motivate him to pursue athletics and his studies, with little luck. At the age of 18, Mellencamp eloped with his pregnant 21-year-old girlfriend, Priscilla Esterline. The couple soon welcomed a daughter, Michelle.

Mellencamp enrolled at Indiana's Vincennes University and attempted to gain steady employment before returning to his music. He recorded several demos of his songs and brought them to New York City to launch his career. After several misfires, the burgeoning musician landed a manager, Tony DeFries, who had worked with the likes of David Bowie . DeFries decided to change Mellencamp’s last name to Cougar, believing that it made him more appealing to the record-buying public. Mellencamp was not pleased with this decision and would later return to his birth name.

The first Johnny Cougar album, Chestnut Street Incident , was released by MCA in 1976, but failed to sell many copies. Derided by critics, Mellencamp was viewed by some as a lesser version of Bruce Springsteen or Bob Seger. MCA never released his second album and dropped him from the label, and Mellencamp soon parted ways with DeFries, as well.

Mainstream Success: "Jack & Diane" and "Hurts So Good"

Mellencamp’s fortunes eventually improved. His single "I Need a Lover" became a hit in Australia in 1978, and then a Top 30 track in the U.S. upon its release with the John Cougar album in 1979. His next effort, Nothing Matters and What If It Did (1980) had two successful singles, “This Time” and “Ain’t Even Done With the Night.”

While his career was gaining traction, Mellencamp was going through some changes in his personal life. His first marriage ended in divorce, and he wed Vicky Granucci in 1981. The couple had two daughters, Teddi Jo and Justice, before divorcing in 1989.

Mellencamp’s big breakthrough came in 1982 with the chart-topping album American Fool . His ode to a young couple in middle America, “Jack & Diane,” reached the top of the pop charts. For “Hurts So Good,” another hit from the album, Mellencamp won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male. The videos for both songs were often played on MTV, further boosting the artist's popularity.

The following year, Mellencamp enjoyed more commercial success with Uh-Huh , which became a Top 10 album on the strength of three hit singles: “Crumblin’ Down,” “Pink Houses” and “Authority Song.” Now calling himself John Cougar Mellencamp, he was also garnering stronger critical acclaim for his songwriting abilities.

Mellencamp's next album, the widely acclaimed Scarecrow (1985), featured a mixture of styles, from the uptempo “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A (A Salute to 60's Rock)” to the more introspective “Small Town,” to the stormy dirge “Rain on the Scarecrow,” which explored the plight of the family farmer. This subject was especially close to his heart: A co-founder of Farm Aid, an organization dedicated to supporting American family farms, Mellencamp helped organize its first concert in 1985 and remained active on the charity's board.

Maturing Sound

Mellencamp continued to mature as an artist with his next recording, The Lonesome Jubilee (1987), which featured some experimentation with a folk rock-type sound. Three tracks from the album—“Paper in Fire,” “Cherry Bomb” and “Check It Out”—reached the Top 20 of the pop charts.

Mellencamp's following albums remained strong sellers, though he delivered fewer singles that made it onto the charts. Big Daddy (1989) had the self-satirizing hit “Pop Singer,” while Whenever We Wanted (1991) featured “Get a Leg Up.” For the artist, the making of the album was a life-changing event: Not only was it his first release under his given name of John Mellencamp, it also allowed him to meet model Elaine Irwin, who was featured on the album cover and in the video for "Get a Leg Up." The couple married in 1992, and went on to have sons Hud and Speck.

Around this time, Mellencamp tried his hand at acting. He directed and starred in the feature Falling from Grace (1992), a semi-autobiographical drama about a successful musician returning to his small-town roots. The screenplay was written by famed Western novelist Larry McMurtry.

Continuing with his music, Mellencamp delivered Human Wheels (1993), scoring solid radio play with its title track and "What if I Came Knocking." His next release, Dance Naked (1994), featured his biggest hit in years, a cover of Van Morrison's "Wild Night" with singer Meshell Ndegeocello. However, that year Mellencamp had to abruptly cancel a tour after suffering a heart attack. This health crisis led to some lifestyle changes for the artist, who curbed a serious nicotine habit and began exercising. “I didn’t work out at all until I had the heart attack,” he later told People magazine.

Recognition and Revival

Returning to the studio, Mellencamp teamed with dance music producer Junior Vasquez to create Mr. Happy Go Lucky (1996), which featured a modest hit in "Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First)." The following year, he resumed touring regularly.

While no longer a mainstay on the pop charts, the artist continued churning out music that reflected his musings on life and middle age via the albums John Mellencamp (1998), Rough Harvest (1999) and Cuttin' Heads (2001). He was also honored for his impressive body of work with the 2001 Billboard Century Award. "John Mellencamp is arguably the most important roots rocker of his generation," said Billboard editor-in-chief Timothy White. "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."

The release of a greatest hits album in 2005 seemed to herald a return to the pop culture spotlight, and in 2007 Mellencamp capitalized on the momentum with the unveiling of Freedom’s Road . Debuting at No. 5 on the Billboard charts, Freedom's Road included the ubiquitous single "Our Country," which was featured in a series of Chevrolet commercials and earned a Grammy nomination.

In 2008, he found his music caught up in the midst of the election-year politics. A well-known Democratic supporter, Mellencamp had his representatives ask Republican presidential candidate John McCain to stop playing his songs “Our Country” and “Pink Houses” during his rallies, according to People magazine.

That March, Mellencamp was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, an occasion he punctuated with a rousing rendition of "Authority Song," featuring his son Speck on guitar. Not content to rest on past accomplishments, he then followed with another acclaimed album, Life, Death, Love and Freedom .

Still Going Strong

While touring with Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson in 2009, Mellencamp recorded new songs at a series of historic locations in the South, including the First African Baptist Church in Savannah, Georgia, and Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee. The result was the stripped-down and earnest No Better Than This , which was released in August 2010 to strong reviews. Late that year, he announced he was separating from wife Elaine, and the divorce was finalized the following summer.

With decades of popular music success behind him, Mellencamp proved willing to explore new frontiers. A long-planned collaboration with novelist Stephen King finally came together in 2012, when the production of Ghost Brothers of Darkland County began its run at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia. Mellencamp wrote the songs for this Southern Gothic musical, about a pair of bickering siblings and the spirits that haunt their family.

Around this time, Mellencamp also revealed his talents as a painter to a wider audience. Having devoted more energy to this hobby in recent years, he compiled a collection that led to his first exhibition, Nothing Like I Planned: The Art Of John Mellencamp, at the Tennessee State Museum in Nashville in 2012. In subsequent years, his works were also exhibited at galleries in Georgia, Ohio and New York City.

Still, there was plenty of new music to create. In 2014, Mellencamp released his first studio album in four years, the folk-and-blues infused Plain Spoken . The tireless rocker went on tour to support the album, its final leg winding down in the fall of 2016.

In recent years, Mellencamp has been romantically linked to actress Meg Ryan and supermodel Christie Brinkley.

QUICK FACTS

• Name: John Mellencamp
• Birth Year: 1951
• Birth date: October 7, 1951
• Birth State: Indiana
• Birth City: Seymour
• Birth Country: United States
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: A pop sensation in the 1980s, singer-songwriter John Mellencamp has evolved into one of rock’s most enduring acts, and given voice to the small-town experience.
• Astrological Sign: Libra

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John Mellencamp

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John Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951, Seymour, Indiana , U.S.) is an American singer-songwriter who became popular in the 1980s by creating basic, often folk-inflected hard rock and presenting himself as a champion of small-town values .

Growing up in southern Indiana—with which he is strongly identified—Mellencamp began playing in rock bands as a teenager. His first two albums, released in the late 1970s, disappeared without a trace; however, repackaged as a heartland rocker, he had his first hit, “I Need a Lover,” in late 1979. With two more big hits, “ Hurts So Good” and “ Jack and Diane,” the album American Fool (1982) made Mellencamp a star. Although criticized by some at this stage of his career as a humourless self-important Bruce Springsteen manqué—patronizing his working-class subjects rather than celebrating them—Mellencamp suddenly matured as a songwriter. His lyrics grew more empathic, and his music acquired an incisive crackling power, largely owing to his supertight backing band. Scarecrow (1985) and The Lonesome Jubilee (1987) were his commercial and artistic high points, exploring the impact of Ronald Reagan ’s presidency on Middle America and producing the hits “Small Town,” “R.O.C.K. in the USA,” and “Cherry Bomb.” He also was a chief sponsor of the first Farm Aid concert, in 1985, which benefited distressed American farmers, and remained active on behalf of similar causes.

Mellencamp followed The Lonesome Jubilee with a series of albums that were generally successful commercially and critically though not as well received as his work from the mid-1980s. The most notable of these included Dance Naked (1994), which went gold on the strength of its cover version of Van Morrison ’s “ Wild Night”; Mr. Happy Go Lucky (1996), featuring the hit single “Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First)”; the self-titled John Mellencamp (1998); and Trouble No More (2003), an album of stripped-down covers that topped the blues charts. Freedom’s Road (2007) yielded the minor hit “Our Country.” Later releases included the T Bone Burnett -produced No Better Than This (2010), Plain Spoken (2014), and Sad Clowns & Hillbillies (2017), which was recorded with Carlene Carter. Other People’s Stuff (2018) was another collection of covers. In 2022 Mellencamp released the self-produced Strictly a One-Eyed Jack ; Bruce Springsteen contributed to several of the album’s songs.

In addition, Mellencamp collaborated with Burnett and writer Stephen King to create a stage musical, Ghost Brothers of Darkland County , which opened in Atlanta in 2012. In 2008 Mellencamp was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and in 2018 the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

• A Biography
• John Mellencamp

A Biography Tracklist

Born reckless lyrics, factory lyrics, night slumming lyrics, taxi dancer lyrics, i need a lover lyrics, alley of the angels lyrics, high c cherrie lyrics, where the sidewalk ends lyrics, let them run your lives lyrics, goodnight lyrics, i need a lover (uk single version) lyrics.

