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John Cougar mellencamp |
October 7, 1951: John J. Mellencamp was born in Seymour, Indiana.
October 23, 1983: The album "Uh Huh" was released. "Pink Houses" b/w "Serious Business" is also released as a single.
Pink Houses b/w Serious Business. Written & Performed by John Cougar Mellencamp. [c]1983 Riva Records.
First exposed to John Cougar Mellencamp's "Pink Houses" via video (MTV) I was quite impressed. Naturally the chorus is uptempo and contemporary enough to inspire today's contemporary and uptempo patriot to at least dance, if not salute: "Ain't that America--you and me; Ain't That America--something to see; Ain't that America--Home of the free."
The beats good; the music all in all is fine--but I rate this song by its lyric content: "Ain't that America....there's pink houses for you and me. Those crazy old dreams of being president come and go. There's winners and losers; but that ain't no big deal--the simple man pays the bills. Almost worse than a nuclear holocaust--America's delusions of grandeur and pink houses. Aaah, but ain't that America?"
The B-side of the single release is Mellencamp's reference to rock and roll as "Serious Business." Maybe the spirit of Dylan isn't dead; just evolved to a new high-technological sound of instrumentation, lyrics, and sound. After all, 1963 folk music would never rate with 1983 new wave listeners. (Z. Richards Jan 1984)
First exposed to John Cougar Mellencamp's "Pink Houses" via video (MTV) I was quite impressed. Naturally the chorus is uptempo and contemporary enough to inspire today's contemporary and uptempo patriot to at least dance, if not salute: "Ain't that America--you and me; Ain't That America--something to see; Ain't that America--Home of the free."
The beats good; the music all in all is fine--but I rate this song by its lyric content: "Ain't that America....there's pink houses for you and me. Those crazy old dreams of being president come and go. There's winners and losers; but that ain't no big deal--the simple man pays the bills. Almost worse than a nuclear holocaust--America's delusions of grandeur and pink houses. Aaah, but ain't that America?"
The B-side of the single release is Mellencamp's reference to rock and roll as "Serious Business." Maybe the spirit of Dylan isn't dead; just evolved to a new high-technological sound of instrumentation, lyrics, and sound. After all, 1963 folk music would never rate with 1983 new wave listeners. (Z. Richards Jan 1984)
September 22, 1985: The first Farm Aid benefit concert with Willie Nelson and Neil Young in Champaign, Illinois . Mellencamp helped organize it.
Rolling Stone Jan 1985
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May 26, 1988: At the end of Mellencamp's 1987–88 Lonesome Jubilee Tour, he was joined onstage by surprise guest Bruce Springsteen in Irvine, California, for a duet of Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone".
Spin Magazine June 1989
September 5, 1992: Mellcamp married fashion model Elaine Irwin.
August 8, 1994: Mellencamp had a minor heart attack after a show at Jones Beach in New York.
November 19, 1994: At the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Mellencamp performed an acoustic cover of Billy Joel's "Allentown" at a tribute event to Billy Joel.
November 19, 1994: At the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Mellencamp performed an acoustic cover of Billy Joel's "Allentown" at a tribute event to Billy Joel.
October 6, 1998: Mellecamp's self titled LP was released on the Columbia Records Label. It included the singles "Your Life Is Now" and "I'm Not Running Anymore", along with standout album tracks such as "Eden Is Burning", "Miss Missy", "It All Comes True" and "Chance Meeting at the Tarantula".
July 2, 2002: Mellencamp sang the gospel song "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" at Timothy White's funeral. White was the Billboard magazine editor-in-chief who died from a heart attack.
July 31, 2003: Mellencamp played at Town Hall in New York City, in which he performed every track from his 2003 Trouble No More covers album in addition to a rendition of "Highway 61 Revisited" by Bob Dylan and reworked versions of three of his own songs.
January 23, 2007: Mellencamp released Freedom's Road, his first album of original material in over five years.
August 13, 2007: Mellencamp began recording his 18th album of original material, titled "Life, Death, Love and Freedom."
August 13, 2007: Mellencamp began recording his 18th album of original material, titled "Life, Death, Love and Freedom."
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February 8, 2008: According to an Associated Press report, Mellencamp's camp asked that the campaign for presidential candidate Sen. John McCain stop using his songs, including "Our Country" and "Pink Houses", during their campaign events. Mellencamp's publicist, Bob Merlis, noted to the Associated Press: "If [McCain is] such a true conservative, why [is he] playing songs that have a very populist pro-labor message written by a guy who would find no argument if you characterized him as an ardent leftist?"
