John Cougar Mellencamp: The Heartland Rocker's Unforgettable Journey

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... Yep, you guessed it: It's John Mellencamp against Heart. Both acts got their start in the '70s, although Heart had a bit of a head start, issuing its debut album 'Dreamboat Annie' to. Mellencamp’s uncompromising stance against corporate sponsorship has made him feel anomalous in an age when even esteemed figures like Lou Reed, Steve Winwood, Robert Plant and Eric Clapton... The idea of a young heartland rocker on the MTV airwaves might seem like an unlikely prospect today, but the nascent video network welcomed Mellencamp with open arms in the early '80s. John Cougar Mellencamp is Billboard's Greatest Pop Star of 1982 for how he exemplified rock stardom while it was still at top 40's center.

Mellencamp’s uncompromising stance against corporate sponsorship has made him feel anomalous in an age when even esteemed figures like Lou Reed, Steve Winwood, Robert Plant and Eric Clapton... Formerly known as John Cougar Mellencamp and earlier as John Cougar, John Mellencamp stands out as a unique American artist. His rock and roll, characterized by. Yep, you guessed it: It's John Mellencamp against Heart. Both acts got their start in the '70s, although Heart had a bit of a head start, issuing its debut album 'Dreamboat Annie' to. John Cougar Mellencamp is a name synonymous with heartland rock, a genre that reflects the struggles and joys of everyday life in America. His music, characterized by its raw. The idea of a young heartland rocker on the MTV airwaves might seem like an unlikely prospect today, but the nascent video network welcomed Mellencamp with open arms in the early '80s. A Legendary Roots Rocker. With his brand of heartland rock, John Mellencamp had a string of hits in the ’80s that propelled him to stardom. His fellow rockers have nothing but. For ‘C’ we are looking at, and appreciating, the transformation of John Cougar Mellencamp from AOR-radio-friendly hit seeking pop-rocker, to gritty roots activist. Somewhere in the early to mid-1980s John Cougar seemed to. In May of 1983 I did my first interview with John Mellencamp, or at least that’s who he wanted to be. Back then the heartland rocker was still known as John Cougar, and was riding high on the breakthrough success of his latest.

John Cougar Mellencamp is a name synonymous with heartland rock, a genre that reflects the struggles and joys of everyday life in America. His music, characterized by its raw. Never quite the glitzy and glamorous ideal of a rock star, John Mellencamp is irascible, says what's on his mind, and occasionally gets grumpy. (He knowingly gave himself his own unflattering nickname: "Little Bast***.") In. 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.