John Mellencamp Tickets

Born and raised in the Hoosier State, John Mellencamp comes by his heartland rock honestly.  He grew up playing guitar and singing in local rock bands, and eventually came to the attention of rock manager and impressario Tony Defries, who convinced him to change his name to Johnny Cougar on the belief that the entertainer's German last name would be hard to market.  A pair of poorly reviewed albums came out of this partnership, before he changed his name to the slightly more adult "John Cougar," under which he released his first successful albums, John Cougar, which included a regional hit from his previous incarnation, "I Need a Lover."  The song would become his first US hit, joined shortly thereafter by "Hurt So Good" and "Jack & Diane," from his breakout album American Fool.  Mellencamp was on his way to superstardom, but he still didn't have the critical acclaim his songwriting talents deserved.

 

That changed in 1983 with the release of Uh-huh, the first album credited to John Cougar Mellencamp.  This assertion of his identity wasn't just about his name, either, as the record became his first critical hit — and contained the hit singles "Crumblin'" and "Pink Houses."  He followed that up with a string of acclaimed releases, including 1985's Scarecrow, and 1987's The Lonesome Jubilee.  Mellencamp was finally producing music that was both anthemic and understated, deeply personal and politically involved, and he hasn't looked back since.