A Biography is John Mellencamp’s second released album and last credited to his then-stage name “Johnny Cougar.” He recorded it in London and it was released in the U.K. and Australia by Riva Records on March 6, 1978.

Due to poor sales of Mellencamp’s debut album, Chestnut Street Incident, A Biography did not receive a U.S. release upon its 1978 debut.

John has went on to say “A Biography is so bitter. I mean I don’t even like to listen to it. I can’t believe it’s me. The songs were written in ’76 or ’77. The lyrics were real awful. They were real ‘I hate you. I hate this.’ And that’s the way I felt at that time."

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Plain Spoken: From the Chicago Theatre

Performs Trouble No More Live at Town Hall

A Biography

John cougar / john mellencamp.

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John Mellencamp

John mellencamp.

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INDUCTED BY

The candid voice of the heartland.

No artifice, no affectation. John Mellencamp gives it to you straight. He muscled his way up from humble roots, giving a voice to the everyman with his blend of garage- and folk-rock.

HALL OF FAME ESSAY

By Debra Frost

As legends go, John Mellencamp’s is more in tune with the Little Engine That Could than the gods of those pantheons from Olympus to Cleveland.

His life itself has been a sheer triumph of will, an uphill battle against formidable odds. Diagnosed at birth with spina bifida, a neural tube defect with often devastating consequences, Mellencamp was hospitalized frequently throughout childhood.

Given his early prognosis, his merely banging on the gates of the music industry, never mind surmounting all its obstacles, seems fairly miraculous.

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A Biography

Composers: John Mellencamp

The Tragic Real-Life Story Of John Mellencamp

John Mellencamp — formerly John Cougar Mellencamp, formerly-formerly John Cougar — is an American original. His emotionally authentic, straightforward rock n' roll reflects his upbringing in the Heartland, combining pop, country, and folk to create poetic grooves that you can also jam out to on a bar's jukebox. Remarkably successful, Mellencamp has sold more than  27 million albums, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer's many hits —  like "Jack and Diane," "Hurts So Good," "Cherry Bomb," "Small Town," "Pink Houses," and "Authority Song" — are perpetually-played staples of classic rock radio. 

Similar to the way that anyone can connect to Bruce Springsteen or Bob Dylan , seemingly everybody can enjoy or even relate to the people and themes in Mellencamp's music . That's because Mellencamp is a real guy who's lived a few lifetimes' worth of drama and struggle. Here's a look into the challenging upbringing and often tragic real-life story that shaped and influenced the life and work of John Mellencamp.

John Mellencamp was born with a severe spinal deformity

John Mellencamp is lucky he made it out of his childhood alive. "Some kid, I was about nine or ten, said, 'What's that big scar on the back of your neck?' and I went home and asked my parents," Mellencamp told CBS This Morning in 2014. "They said, 'Oh, don't worry about it. You had an operation.'" But that operation was kind of a big deal in more ways that one. 

Shortly after his birth in 1951, Mellencamp underwent surgery for spina bifida, a birth defect that leaves an opening in the spinal column which can make the spinal cord extend outside the body and leave a growth. That was more or less a fatal condition in the early '50s, but a new surgical technique saved young Mellencamp's life. In 2014, Mellencamp met the surgeon who performed it, Dr. Robert Heimburger. "He remembered it 'cause it was the first one they'd ever done," the singer quipped. 

According to Mellencamp, Heimburger and associates performed operations on three infant spina bifida patients at Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis. "One died on the table. Another girl lived, I think, 'til she was 14, and then she died. And then me."

John Mellencamp was born in a small town ... that hated his family

John Mellencamp's songs are often from the point of view of the underdog. They're about hardworking individuals from small towns trying to get a leg up so as to afford a little pink house. That's a struggle Mellencamp witnessed in his hometown of Seymour, Indiana, and within his own family. His father, Richard Mellencamp, met his mother when he slammed into her on the street one day in the late 1940s. ”He and his big brother Joe were running from the cops after pummeling four guys in retaliation for a whupping my father had gotten earlier," Mellencamp told The New York Times .  Those Mellencamps were playing the part in which the community had cast them — down low in the system. "For as far back as anyone can care to remember, there has been a rigid, petty small-town class system in Seymour," Mellencamp said, with the top occupied by "people who made their money during the Industrial Revolution." The rest were farmers. 

The singer 's great-great-grandfather, Johann Heinrich Mollenkamp, moved from Germany to Indiana in 1851 and started the family farm, which had to be sold a generation later, leaving Mellencamp's grandfather, Harry Perry Mellencamp, to drop out of school in the third grade to work as a carpenter. When Harry went to register to vote, Mellencamp says the clerk laughed at him and made fun of his name. "We were always hearing talk that, 'You low-class Mellencamps will never amount to anything."

John Mellencamp was a teenage dad

At the age of 18 , Mellencamp was dating a woman three years older than him named Priscilla Esterline. When she became pregnant, Mellencamp and Esterline tried to do the traditional thing and get married, but under Indiana law at the time (it was 1970), 18-year-old Mellencamp wasn't old enough to do so without parental permission. But that's when the couple hit upon a solution. They eloped to Kentucky, the next state over. That marriage lasted a little over a decade, through Mellencamp's early career hurdles, stumbles, and dead-ends, but not when Mellencamp fell for another woman. 

After seeing a photo of professional TV extra Vicky Granucci at a friend's house, Mellencamp fell in love, and they had fantastic chemistry. He and Esterline quickly split up so Mellencamp could marry Granucci (who notably stars as Diane in Mellencamp's "Jack and Diane" video). Two months after they made it official, their first daughter, Teddi Jo Mellencamp was born. And as for his daughter, she would become a cast member on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.  

John Mellencamp thinks he's a hard guy to love

History then repeated. Once more, the married Mellencamp would fall for a woman, leave his previous wife, marry the new one, and put her in a music video. This time it was Elaine Irwin, whom he met when she was the cover model for his 1991 album  Whenever We Wanted .  Ten weeks after their first face-to-face, they were engaged, and in 1992 they  married . (She's also the star of  his video  for "Get a Leg Up.") Mellencamp's third marriage lasted a long time — almost 18 years — but it ended nonetheless. 

In 2011, not long after his divorce was finalized, Mellencamp struck up an on-again, off-again relationship with movie star Meg Ryan , an endeavor that apparently left the rocker a little wounded. "Oh, women hate me," Mellencamp said on Howard Stern's satellite radio show (via  Closer Weekly ) after splitting with the actress in 2014. "I loved Meg Ryan. She hates me to death." Well, sometimes love don't feel like it should. Indeed: After a year-long relationship with model Christie Brinkley, Mellencamp and Ryan reunited and got  engaged  in 2018. Unfortunately, their relationship wouldn't last. Ryan reportedly called things off by October 2019.

His next relationship with skincare pro Jamie Sue Sherrill, known as Nurse Jamie, didn't last either. 

John Mellencamp got hooked on weed in junior college

Already married with a kid before he could legally buy a beer, John Mellencamp still found a way to attend college in search of higher potential so as to provide for his family, enrolling as a communications major at Vincennes University, near his hometown of Seymour, Indiana. Unfortunately, he got caught in a couple of the traps that ensnare countless unsuspecting freshmen each and every fall: alcohol and marijuana, especially the latter.

"When I was high on pot, it affected me so drastically that when I was in college there were times when I wouldn't get off the couch. I would lie there, listening to Roxy Music , right next to the record player so I wouldn't have to get up to flip the record over," Mellencamp told Rolling Stone in 1986. "There would be four or five days like that when I would be completely gone." By 1972, the year he turned 21, Mellencamp had completely given up both booze and drugs.

John Mellencamp had a heart attack at 42

John Mellencamp left alcohol and marijuana behind, but he's not a man devoid of vice: He's an enthusiastic lifelong smoker. According to a 2018 interview with CBS News , Mellencamp started puffing on cancer sticks at the tender age of 10, and he doesn't think more than five decades of the habit has been all that bad for him. "Rightfully or wrongfully, I believe that it's the combination of cigarettes and alcohol that get people — the two of them combined," Mellencamp said. 

That theory may not carry too much weight, seeing as how Mellencamp suffered a heart attack in 1994 at the relatively young age of 42. "I didn't feel well, I was on tour, and I went back to Bloomington [Indiana], where they have real doctors," Mellencamp said on The Late Show with David Letterman (via Us Weekly ) . "The guy looked at me and he said, 'You've had a heart attack.' I went nuts... I called him everything in the book... He said, 'John, you can say whatever you want to me or act any way you want, but a first-year medical student can tell you you've had a heart attack.'" Nevertheless, Mellencamp didn't quit smoking — he told The Georgia Straight (via Ear of Newt ) in 1999 that he did cut way back ... from four packs a day to one.

The Chestnut Street Incident incident

John Mellencamp's road to fame and fortune as an authentic rock and roll singer was not traditional or short. By the time he scored his first top 30 hit in the U.S. with "I Need a Lover" in 1979, he was almost 30 years-old — fairly long in the tooth for the youth-oriented music industry. And that came after he'd already recorded two other misbegotten albums that each failed in their own unique way.

In 1975, Mellencamp, tired of playing in go-nowhere bar bands, moved to New York City to make it as a rock star. He found a champion in David Bowie's former manager Tony DeFries. However, Bowie had just parted ways  with DeFries (it wasn't amicable), and so the manager tried to position Mellencamp as the next Bowie (by way of Bruce Springsteen). Saddled with the silly stage name of Johnny Cougar, Mellencamp released his first album, the DeFries-produced Chestnut Street Incident, in 1976, consisting primarily of covers of familiar tunes like "Jailhouse Rock" and "Hit the Road Jack." It sold a paltry 12,000 copies . Mellencamp's label, MCA refused to release the singer's next album The Kid Inside and then dropped him entirely.

