Sunday, October 7th is John Mellencamp's 56th birthday. Because of his rebellious personality, John doesn't seem like the type to whom you would wish a happy birthday. I could be way off base, but I just don't picture friends and family standing around with party favors waiting for John to make a wish as he blows out his birthday cake candles.My first exposure to John was when he was still performing under the "John Cougar" moniker. Even after all these years, I still sometimes slip and either refer to him by that name or the "John Cougar Mellencamp" handle. I'm old school, what can I say? Anyways, I first saw him when he performed "Ain't Even Done With the Night" on The American Music Awards back in 1980 or 1981. Along with the song itself, the thing that struck me was John's choice of 50s styled attire. Since I was really into the oldies of the 50s and early 60s at the time, I thought this was pretty cool.
The prominence in John's music of instruments not normally not associated with rock and roll (the accordion and fiddle, for example) and his refusal to follow trends has allowed his songs to attain a timelessness. For example, songs like "Paper In Fire", "The Authority Song", and "Check It Out" sound as fresh today as when he first recorded them back in the 80s. Although I still enjoy the music of artists like The Human League and ABC, much of their work from that decade hasn't aged as well as John's.
Along with John's music, I have always respected his willingness to stick his neck out on controversial issues... regardless of any negative effects it might have on his career. You may have heard the flack that his new song "Jena" has caused (the mayor of Louisiana called the tune inflammatory). You can hear the song and see its accompanying video by clicking here. Whether or not you agree with his politics, I think you still have to respect that (to paraphrase the title of one of his songs) John "stands for something".
Below is the link to the video for one of my favorite songs by John, his 1987 hit "Cherry Bomb". The most notable thing about the clip is its depiction of an interracial couple slow dancing together. I remember that during a 1991 appearance on "Later With Bob Costas", John told the story of how he received threats from the KKK because of the video.
Cherry Bomb
9 comments:
In John's own words, his statement on Jena:
"I am not a journalist, I am a songwriter and in the spirit and tradition of
the minstrel, I am telling a story in this song.
The story is not, strictly speaking, about the town of Jena or this specific
incident but of racism in America.
The song was not written as an indictment of the people of Jena but, rather,
as a condemnation of racism, a problem which I've reflected in many songs, a
problem that still plagues our country today.
The current trial in Jena is just another reflection of prejudice in our
nation. If the song strikes an emotional chord with people and if they
examine it and interpret as they will, something will have been
accomplished. The aim here is not to antagonize but, rather, to catalyze
thought."
Mr. Mellencamp has always been a favorite of mine for the reasons you specified in your post. As Dr. King stated: "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy". I am not surprised that the KKK was threatening to string him up. In their opinion it is reprehensible to be white and promote a concept that goes against traditional beliefs. I am glad he wrote the song, which took a lot of courage on his part and may cost him future record sales. But I am sure he does not care.
Yeah, I still call him John "Cougar" too (smile). My favorite Mellencamp songs are probably "Pink Houses" "Hurts So Good" "Small Town" and "Jack and Dianne". Love that mix of Middle America and rebellion.
Scarecrow: Thanks for providing John's statement about his new song "Jena".
Pjazzy: I have always liked that John, for the most part, has always been his own man. I think there are too many artists who will say, "I better not take a stand on this issue because it might alienate this section of my audience".
Lori: When it comes to calling John by the right name, it's hard not to slip sometimes isn't it? There is a popular concert venue in Michigan that for years was known as the Pine Knob Music Theater (Pine Knob for short). Within the last 10 years, they changed their name to the DTE Energy Music Theatre. A lot of times, I will refer to it as the Old Pine Knob. Old habits are just like John McClane.
I love "Pink Houses" the best, and then "Jack and Diane" and then "Cherry Bomb".....not that anybody cares about my own personal order of JCM favorites! LOL
I still call him JCM, its a habit. I liked him a lot back in the day and his songs bring back some good memories. I made up my own words to Jack & Diane and made it a song about my sis and her boyfriend who was a Cuban guy named Irky. It was fun.
Holly: I don't know if you remember it, but MTV had a Pink Houses contest back when the song was popular. If you are interested, here is a link:
http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/mellencamp/05apr.php
My favorite 3 JCM tunes are:
1. The Authority Song
2. Hurts So Good
3. This Time
Barbara: I'd love to hear the lyrics to your version of Jack and Diane. Although Jack and Diane is JCM's biggest hit, I was never too crazy about it... however, I have started to like it more over the last couple of years. The reason I have changed my tune is because we went to see an 80s cover band last year called Mega 80s. One of the songs they did was Jack and Diane. It's something about hearing a song live/singing along with the rest of the crowd that makes me like it more.
i admire johnny cougar (he'll always be this to me!) sooooo much!
Karen: I forgot that he was known as Johnny Cougar early in his career... good pull on your part!
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