Born October 7, 1951 in Seymour, Indiana, John Mellencamp fell in love with music at an early age and was gigging in local bars and fronting a soul band by the time he was 14. His professional music career began in earnest in 1976 where his manager dubbed him Johnny Cougar out of his belief that nobody would buy a record by anybody named Mellencamp.
In 1982 his fifth album American Fool was the year’s best-selling album on the strength of two huge hits, “Hurts So Good,” and the number 1 single “Jack & Diane,” The albums that followed in the 80’s, were released under the name John Cougar Mellencamp.
By the early 1990’s “Cougar” was finally gone from John’s name and a string of successful albums as John Mellencamp. A career landmark occurred on March 10, 2008, when John was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame by Billy Joel.
Pick your favourite six John Mellencamp songs below, and the ones that get the most votes will be played Thursday, October 7th at 6pm with Scott Alan on your drive home.
Jammin John Mellencamp – only on Rock 101, Vancouver’s Greatest Hits!
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