The Kid Inside came out

After  Chestnut Street Incident  flopped, John Mellencamp soon signed with Rod Stewart's manager,  Billy Gaff , who also happened to run  Riva Records . Through that label, Mellencamp (still as Johnny Cougar), put out the 1978 album  A Biography,  which generated the  top 30 hit  "I Need a Lover." His career was finally off and running, and in 1982 he hit #1 with "Jack and Diane." But his old manager, Tony DeFries, wasn't done with him yet. After Mellencamp got huge, his old manager took that years-old unreleased album,  The Kid Inside ,  and released it on his Mainman Records label ... in 1983, obviously trying to cash in on the success of his former client. 

Beyond just that old album coming back to haunt him, Mellencamp would similarly be  professionally stuck  with that "Cougar" name for a while. Credited as John Cougar on  Nothin' Matters and What if It Did  (1980) and  American Fool  (1982), he got the public used to his real name over time, billing himself as John Cougar Mellencamp on the rest of his '80s albums, and finally dropping the Cougar part entirely with the release of  Whenever We Wanted  in 1991.

There's definitely blood on the Scarecrow

After the hard rocking success of American Fool and Uh-Huh, John Mellencamp doubled down on the social commentary and soul-searching with his mid-'80s albums Scarecrow and The Lonesome Jubilee. Among the biggest sellers of his career, they  were certified for sales of five million and three million copies, respectively. But the success of those albums bears a painful asterisk: Mellencamp used the songwriting process for Scarecrow and The Lonesome Jubilee to cope with the deaths of loved ones and how his family shaped him. "Let's face it, you are your parents, whether any of us like it or not," he told The New York Times . ” The Lonesome Jubilee , like Scarecrow and the rest of my best stuff, is about me and my family tree grappling against both the world and our own inner goddamned whirlwind.”

His grandfather, with whom he was incredibly close, died of lung cancer in 1983. "Just before his death, he called everybody into his bedroom, and although he wasn't a religious person he said, 'You know, I'm having a real bad beating of a time with the Devil.' ... It stopped me cold to see my Grandpa so scared. Six hours later, he was gone." After the death, his uncle, Joe, "became the kindest soul you could imagine." But then he died, too. "'Paper in Fire,'" from The Lonesome Jubilee,  "is about Joe, and the family's ingrained anger," Mellencamp said in David Masciotra's Mellencamp: American Troubadour .

John Mellencamp's close friend and songwriting partner died suddenly

John Mellencamp, as is widely known, was born in a small town: the south-central Indiana burg of Seymour. He's easily the town's most famous son, but the second-most famous might be George Green. "I've known George since we were in the same Sunday school class. We had a lot of fun together when we were kids. Later on, we wrote some really good songs together," Mellencamp told the  Bloomington Herald-Times . That's an understatement: Green helped Mellencamp write some of his best-known songs, including "Hurts So Good," "Crumblin' Down," "Rain on the Scarecrow," "Human Wheels," and "Key West Intermezzo." 

The last song they wrote together was "Yours Forever" for the soundtrack to The Perfect Storm, and soon after had a falling out. "Like when you're married, when you're friends with somebody for a long time, the more things build up the more things can go wrong," Mellencamp wrote in the liner notes to his box set On the Rural Route 7609. "There were personal problems, cross-pollinated with professional issues. George has written some great lyrics and we've written some great songs together, but I just couldn't do it anymore." They never collaborated again: Green died in 2011 at age 59 after a short battle with an aggressive form of lung cancer.

John Mellencamp's sons got into some trouble

John Mellencamp has an image if not a reputation as somebody who likes to get rowdy and mix it up — after all, he's the guy who fights authority, and authority always wins. His sons, Hud and Speck, have lived out that central battle of "Authority Song" in the real world. 

In the early morning of July 16, 2017, Hud and Speck Mellencamp, the singer 's two sons with third wife Elaine Irwin, got into a fight in the parking lot of a Jimmy John's sandwich shop in Bloomington, Indiana. According to the police report (obtained by IndyStar ), a small group of men started "mouthing off" to the rock star scions, and then things got a little crazy. Hud Mellencamp said somebody hit him, while Speck Mellencamp had blood on his face by the time police showed up. Speck Mellencamp was sentenced to community service and probation after pleading guilty to a count of public intoxication. This isn't the first time Speck and Hud ran afoul of the cops. In 2015, Speck did four days of jail time for a misdemeanor battery charge over an incident in 2013 where the brothers kicked a teenager they thought hit Speck.

His baby grandchild had brain surgery

John Mellencamp is a father five times over, and his second child, born in 1981 during his marriage to model Victoria Granucci, according to Closer Weekly , is Teddi Jo Mellencamp Arroyave, a life coach, nutrition counselor, and most famously, a cast member on "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" in the 2010s. Via Arroyave, Mellencamp is a grandfather to three children: a boy named Cruz , a girl named Slate, and their sister Dove, born in February 2020, according to People . 

At just five months old, Dove Arroyave faced a medical crisis, undergoing neurosurgery, a delicate and trying medical procedure for anyone, let alone an infant, or their parents or grandparents. Dove Arroyave spent two days in the neonatal intensive care unit and thankfully made a relatively quick recovery, spending less than a week in the hospital under close observation to look for untoward swelling in the brain and other post-surgical benchmarks, according to her mother's Instagram .

His son gave him a black eye

While riding the publicity circuit in 2013 for the release of the soundtrack album to "Ghost Brothers of Darkland County," his stage musical written in collaboration with horror author Stephen King, John Mellencamp brought a concerning, extra conversation piece to the fore: A case of ecchymosis , or the bleeding of tissue near the eye, resulting in bruising and discoloration, more commonly known as a "black eye," and which is often the aftermath of a fistfight or other physical altercation. And for Mellencamp, his black eye was evidence of a domestic dispute involving his teenage son.

"My son and I had words," Mellencamp said on "The Late Show with David Letterman" when asked about the wound. "He got a punch in and I didn't," Mellencamp added. That son: 18-year-old Speck . "He's 6'2" and weighs almost 200 pounds." Letterman incredulously wondered, "Why are you picking a fight with a kid?" Mellencamp coyly demurred. "My son punches me and my dad calls me up and says, 'John you need to change your attitude.'"

John Mellencamp's musician nephew had heart issues

According to IndyStar , John Mellencamp is one of three brothers, the younger sibling of Joe Mellencamp. Joe had a son of his own, Ian Mellencamp, whom he raised in the Cincinnati area. The famous rock star's nephew explored his own path to fame in the 2000s. He played soccer at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis and moved over to a career as one of the top male models in the world for a spell, appearing in high-profile campaigns for Ralph Lauren, The Gap, and Calvin Klein. He's also a musician, playing with a band called Bluf and releasing the electronic-tinged "Visions" EP under his own name in 2013 and "Romance in D" in 2019.

More recently, Ian Mellencamp endured a tremendous health scare. In April 2022, he underwent open heart surgery, according to his Instagram page , where he posted a photo of himself with a large scar on his chest. Mellencamp recovered from the ordeal, which often afflicts people much older than those in their early 30s.

His younger brother died

John wasn't the only Mellencamp family member to ply his trade in the music business. His younger brother , Ted Mellencamp, left a mark on the major rock music of the 1980s, too.

According to Voss and Sons (via Obitio ), Ted Mellencamp spent almost the entirety of the 1970s working as a journeyman electrician, before he got the call around 1980 to join older brother John on the road, and act as his tour manager, once his singing career started to take off. Ted parlayed his success managing the road affairs of a prominent rock act into a job as a promotional representative for Polygram Records, where he helped shape the output and image of acts like Def Leppard, Kiss, Tears for Fears, Kool and the Gang, Scorpions, and John Mellencamp.

Per CelebrityAccess , the youngest Mellencamp brother died in March 2016 at the age of 62, at his home in Nashville.

John Mellencamp doesn't think we know ourselves

In 2022, John Mellencamp released his 24th studio album , "Strictly a One-Eyed Jack." It was a departure from Mellencamp's popular and best-known work in many ways. Most noticeably, his voice sounds radically different in the 21st century than it did in the 1980s. "We were laughing, when we were making this record, it was like, 'John, your voice has changed so much since you started.' And I said, 'Well, the cigarettes are starting to pay off,'" he explained to Forbes , arguing that his prodigious cigarette smoking habit caused his voice to resemble that of one of his musical heroes, Louis Armstrong. "It wasn't anything I tried to do, it's just that cigarettes take their f***ing toll on your vocal cords."

The content of "Strictly a One-Eyed Jack" is similarly far removed from Mellencamp's '80s output of socially-conscious and earnest party music. The songs are dark, troubled, and unsettled, and reflect Mellencamp's worldview as he passed 70 years old. "What I've discovered at my ancient age is that we are all in solitary confinement inside our own skins, and we don't really get to know anybody," he told NPR's "Morning Edition." He hammers that notion home on the record, alternately singing that he "always lies to strangers" and that "the world is run by men much more crooked than me."

John Mellencamp

"I Always Lie To Strangers"

"And like my friend John Mellencamp would sing -- because John sang some truth today -- one day you get sick and you don't get better." Grammys 2015: Bob Dylans MusiCares Person of Year Speech

"Mellencamp is among our greatest living songwriters." Johnny Cash

"John Mellencamp not only has a mind, but better yet, he's got a mind of his own." Nora Guthrie

John is currently working on his 26th studio album

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Wasted Days

John Mellencamp and Bruce Springsteen

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Indiana Public Media: John Mellencamp Exhibit Opens At Eskenazi Art Museum

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John Mellencamp

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Hurts So Good

Key west intermezzo (i saw you first), jack & diane, cherry bomb, latest news.

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John Mellencamp Essentials: 12 Tracks That Show Why This Small-Town Troubadour Is A Big-Time Songwriter

To cap John Mellencamp's busy year — which included a biography, a new record, an exhibit at the New York Academy of Art, a deluxe reissue of 'Scarecrow' and a new exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — GRAMMY.com revisits 12 of his standout songs.

Renaissance man. Curmudgeon. A hard-nosed blue-collar worker who knows how to pen catchy choruses, John Mellencamp can also delve deeper — making social commentary amidst and alongside chart-topping sing-alongs. The GRAMMY-winning, Songwriters Hall of Famer, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, painter, father, and humanitarian, needs no introduction.

Despite worldwide success, this Midwestern boy — forever an advocate for the downtrodden — never abandoned his roots. As the opening stanza from one of his most beloved songs decrees: "I was born in a small town/And I live in a small town/ Probably die in a small town/ Oh, those small communities."

The numbers alone illustrate Mellencamp’s mastery: 67 singles and 22 Top 40 hits, including 11 in the Top 10. In the U.S. alone, the songwriter has sold more than 30 million albums and boasts more than 4.8 million monthly listeners on Spotify.

Mellencamp’s storied career spans more than four and a half decades and shows no signs of slowing. The 71-year-old is hitting the road in February 2023 for a 76-date North American theater tour that kicks off with a pair of home state dates in Bloomington, Indiana. A new record (Orpheus Descending) is also coming next year. In honor of John Mellencamp's storied — and very much continuing — legacy, GRAMMY.com combed his catalog to highlight 12 essential tracks.

"Jack & Diane" (1982)

Forty years on, this "little ditty" from Mellencamp’s commercial breakthrough, American Fool , still hits. The one that started it all for this restless outsider — and cantankerous kid from Seymour, Indiana — is a wistful ballad. This nostalgic nod pays homage to those carefree days that slip by in the wink of an eye: growing up, and teenage love found and lost.

The song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the Recording Industry Association of America later included it on its 365 Songs of the Century list . Try not to sing along to its catchy chorus: "Oh yeah, life goes on/ long after the thrill of living is gone." 

"Pink Houses" (1983)

Taken from the raucous and raw 1983 album Uh-HUH!, many misinterpreted "Pink Houses" as a patriotic anthem that applauded the "home of the free."

In reality, the song speaks of the "winners" and "losers" and the failure of the American dream. The enduring song also reveals Mellencamp’s depth as a songwriter.

Mellencamp’s muse — part fact and part fiction — arrived while driving home one day along Interstate 65 in Indiana. The image of a Black man sitting alone in his front yard staring at the road struck him. The result: an enduring song, which is usually the final encore, that comments on racism and classism via sarcasm with this simple three-word chorus: "Ain’t that America."

"Rain on the Scarecrow" (1985)

As Ronald Reagan began his second term in the White House in the early '80s, the farm crisis lingered. Families lost their homesteads and foreclosures piled up. In America’s heartland, these property auctions often turned violent. For Mellencamp, who had been raised in a farming community, that was more than enough to inspire this politically-charged song.

While not one of the album's hits, Scarecrow’s leadoff track is its  most profound. "Rain on the Scarecrow" opens with deafening drums and electric guitars, setting the tone. Mellencamp’s gravelly and urgent vocals then arrive: "Scarecrow on a wooden cross blackbird in the barn / Four hundred empty acres that used to be my farm."

The song naturally became a rallying cry for the plight of family farmers. The same year Scarecrow was released, Mellencamp founded Farm Aid, along with Willie Nelson and Neil Young . 

"Small Town" (1985)

Another Scarecrow cut, this Mellencamp composition peaked at No.6 on the Billboard charts and remains a fan favorite. Born in Seymour, Indiana (population 21,489), the songwriter has lived most of his adult life not far from the rural community where he was raised. Unlike many stars, the rock ‘n’ roller never sought the bright lights of the big city. This song is an ode to all those small towners, like Mellencamp, who never stray far from their roots or forget where they come from.

"Paper in Fire" (1987)

The album opener from The Lonesome Jubilee is a hard-hitting number that once again sees Mellencamp return to a common theme: the haves and have-nots. The song hit No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100.

To illustrate this economic disparity, the accompanying video was shot in the poorest, most underserved Black neighborhood in Savannah, Georgia. Mellencamp invited all of this area’s residents to join in the shoot and revel in the streets of this shantytown in the midst of the rest of the cities’ gentrification. The addition of violin and accordion to the final mix signaled a change in instrumentation for the songwriter that gives the song a rootsier, country-leaning vibe.

"Pop Singer" (1989)

Like many artists before — and since — Mellencamp never liked the fame, fortune and fake hero worship that often comes with artistic success. The song from Big Daddy is a satirical look at the music industry’s fabricated stars — those one-hit wonders and fame-at-all-cost seekers whose looks and image are more important than talent. The song’s video shows Mellencamp wearing clown-like make-up, adding to the underlying message of what record company executives feel matters most in the pop-star economy — looks — and the perils of idolatry.

"Love & Happiness" (1991)

Despite reaching the Top 20 and going Platinum, Whenever We Wanted got lost in the zeitgeist — i.e. the rise of grunge with Pearl Jam ’s debut Ten and Nirvana ’s sophomore smash Nevermind , both released that same year. Yet Whenever 's lead track, "Love & Happiness," is a Mellencamp masterpiece.

Penned in the wake of George H. W. Bush launching Operation Desert Storm in Iraq, the song opens with a 30-second instrumental marked by Kenny Aronoff’s drum assault. The lyrics waste no time picking up this melodic mood — letting the listener know this is no love song. Rather, it’s a tongue-in-cheek sermon that unleashes Mellencamp’s ire at the rhetoric coming from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue: "Well we’re dropping our bombs/ In the southern hemisphere/ And people are starving/ That live right here." 

"Human Wheels" (1993)

While not the No. 1 single from Mellencamp’s 12th record (that was " What if I Came Knocking ,") Human Wheels’ title track is the one that lingers the longest. The album and song features the production of GRAMMY-winner Malcolm Burn , while the lyrics are a reworking of a eulogy Mellencamp’s good friend and songwriter George Green delivered at his grandfather’s funeral. With its haunting rhythms and poetic lines like "this land, today, my tears shall taste/And take into its dark embrace," the song also acts as a tribute to John Cascella, the band’s long-time keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist, who died suddenly of a heart attack during a break in the Human Wheels’ sessions.

"I’m Not Running Anymore" (1998)

In 1998 Mellencamp took a long look in the mirror and wondered where that good-looking young kid went. "I'm Not Running Anymore," with its bouncy rhythms and dance beat, reflects the songwriter’s state of mind at the end of the 1990s. Dane Clark delivers explosive percussion on this track, filling in for long-time Mellencamp drummer Kenny Aronoff.

This song — and the self-titled album it is from — marks new beginnings. John Mellencamp was the first album released on Columbia Records after 22 years with Phonogram.

"Our Country" (2007)

Critics called Mellencamp a sell-out upon this song’s release. The reason: the songwriter gave this patriotic composition to Chevrolet to help them launch its newest pickup truck, the Silverado.

While the songwriter knew how to play the game, (much like Bob Seeger , whose "Like a Rock" was also used in a Chevrolet ad back in 1991), Mellencamp was not immune to the inherent hypocrisies that existed in having one of his compositions help sell a product. Yet the song helped Freedom’s Road have his  highest Billboard debut (No.5). 

This song is more country leaning than the artist's previous output, but still rocks. This fact is not surprising since Little Big Town provides backing vocals on eight of the album’s 10 tracks. With honest lyricism, this song reflected Mellencamp’s spirit and newfound hope that there is room for everyone in the U.S. of A. singing in a smoky, road weary voice: "from the East Coast to the West Coast and the Dixie Highway back home … this is our country." 

"Longest Days" (2008)

A lovely folk-rock lullaby from the T-Bone Burnett produced Life, Death, Love and Freedom , "Longest Days" ruminates on life and death and time’s non-stop ticking. A troubled troubadour, approaching 60, Mellencamp peers in the rearview, sees the lines on his face deeper than the white lines on the Interstate and ponders existentially on what it all means.

This soulful, stripped down acoustic number with poetic lines like these in the chorus, "Sometimes you get sick and you don't get better / That's when life is short even in its longest days," shows a singer-songwriter, who long after he is gone, deserves to stand alongside the greats of the American songbook: Guthrie , Dylan , Prine and Springsteen.

"Wasted Days" (2022)

The first single teased in the fall of 2021 from Mellencamp’s critically-acclaimed 2022 release Strictly a One-Eyed Jack , "Wasted Days" is an unadorned duet with Bruce Springsteen that packs a punch. The song finds two masters of their craft, singing together for the first time.

The message is direct and not deep: the years are short and the days are long, so spend your time with people who fulfill you and follow your passions. The video features the aging rockers, sitting at a kitchen table, playing their acoustic guitars. Just a pair of weathered journeymen and chroniclers of the days of our lives taking stock of their mortality and asking simple questions like "who on earth is worth our time?" 

Bruce Springsteen Essentials: 15 Tracks That Show Why The Boss Is A Poetic Rock Icon

Photo: Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images for Disney+

10 Facts About Jon Bon Jovi: A Friendship With Springsteen, Philanthropy, Football Fanaticism & More

Ahead of the band's new album 'Forever,' out June 7, and a new Hulu documentary, "Thank you, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story," read on for 10 facts about the GRAMMY-winning group and its MusiCares Person Of The Year frontman.

Bon Jovi have officially been in the cultural conversation for five decades — and it looks like we'll never say goodbye. 

The band's self-titled debut album was unleashed upon the world in 1984, and lead single "Runaway" made some waves. Yet the New Jersey group didn't truly break through until their third album, the 12 million-selling Slippery When Wet . By the late 1980s, they were arguably the biggest rock band in the world, selling out massive shows in arenas and stadiums. 

Since, Bon Jovi releases have consistently topped album charts (six of their studio albums hit No. 1). A big reason for their continued success is that, unlike a majority of their ‘80s peers, frontman Jon Bon Jovi made sure that they adapted to changing times while retaining the spirit of their music — from the anthemic stomp of 1986’s "Bad Medicine" to the Nashville crossover of 2005’s "Who Says You Can’t Go Home." It also doesn’t hurt that the 2024 MusiCares Person Of The Year has aged very gracefully; his winning smile and charismatic personality ever crush-worthy.

Their fifth decade rocking the planet has been marked by many other milestones: The release of  a four-part Hulu documentary, " Thank you, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story "; Bon Jovi's 16th studio album Forever , and fan hopes for the return of original guitarist Richie Sambora who left unexpectedly in 2013. Despite all of these positive notes, there is an ominous cloud hanging over the group as their singer had to undergo vocal surgery following disappointing, consistently off-key performances on the group's 2022 U.S. tour. Even afterward, he remains unsure whether he’ll be able to tour again. But Bon Jovi remains popular and with Sambora expressing interest in a reunion , it's plausible that we could see them back on stage again somehow.

Jon Bon Jovi has also had quite a multifaceted career spun off of his success in music, as shown by the following collection of fascinating facts.

Jon Bon Jovi Sung With Bruce Springsteen When He Was 17

By the time he was in high school, Jon Bongiovi (his original, pre-fame last name) was already fronting his first serious group. The Atlantic City Expressway was a 10-piece with a horn section that performed well-known tunes from Jersey acts like Bruce Springsteen and Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes.

They regularly played The Fast Lane, and one night Bruce Springsteen was in the audience. To Bon Jovi’s surprise, The Boss jumped onstage to join them. The two later became good friends — during his MusiCares performance, Bon Jovi introduced Springsteen as "my mentor, my friend, my brother, my hero."

Jon Recorded Bon Jovi’s First Hit Before The Band Formed

Although "Runaway" was the debut single and lone Top 40 hit from Bon Jovi's first two albums, it was recorded as a professional demo back in 1982. 

Bon Jovi got a gig as a gopher at Power Station , the famed studio co-owned by his second cousin Tony Bongiovi where artists like the Rolling Stones , Diana Ross , and David Bowie recorded. (He watched even watched Bowie and Freddie Mercury record the vocals for "Under Pressure.")

The future rockstar cut "Runaway" (which was co-written mainly by George Karak) and other demos with session musicians — his friend, guitarist Aldo Nova, Rick Springfield/John Waite guitarist Tim Pierce, Springsteen keyboardist Roy Bittan, bassist Hugh McDonald (a future Bon Jovi member), and Scandal drummer Frankie LaRocca. The song first appeared on a WAPP compilation under his name, but then it was placed on Bon Jovi’s debut album. When the video for "Runway" was created nearly two years later, members of Bon Jovi were miming to other people’s performances. 

Although it is a classic, original guitarist Richie Sambora hates it and never wants to play it again.

He Eloped With His High School Sweetheart In April 1989

During the band’s world tour in support of New Jersey , Bon Jovi and Dorothea Hurley spontaneously eloped in a quickie wedding in Vegas. His bandmates and management were shocked to find this out; the latter probably feared that his ineligible bachelor status would harm their popularity with their ardent female fans. But it simply played more into his more wholesome image that differed from other hard rockers of the time. 

In May 2024, Bon Jovi’s son Jake secretly married "Stranger Things" actor Millie Bobby Brown . It was like history repeating itself, except this time family was involved.

Listen: Revisit Jon Bon Jovi's Greatest Hits & Deep Cuts Ahead Of MusiCares' Person Of The Year 2024 Gala

The Bongiovi Family Is Part Of The Bon Jovi Family

Back in the ‘80s, parents often didn’t like their kids’ music. However, Bon Jovi’s parents completely supported his. Mother Carol Bongiovi often chaperoned his early days when he was an underaged kid playing local clubs and bars in New Jersey. Father Jon Sr. was the group’s hair stylist until their third album, Slippery When Wet . He created his son's signature mane . 

Jon’s brother Matthew started as a production assistant in the band’s organization, then worked for their management before becoming his brother’s head of security and now his tour manager. His other brother Anthony became the director of a few Bon Jovi concert films and promo clips. He’s also directed concert films for Slayer and the Goo Goo Dolls .

Bon Jovi Is A Regular In Television & Film

After writing songs for the Golden Globe-winning " Young Guns II soundtrack (released as the solo album Blaze Of Glory ) and getting a cameo in the Western’s opening, Bon Jovi was bitten by the acting bug. He studied with acclaimed acting coach Harold Guskin in the early ‘90s, then appeared as the romantic interest of Elizabeth Perkins in 1995's Moonlight and Valentino .

In other movies, Bon Jovi played a bartender who’s a recovering alcoholic ( Little City ), an ex-con turning over a new leaf ( Row Your Boat ), a failed father figure ( Pay It Forward ), a suburban dad and pot smoker ( Homegrown ), and a Navy Lieutenant in WWII ( U-571 ). The band’s revival in 2000 slowed his acting aspirations, but he appeared for 10 episodes of "Ally McBeal," playing her love interest in 2002. 

Elsewhere on the silver screen, the singer has also portrayed a vampire hunter ( Vampiros: Los Muertos ), a duplicitous professor ( Cry Wolf ), the owner of a women’s hockey team ( Pucked ), and a rock star willing to cancel a tour for the woman he loves ( New Year’s Eve ). He hasn’t acted since 2011, but who knows when he might make a guest appearance?

Jon Bon Jovi Once Co-Owned A Football Team

In 2004, Bon Jovi became one of the co-founders and co-majority owner of the Philadelphia Soul, which were part of the Arena Football League (AFL). (Sambora was a minority shareholder.) The team name emerged in a satirical scene from "It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia" during which Danny DeVito’s character tries to buy the team for a paltry sum and twice butchers the singer’s name.

Jon stuck with the team until 2009, a year after they won Arena Bowl XXII, defeating the San Jose SaberCats. He then set his eyes on a bigger prize, the Buffalo Bills, aligning himself with a group of Toronto investors in 2011. One of his biggest competitors? Donald Trump, who ran a smear campaign alleging that the famed singer would move the team to Toronto. 

In the end, neither man purchased the team as they were outbid by Terry and Kim Pegula, who still own the Bills today.

Jon & Richie Sambora Wrote Songs For Other Artists

Having cranked out massive hits with songwriter Desmond Child , Bon Jovi and Sambora decided to write or co-write songs for and with other artists. 

In 1987, they co-wrote and produced the Top 20 hit "We All Sleep Alone" with Child for Cher , and also co-wrote the Top 40 hit "Notorious" with members of Loverboy. In 1989, the duo paired up again Loverboy guitarist Paul Dean for his solo rocker "Under The Gun" and bequeathed the New Jersey outtake "Does Anybody Really Fall in Love Anymore?" (co-written with Child and Diane Warren) to Cher. 

The Bon Jovi/Sambora song "Peace In Our Time" was recorded by Russian rockers Gorky Park. In 1990, Paul Young snagged the New Jersey leftover "Now and Forever," while the duo penned "If You Were in My Shoes" with Young, though neither song was released. In 2009, Bon Jovi and Sambora were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame for their contributions to music.

Jon Bon Jovi Once Ran His Own Record Label

For a brief time in 1991, he ran his own record label, Jambco, which was distributed through Bon Jovi’s label PolyGram Records. The only two artists he signed were Aldo Nova and Billy Falcon, a veteran singer/songwriter who became Bon Jovi's songwriting partner in the 2000s. Neither of their albums (Aldo Nova’s Blood On The Bricks and Billy Falcon’s Pretty Blue World ) were big sellers, and the label folded quickly when they began losing money.

Still, the experience gave Bon Jovi the chance to learn about the music business . That experience helped after he fired original manager Doc McGhee in 1991 and took over his band’s managerial reins until 2015.

Bon Jovi's Vocal Issues Aren't New

Although Jon Bon Jovi's vocal problems have become a major issue recently, they stem back to the late 1980s. It's doubtful as to whether Jon had proper vocal training for a rock band at the start. 

The group did 15-month tours to support both the Slippery When Wet and New Jersey albums. Near the end of the grueling Slippery tour, Bon Jovi was getting steroid injections because his voice was suffering.

While his voice held up into the 2000s, it has become apparent over the last decade that his singing is rougher than it used to be. As shown in the Hulu new documentary, the singer has been struggling to maintain his voice. It’s natural for older rock singers to lose some range — it’s been very rare to hear him sing any of the high notes in "Livin’ On A Prayer" over the last 20 years — but he admits he is unsure whether he can ever tour again , even with recent surgery.

Bon Jovi Has Been A Philanthropist For Over Three Decades

Back in the 1980s, the upbeat Bon Jovi made it clear that they were not going to be a toned-down political band. But in the ‘90s, he and the band toned down their look, evolved their sound, and offered a more mature outlook on life. 

Reflecting this evolved viewpoint,  the band started an annual tradition of playing a December concert in New Jersey to raise money for various charitable causes; the concert series began in 1991 and continued with the band or Jon solo through at least 2015. The group have played various charitable concert events over the years including the Twin Towers Relief Benefit, Live 8 in Philadelphia, and The Concert For Sandy Relief. 

By the late 2000s, Jon and Dorothea founded the JBJ Soul Kitchen to serve meals at lower costs to people who cannot afford them. COVID-19 related food shortages led the couple to found  the JBJ Soul Kitchen Food Bank. Their JBJ Soul Foundation supports affordable housing and has rebuilt and refurbished homes through organizations like Project H.O.M.E., Habitat For Humanity, and Rebuilding Together.

While he may be a superstar, Jon Bon Jovi still believes in helping others. For his considerable efforts, he was honored as the 2024 MusiCares Person Of The Year during 2024 GRAMMY Week .

Photo: Brooks Kraft LLC/Corbis via Getty Images  

How Bruce Springsteen's 'Born In The U.S.A.' Changed Rock History — And The Boss' Own Trajectory

On the 40th anniversary of Bruce Springsteen's seminal album detailing working class life Reagan era America, reflect on the many ways 'Born In The U.S.A.' impacted pop and rock music.

Bruce Springsteen himself might not be particularly enthusiastic about his seventh studio effort, Born In The U.S.A. ("a group of songs about which I've always had some ambivalence " ). But for the record buyers of 1984 – and indeed much of the decade thereafter – it was a towering achievement in combining classic and contemporary American rock.   

Born In The U.S.A. was co-produced with Jon Landau , Chuck Plotkin , and E Street Band member Steven Van Zandt , and represented a complete divergence from his previous release, the acoustic affair Nebraska . Audiences didn't seem to mind the change in tone: The 12-track LP spent seven weeks atop the Billboard 200 and sold more than 17 million copies in America alone.  

It also equaled the record set by Michael Jackson 's Thriller by spawning seven consecutive U.S. Top 10 hits, including the oft-misunderstood title track, "I'm On Fire," and his highest-charting, "Dancing in the Dark." (The latter netted The Boss his first GRAMMY Award, for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male.) Born 's themes of working-class life in the Ronald Reagan era struck a chord with homegrown audiences, albeit occasionally for unintended reasons , and picked up a coveted Album Of The Year nod at the 1985 GRAMMYs.  

But there's more to Born In The U.S.A. 's story than blockbuster sales and critical acclaim. It also changed the course of rock music in several ways, whether reigniting America's love of the genre, proving that synths and guitars could work together in perfect harmony, or simply popularizing a new way to hear it. Ahead of its 40th anniversary, here's a look at why the record fully deserves its status as an all-time great.    

It Revolutionized The Sound Of Heartland Rock

Already hailed as a progenitor of the blue-collar, rootsy sound known as heartland rock, Springsteen once again proved to be something of a revolutionary when he added synths into the mix. Born In The U.S.A. continually puts pianist Roy Bittan 's skills to great use — whether he's echoing the whistle that haunts the narrator of "Downbound Train," giving "I'm On Fire" its ethereal sheen, or imbuing "Dancing In The Dark" with a glowing warmth.    

Born In The U.S.A. helped codify synths as a key component of the decade's rock sound. Within a few years, most of The Boss' peers had enjoyed synth-based success: Don Henley with Building the Perfect Beast , Tom Petty with Southern Accents , as well as Robbie Robertson 's self-titled debut. Even The Boss' hero, Bob Dylan , went electric again on Empire Burlesque . And you can hear its modern-day influence in the likes of the Killers , Kurt Vile, and, most notably, proud Springsteen acolytes The War on Drugs .    

It Bid Farewell To Rock's Most Iconic Backing Band   

With their uncanny ability to capture and expand upon his musical vision, The E Street Band have been as integral to Springsteen's success as The Boss himself. The likes of bassist Garry Tallent , saxophonist Clarence Clemons , and drummer Max Weinberg were responsible for the Wall of Sound that enveloped 1975 breakthrough Born to Run , while 1980's The River was a concerted attempt to replicate their prowess on the stage in the studio.    

But while they provided occasional backing on 1987 follow-up Tunnel of Love , Born In The U.S.A. was the last time Springsteen fully utilized their talents until 2002's return-to-form The Rising . It also proved to be a proper farewell to Van Zandt, who left the set-up halfway through recording to pursue a solo career. The constant whoops and cheers, however, suggests that all parties were determined to end things on a celebratory note.    

It Turned Springsteen Into An MTV Icon   

Springsteen had only previously released one music video, and he didn't even make an appearance, with 1982's "Atlantic City" consisting solely of austere images of the titular location. But keen to show off the muscular physique he'd developed during the following two years, The Boss made five videos for Born In The U.S.A. , and bagged some impressive names to help him land that all-important MTV play.   

Scarface director Brian De Palma helmed its most famous, the "Dancing in the Dark" promo in which Springsteen plucked a then-unknown Courteney Cox from the crowd. Indie favorite John Sayles pulled triple duty, directing the performance-based video for the title track and developing the narrative treatments for "I'm On Fire" (Springsteen plays car mechanic tempted by affair with married customer) and "Glory Days" (Springsteen bonds with son via baseball). Boasting footage from the Born In The U.S.A. tour, "My Hometown" rounded off the whole audio-visual campaign which was twice recognized at the VMAs.

It Kickstarted A CD Revolution

Although compact discs had been around for several years, Born In The U.S.A. was — fittingly, considering its title and blue collar themes — the first to be manufactured in America . Within just a few years, the homegrown CD market had skyrocketed from virtually zero to more than $930 million . And with at least 17 million copies sold domestically overall, it seems reasonable to suggest that Springsteen's seventh LP was responsible for a significant percentage.    

No doubt that its iconic front cover — shot by celebrated photographer Annie Leibovitz — helped the album stand in record stores. Shot from behind with Springsteen clad in denim, posing in front of the Stars and Stripes, Born In The U.S.A. provided audiences with one of the decade's most recognizable images. Explaining the creative decision to ignore his Hollywood action hero looks, The Boss told Rolling Stone , "The picture of my ass looked better than the picture of my face."   

It Spawned A Game-Changing Tour    

If you need any proof of how stratospheric Born In The U.S.A. sent Springsteen's career, just look at its accompanying tour. With 156 dates across North America, Asia, Europe, and Australia, the tour raked in approximately $90 million . (It remained the decade's highest-grossing rock tour until Pink Floyd 's A Momentary Lapse of Reason concluded four years later.)   

Springsteen's success also appeared to convince David Bowie and Tina Turner that solo artists could handle a stadium crowd as well as any band.    

The Born In The U.S.A. trek was monumental for several other reasons: it was the first to feature new E Street Band member Nils Lofgren and Springsteen's future wife Patti Scialfa . It established his long-running love affair with the now-demolished Giants Stadium , a New Jersey venue returned to 23 times. The tour formed more than half of Springsteen's Live: 1975-85 album that topped the Billboard 200 for four weeks in 1986. Until Garth Brooks ' Double Live 12 years later, Live: 1975-85 the highest-selling live album ever.   

It Celebrated Male Friendship    

Springsteen has never been afraid to be vulnerable when it comes to an area most rock musicians seem afraid to address: the importance of male friendship. "Ghosts," for example, is a heartfelt dedication to all the bandmates he'd lost over the years, while "This Hard Land" is a tale of brotherhood inspired by his love of western maestro John Ford. But it was on Born In The U.S.A. where The Boss first showed that songs about entirely platonic love can be as emotively powerful as the more romantic side.    

Indeed, the ambiguous gender on "Bobby Jean" has led many to believe the concert staple is a testament to his relationship with Van Zandt. And "No Surrender" appears to revel in the camaraderie they shared back in their younger days. Foo Fighters ("The Glass"), the Walkmen ("Heaven"), and Death Cab for Cutie ("Wheat Like Waves") have all since followed Springsteen's lead by opening up about their all-male bonds.    

It Ushered In A Wave of Presidential Appropriation    

It's not something that Springsteen will be shouting from the rooftops about. But Born In The U.S.A. — specifically its famously misunderstood title track — essentially ushered in the trend of presidential candidates co-opting chart hits regardless of the artist's political leanings. Indeed, long before the likes of George W. Bush vs. Sting , Sarah Palin vs. Gretchen Peters , and Donald Trump vs. Neil Young and John Fogerty ( among many others ), The Boss took umbrage with Ronald Reagan's plans to use "Born In The USA" for his 1984 reelection campaign.   

Despite Springsteen's flat-out refusal, he was still celebrated by Reagan in a stump speech, declaring that America's future "rests in the message of hope in the songs of a man so many young Americans admire: New Jersey's own Bruce Springsteen." And both Pat Buchanan and Bob Dole, also seemingly mistaking its rally cry against the treatment of Vietnam War veterans for a patriotic anthem, cheekily used the track before its writer got wind and shut them down.    

It Revived America's Love Of American Rock    

While Eagles ' Hotel California , Fleetwood Mac 's Rumors , and Boston 's self-titled debut had all racked up colossal sales in the '70s, Springsteen's commercial opus was the first guitar-oriented U.S. release to achieve similar numbers in the '80s. By the end of the decade, Guns N' Roses ' Appetite for Destruction and Journey 's Greatest Hits were also approaching the 20 million mark , while Bryan Adams ' Reckless , Van Halen 's 5150, and Bon Jovi 's Slippery When Wet were just a few of the domestic rock efforts that immediately followed in its chart-topping footsteps.   

And while the use of synths brought Springsteen's sound into the '80s, The Boss didn't forget about his earthier roots. Born In The U.S.A. is also steeped in the classic sounds of American rock, from the honky tonk leanings of "Darlington County" and rockabilly of " Workin ' On The Highway" to the front porch folk of "My Hometown." Its lyrical content might not always have been patriotic, but its accompanying music was as American as apple pie.    

Songbook: How Bruce Springsteen's Portraits Of America Became Sounds Of Hope During Confusing Times  

Photo: Estevan Oriol/Getty Images, Taylor Hill/Getty Images, Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for The New Yorker, Kevin Mazur/Getty Images, Sergione Infuso/Corbis via Getty Images

2023 In Review: 10 Trends That Defined Rock Music

Rock acts young and old helped the genre stay alive in 2023. Take a look at 10 of the genre's most prominent trends, from early aughts revivals to long-awaited reunions.

The rock scene may no longer be the dominant force it once was — blink-182 's One More Time... is the only Billboard 200 chart-topper this year to predominantly fall under this category. But 2023 has still been an interesting and eventful period for those who like their guitar music turned up to eleven.

Over the past 12 months, we've had the two biggest groups of the Swinging Sixties returning to the fray in style, a new European invasion, and a wave of blockbuster albums that may well go down as modern classics. And then there's the revivals which will no doubt spark nostalgia in any kids of the 2000s, a resurgence in all-star line-ups, and a residency that could possibly change how we experience live music.

As we gear up for the holiday season, here's a look at 10 trends that defined rock music in 2023.

European Rock Traveled To America

From Lacuna Coil and Gojira to Volbeat and Rammstein , the Billboard charts aren't exactly strangers to European rock. But 2023 was the year when the continent appeared to band together for a mini invasion. Italian quartet Måneskin continued their remarkable journey from Eurovision Song Contest winners to bona fide rock gods with a Best New Artist nod at the 2023 GRAMMYs, a top 20 placing on the Billboard 200 albums chart for third album Rush! , and a Best Rock Video win at the MTV VMAs.

Masked metalers Ghost scored a fourth consecutive Top 10 entry on the Billboard 200 with covers EP Phantomime, also landing a Best Metal Performance GRAMMY nomination for its cover of Iron Maiden 's "Phantom of the Opera," (alongside Disturbed 's "Bad Man," Metallica 's "72 Seasons," Slipknot 's "Hive Mind," and Spiritbox's "Jaded"). While fellow Swedes Avatar bagged their first Mainstream Rock No. 1 with "The Dirt I'm Buried In," a highly melodic meditation on mortality which combines funky post-punk with freewheeling guitar solos that sound like they've escaped from 1980s Sunset Strip.

Age Proved To Be Nothing But A Number

The theory that rock and roll is a young man's game was blown apart in 2023. Fronted by 80-year-old Mick Jagger , The Rolling Stones reached No.3 on the Billboard 200 thanks to arguably their finest album in 40 years, Hackney Diamonds , with lead single "Angry" also picking up a Best Rock Song GRAMMY nod alongside Olivia Rodrigo 's "aallad of a homeschooled girl," Queens of the Stone Age 's "Emotion Sickness," Boygenius' "Not Strong Enough," and Foo Fighters ' "Rescued." (The latter two will also battle it out with Arctic Monkeys ' "Sculpture of Anything Goes," Black Pumas ' "More than a Love Song," and Metallica's "Lux Aeterna" for Best Rock Performance.)

The eternally shirtless Iggy Pop , a relative spring chicken at 76, delivered a late-career classic, too, with the star-studded Every Loser . And Bruce Springsteen , KISS , and Paul McCartney all proved they weren't ready for the slippers and cocoa life yet by embarking on lengthy world tours.

Death Was No Barrier To Hits

Jimmy Buffett sadly headed for that tropical paradise in the sky this year. But having already recorded 32nd studio effort, Equal Strain on All Parts , the margarita obsessive was able to posthumously score his first new entry on the Billboard Rock Chart since 1982's "It's Midnight And I'm Not Famous Yet."

But he isn't the only artist to have recently achieved success from beyond the grave. Linkin Park reached the U.S. Top 40 with "Lost," a track recorded for 2003 sophomore Meteora , but which only saw the light of day six years after frontman Chester Bennington 's passing.

Perhaps most unexpectedly of all, The Beatles topped the U.K. charts for the first time since 1969 thanks to " Now and Then ," a psychedelic tear-jerker in which surviving members McCartney and Ringo Starr brought previously unheard recordings from George Harrison and John Lennon back to life.

The Giants Stayed Giant

Foo Fighters also overcame the death of a core member on what many rock fans would consider this year's most eagerly awaited album. Drummer Taylor Hawkins , who passed away in early 2022, doesn't feature on the poignant but vibrant But Here We Are . Yet the two-time GRAMMY nominated LP still proved to be a fitting tribute as well as an encouraging sign that Dave Grohl and co. can extend their legacy:lead single "Rescued" became their 12th number one on Billboard's Main Rock Chart .

The Best Rock Album category for the 2024 GRAMMYs proves that veterans were alive and mighty in 2023. Along with the Foos' latest LP, the nominees include another Grohl-affiliated band,, Queens of the Stone Age's first album in six years, In Times New Roman... , Paramore 's This Is Why , Metallica's 72 Seasons and Greta Van Fleet 's Starcatcher .. (Metallica's 72 Seasons also struck gold with its singles, three of which landed at No. 1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart, where lead single "Lux Æterna" spent 11 consecutive weeks on top.)

Of course, we also have to give a shout-out to U2 . Not for March's Songs of Surrender album (for which they re-recorded 40 of their biggest and best tracks), but for the immersive, eye-popping Las Vegas residency at The Sphere which potentially reinvented the future of live music.

The Rock Supergroup Continued To Thrive

2023 spawned several new rock supergroups including Mantra of the Cosmos (Shaun Ryder, Zak Starkey and Andy Bell), Lol Tolhurst x Budgie x Jacknife Lee , and Better Lovers (various members of The Dillinger Escape Plan and Every Time I Die). But it was an already established all-star line-up that took the GRAMMY nominations by storm.

Consisting of Phoebe Bridgers , Lucy Dacus, and Julien Baker , boygenius bagged a remarkable seven nods at the 2024 ceremony. Throw in a well-received headline set at Coachella, U.S. Top 50 follow-up EP, and even a "Saturday Night Live" showing alongside Timothée Chalamet, and the trio couldn't have asked for a better way to continue what they started together in 2018.

The Early 2000s Enjoyed A Revival

The cyclical nature of the music industry meant that the era of choppy bangs and super-skinny jeans was always going to come back into fashion. And following throwbacks from the likes of Olivia Rodrigo and Willow , the original punk-pop brigade returned this year to prove they could still mosh with the best of them.

Possibly the defining nasal voice of his generation, Tom DeLonge headed back into the studio with blink-182 for the first time in 12 years, with the resulting One More Time... topping the Billboard 200 . Linkin Park (" Lost "), Papa Roach (" Cut the Line "), and a reunited Staind (" Lowest in Me ") all scored No. 1s on the Mainstream Rock Airplay Chart, while Sum 41 , Bowling For Soup , and Good Charlotte were just a few of the high school favorites who helped cement When We Were Young as the millennial's dream festival.

The Emo Scene Went Back To Its Roots

After channeling the new wave and synth-pop of the 1980s on predecessor After Laughter , Paramore returned from a six-year absence with a record which harked back to their mid-2000s beginnings. But it wasn't their own feisty brand of punk-pop that Best Rock Album GRAMMY nominee This Is Why resembled. Instead, its nervy indie rock took its cues, as frontwoman Hayley Williams freely admits , from touring buddies Bloc Party.

Paramore weren't the only emo favorites to rediscover their roots. Fall Out Boy reunited with Under the Cork Tree producer Neal Avron and old label Fueled By Ramen on the dynamic So Much (for) Stardust . And while Taking Back Sunday further veered away from their signature sound, the Long Islanders still embraced the past by naming seventh LP 152 after the North Carolina highway stretch they used to frequent as teens.

Country Artists Tapped Into Rock Sensibilities

We're used to seeing rock musicians going a little bit country: see everyone from Steven Tyler and Bon Jovi to Darius Rucker and Aaron Lewis. But the opposite direction is usually rarer. In 2023, however, it seemed as though every Nashville favorite was suddenly picking up the air guitar.

Zach Bryan repositioned himself as Gen-Z's answer to Bruce Springsteen with the heartland rock of his eponymous Billboard 200 chart-topper (which is up for Best Country Album at the 2024 GRAMMYs alongside Kelsea Ballerini 's Rolling Up the Welcome Mat , Brothers Osborne 's self-titled LP, Tyler Childers ' Rustin' in the Rain , and Lainey Wilson 's Bell Bottom Country ). Meanwhile, Hitmaker HARDY — who first cut his teeth penning hits for Florida Georgia Line and Blake Shelton — leaned into the sounds of hard rock and nu-metal on his second studio LP, The Mockingbird & the Crow .

But few committed more to the crossover than the one of country's greatest living legends. Dolly Parton roped in a whole host of hellraisers and headbangers including Richie Sambora , Joan Jett & The Blackhearts , and Rob Halford , for the 30-track Rockstar — her first rock-oriented project of her glittering 49-album career.

Post-Grunge Reunions Were Abundant

Fans of the mopey '90s scene known as post-grunge had all their dreams come true this year thanks to several unexpected reunions. Turn-of-the-century chart-toppers Staind and Matchbox Twenty both returned with new albums after more than a decade away. Creed , meanwhile, announced they'd be headlining next year's Summer of '99 cruise after a similar amount of time out of the spotlight.

The insatiable appetite for all things nostalgia, of course, means that any band — no matter how fleeting their fame — can stage a lucrative comeback. Take Dogstar, for example, the unfashionable outfit boasting Hollywood nice guy Keanu Reeves. Twenty-three years after appearing to call it a day, the Los Angeles trio surprised everyone by hitting the Bottlerock Napa Valley Festival before dropping a belated third LP, Somewhere Between the Power Lines and Palm Trees and embarking on a headlining national tour.

The New Generation Gave The Old Their Dues

Say what you want about today's musical generation, but they know to pay respect where it's due., Olivia Rodrigo, for example, doffed her cap to '90s alt-rock favorites The Breeders by inviting them to open on her 2024 world tour.

New working-class hero Sam Fender invited fellow Newcastle native Brian Johnson to perform two AC/DC classics at his hometown stadium show . While ever-changing Japanese kawaii metalers Babymetal debuted their latest incarnation on "Metali," a collaboration with one of their musical idols, Rage Against the Machine 's Tom Morello .

Whether new artists are teaming up with the old or veterans are continuing to receive their flowers, 2023 proved that rock is alive and well.

2023 In Review: 5 Trends That Defined Hip-Hop

Photo: Taylor Hill/Getty Images

The Gaslight Anthem's Comeback Album 'History Books' Makes A Case For Meeting Your Heroes

On 'History Books' — the Gaslight Anthem's first album in nine years — the New Jersey punks sound hungry again. Brian Fallon explains how friendship with Bruce Springsteen, dinner with Jon Bon Jovi and mental health inspired the band's latest.

Seventeen years ago, Brian Fallon and the rest of the Gaslight Anthem — guitarist Alex Rosamilia, bassist Alex Levine, and drummer Benny Horowitz — were just trying to hold onto the dream. 

New Jersey’s communal culture of DIY punk brought them years of friendship and freedom from square jobs, but entering their late 20s, Fallon and co. had played in countless bands that flamed out or left them unfulfilled. Formed in 2006, the Gaslight Anthem was their final shot. "That’s why we called our first record Sink or Swim ," Fallon tells GRAMMY.com. 

They swam. That 2007 debut signaled a sea change: In the early 2000s, punk bands were not repping Bruce Springsteen . They were absolutely not namechecking Tom Petty . Here was a punk band from the same streets as the Misfits, Bouncing Souls, and My Chemical Romance, writing great songs draped in the Americana of their parents’ generation. By the time the Boss himself joined Gaslight onstage at Glastonbury Festival 2009, their sophomore album The ‘59 Sound had made them one of the world’s most acclaimed new rock bands. 

The Gaslight Anthem mined its tried and true sound for two more albums,but half a decade of non-stop touring and creative pressure was starting to take its toll. 2014’s Get Hurt , a moodier record inspired by Fallon’s recent divorce, received mixed reviews. A year later, the band was on ice. They reformed in 2018 to perform 10-year anniversary shows for The ‘59 Sound but disappeared soon after. Fallon released singer/songwriter-oriented solo albums into the 2020s and kept in touch with his old bandmates, but it wasn’t the same. 

On Oct. 27, the Gaslight Anthem releases History Books , its first album in nine years. It’s an earthy, battle-tested rock record from a veteran band that sounds hungry again, their first self-released album after an amicable split with Island Records. The title track features a duet with Bruce Springsteen, the pair’s first studio collaboration after years of friendship. 

GRAMMY.com caught up with Fallon to discuss  what years of (humble) rock stardom brought him: a hard-earned appreciation for Gaslight Anthem’s past and a new understanding of the demons rattling in his brain.

This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

What made you want to get the band back together?  

I don’t think it was anything other than being inspired to write. I wouldn’t say that being inside for two years didn’t have a hand in that. At some point, you’re sitting there thinking to yourself, I had this band and we played big shows. It’s fun. A lot of people like it. It sounds like a good idea… I gotta do this. I have something else to say .

When the band was inactive, how much did the four of you stay in touch?

We don’t call each other every day, but we stayed current on the things going on in everybody’s life.

The whole thing is more about being friends. We’ve been through things no one else has seen. We’ve slept on floors in another country in a youth center with bugs crawling on you when you’re sleeping. And the only people that understand that are those other three. 

It’s been almost a decade since Gaslight Anthem released its last album, Get Hurt. Now that there’s some space to look back on it, why do you think the band went its separate ways after that album?  

We all felt that strain. In 2015, you couldn’t really say, as a musician, "Hey, I need to not be on tour because I’m going crazy. I need to sort my mental health out." People would just be like, "We’re going onto the next band. Bye. Your career is over." 

So when we pulled the plug, everyone was like, "Why are you doing this?" Well, so we don’t die. So we don’t hate ourselves, that’s why. We knew it wasn’t the band. We knew it wasn’t each other. I think we just needed to stop the landslide.

Do you think this had to do with being in the major label ecosystem? You came up releasing albums on punk rock labels, so I’m interested how you think it all compares.

I would love to sit here and tell you that the pressure is only in the major label world and that it’s the evil major label corporate overlords who do this to bands, but it is absolutely not. It comes from the smallest indie label of some dude in his basement, all the way up. My experience on majors was maybe even a little more sensitive. If you’re running a small label and you have excitement built up, you’re like, "Whoa! This is working on a big level!" You’re so excited that you’re like, "You gotta do this! You gotta do that!"

I’m not saying any of the labels we were on were like, "You gotta do this!," but there was definitely, "Well, if you don’t play this radio show, they’re not gonna play your record." 

Now, people are a little more in tune to what’s going on, but [10 to 15 years ago] for sure, it was like, this is your only opportunity ever! Well, no, it’s not the only opportunity ever. There’s other opportunities. 

Did it feel like people knew what to do with you at Island Records?

We had a real big champion at the time in the president, David Massey. He was the person who signed us. Bon Jovi and U2 had been on Island for a while and contemporary to us, was the Killers. Every time the Killers did something good, it gave us a little more freedom because they were the other rock band on the label. We liked [the Killers] and they liked us. They covered one of our songs ["American Slang"] at one of their shows in New York [in 2017]. It was like having a big brother on the label, paving a path. 

When we got back together, we weren't really on Island, but they could have made us make a record [for Island]. We don’t own anything. I don’t own [the masters for] Sink or Swim . I don’t own ‘59 Sound . Nothing. So we wanted to own it, now. We wanted to do our own label, with [independent distribution company] Thirty Tigers, where it’s much more of, "You’re the label, you make the decisions." 

How did "History Books" with Bruce come together?

I’m not one to shoot my shot, so to speak. Which has not been great for my career, I guess. But if somebody wants to do something for you, let them do it, you know? I never asked Bruce for anything. 

We were talking and I was saying, "Yeah, we’re putting the band back together and working on some songs." He just said, "Why don’t you write a duet for us?" I was like, "What? Alright!" You have to understand that, for me, sitting here and saying, "Why don’t you whip up a duet for me and Bruce Springsteen?" – that to me is like saying, "Why don’t I write a book for Ernest Hemingway? Why don’t I write Jimi Hendrix a guitar solo?" 

So I went away and I would say to myself, Alright, the next one is for Bruce. I’ll write the next song for Bruce. I just kept writing the songs to get them out, without the pressure. And at the end of it all, I just said, "Which song would Bruce sound good singing on?" Everybody just said "History Books." Cool! And then we sent it to him. 

What did he say when you sent him the song?  

He said, "Cool, I’ll get it done." He was in Dublin on tour and he just did it. 

After knowing him all these years, why do you think now was the time he proposed writing a song together?

With the band back and writing new material, it was just the right time. I don’t think there was a time before this where it would have been good for us to have done. 

Now, we’ve gone down a path enough to where we can embrace Bruce, New Jersey, our influences. We’re able to comfortably have that be our home.

When you’re around Bruce, do you get nervous?  

Imagine you’re seven years old, you’re reading your comic books, and then all of a sudden Batman jumps out of the comic book in your room and goes, "Hey, you wanna go fight crime tonight?" It’s insane to be in the presence of a person that’s that famous, and that influential to you. It’s not a thing a normal person can comprehend. And I can not comprehend this. 

Reading the lyrics to this album, I thought you were referencing your mental health a lot. Can you share what's been going on during the several years of your life?

It feels like everybody in America’s got things on their mind, especially the last couple years. I got to a point where the days felt like they were harder than they should have been. It’s like pushing a rock up a hill when you’re doing that every day, and you get tired. You’re dealing with stuff in your mind that you can’t quite… there’s not an event that causes you to feel a certain way. There’s no cause, so you can’t predict it. And that becomes extremely frustrating.

You turn to other things, or you get help and say, I don’t think I can do this on my own. I need someone else alongside me. " That’s the point I got to. I got a therapist. There’s not a special rockstar line that people call, or if there is, I don’t have that number. I just went to the doctor and said, "I don’t feel right." 

Did these feelings get  buried during Gaslight Anthem’s more active years, only to come out during the pandemic when things got quieter?

I think it was coming anyway. Whether there was time to deal with it or not. The band slowing down before the pandemic was part of that, needing some time and space. That was why the band stopped, because it was like a steamroller. It’s like you have another mental illness, which is the anxiety of the pressure of feeling like you have to be excited. And that’s where the tidal wave starts… You feel guilty ‘cause you’re like, "I should be grateful. I’m in a band." And you are grateful, but you’re also struggling, and it’s freaking hard! 

[Mental health] comes up a lot in the song "Positive Charge"… I wrote it about that struggle. But this isn’t the mental health record. I’ve been writing long enough where I can steer the boat so it’s not a diary entry anymore. 

Back in 2021, you played a fundraiser in New Jersey alongside Jon Bon Jovi and Johnny Rzeznik from the Goo Goo Dolls. What was that like?  

We were doing a benefit for the reelection of the Governor of New Jersey [Democrat Phil Murphy]. Jon Bon Jovi reached out to my manager and wanted me to play. Whoopi Goldberg was hosting. Insane stuff. 

Jon Bon Jovi wanted to meet for dinner beforehand. At the same time, I was really thinking about the band. On the way in the car, I said to my wife, "I think I wanna get the band back together." I had not spoken of this prior, so this blew her mind. 

We sit down at the table, and it’s Jon Bon Jovi and John Rzeznik. I didn’t expect them to be familiar with my band, because they’re giant songwriters. They were just genuinely interested in what we had done, talking about the songs they liked. When we left, my wife was like, "That’s a sign. If there’s a sign, that’s a sign."

I’ve met famous people who are completely off the planet. They’re just not interested in having a normal conversation. They just revel in the absurdity of their fame. I could relate to [Bon Jovi and Rzeznik] because the one common denominator is we all came from nothing. And now we’re in bands that achieved some amount of success. 

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John Mellencamp Lends His Self-Portrait to This Limited-Edition Whiskey Release

• By Tim Chan

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Rolling Stone may receive an affiliate commission.

John Mellencamp is lending his name — and mug — to a new whiskey release, that gives both fans and spirits aficionados a chance to own something truly personalized.

A collaboration between Hard Truth Distilling Co. and Mellencamp Whiskey Company (founded by the singer’s son, Hud), the new release features a classic straight rye whiskey finished in toasted French Oak barrels. After resting, the liquid is housed in a collectible glass bottle adorned with a self-portrait of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame legend .

Mellencamp French Oak Harvest Rye

The mash bill for the new liquid is composed of 100% Indiana-grown rye and corn — a tribute to the singer’s home state. Mellencamp Whiskey says to expect hints of toasted marshmallow and candied apricot on the palate, followed by notes of “brûléed sugar” and vanilla. Light citrus and cloves linger, before fading to deep oak, cherry, and a “warming black pepper finish.”

Each batch starts with previously unreleased mash bills of Sweet Mash Whiskey. The distillery says resting the rye whiskey in new, charred French Oak barrels helps to add more dimension and complexity to the liquid, while bringing out more fruit-forward notes in the finished product.

The self-portrait of Mellencamp, meantime, is based on an original oil and canvas painting done by the singer in 2020. His title for the portrait: “American Fool.”

The Mellencamp French Oak Harvest Rye is the third of four limited-edition releases from Hard Truth and Mellencamp Whiskey and is now available for pre-order exclusively on  ReserveBar.com . A portion of sales supports Indiana’s sustainable farming initiatives through Farm Aid.

In a release, Hud Mellencamp says, “This whiskey builds beautifully on our mission to produce great whiskeys in collaboration with Hard Truth and the local farmers that will produce the highest quality regional flavor profiles.”

As for John Mellencamp, the singer is currently on the road with Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan as part of their “ Outlaw Music Festival. ” You can find tickets to see Mellencamp perform here .

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