March 10, 2008: Mellencamp was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's Class of 2008. The induction ceremony took place in New York City and he was inducted by his good friend Billy Joel. During his induction speech for Mellencamp, Joel said: "Don't let this club membership change you, John. Stay ornery, stay mean. We need you to be pissed off, and restless because no matter what they tell us—we know this country is going to hell in a handcart. This country's been hijacked. You know it, and I know it. People are worried. People are scared, and people are angry. People need to hear a voice like yours that's out there to echo the discontent that's out there in the heartland. They need to hear stories about it. They need to hear stories about frustration, alienation and desperation. They need to know that somewhere out there somebody feels the way that they do in the small towns and in the big cities. They need to hear it. And it doesn't matter if they hear it on a jukebox, in the local gin mill, or in a goddamn truck commercial because they ain't gonna hear it on the radio any more. They don't care how they hear it as long as they hear it good and loud and clear the way you've always been saying it all along. You're right, John, this is still our country." April 22, 2008: Mellencamp performed "Small Town" at a Barack Obama rally in Evansville, Indiana. May 3, 2008: Mellencamp performed "Our Country" at a rally for Hillary Clinton in Indianapolis, Indiana. June 9, 2008: A video for the song "My Sweet Love" was filmed in Savannah, Georgia. Karen Fairchild of Little Big Town is featured in the video. She harmonizes with Mellencamp on "My Sweet Love" and provides background vocals to three other songs on Life, Death, Love and Freedom. July 15, 2008: His LP "Life, Death, Love and Freedom" was released. It was produced by T Bone Burnett. August 2, 2008: "Life, Death, Love and Freedom" became the ninth Top 10 album of Mellencamp's career when it debuted at No. 7. September 23, 2008: Mellencamp filmed a concert at the Crump Theatre in Columbus, Indiana for a new A&E Biography series called Homeward Bound. The show featured performers returning to small venues where they performed during the early stages of their careers. October 6, 2008: Mellencamp won the prestigious Classic Songwriter Award at the 2008 Q Awards in London, England. December 11, 2008: The A&E Biography series, "Homeward Bound," aired and also featured an in-depth documentary tracing Mellencamp's roots. |
Time Jan 28, 2008
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January 18, 2009: Mellencamp performed "Pink Houses" at the Obama inaugural celebration at the Lincoln Memorial.
May 3, 2009: Mellencamp participated in a tribute concert for Pete Seeger's 90th birthday on at Madison Square Garden in New York City which raised funds for an environmental organization founded by Seeger to preserve and protect the Hudson River. Mellencamp performed solo acoustic renditions of Seeger and Lee Hays' "If I Had a Hammer" and his own "A Ride Back Home."
December 6, 2009: Mellencamp performed "Born in the U.S.A." as a tribute to Bruce Springsteen, who was one of the honorees at the 2009 Kennedy Center Honors.
May 3, 2009: Mellencamp participated in a tribute concert for Pete Seeger's 90th birthday on at Madison Square Garden in New York City which raised funds for an environmental organization founded by Seeger to preserve and protect the Hudson River. Mellencamp performed solo acoustic renditions of Seeger and Lee Hays' "If I Had a Hammer" and his own "A Ride Back Home."
December 6, 2009: Mellencamp performed "Born in the U.S.A." as a tribute to Bruce Springsteen, who was one of the honorees at the 2009 Kennedy Center Honors.
January 29, 2010: Mellcamp performed "Down by the River" in Los Angeles in tribute to Neil Young, who was honored at the 20th annual MusiCares Person of the Year gala.
February 9, 2010: Mellencamp sang the hymn "Keep Your Eyes on the Prize" at "In Performance at the White House: A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement."
August 17, 2010: "No Better Than This" LP was released.
September 9, 2010: Mellencamp received the Americana Lifetime Achievement Award in Nashville.
October 29, 2010: Mellencamp, who co-headlined 11 shows in the summer of 2010 with Bob Dylan, launched the No Better Than This theater tour in Bloomington, Indiana.
December 30, 2010: Mellencamp announced that he and Elaine Irwin had separated after 18 years of marriage.
February 9, 2010: Mellencamp sang the hymn "Keep Your Eyes on the Prize" at "In Performance at the White House: A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement."
August 17, 2010: "No Better Than This" LP was released.
September 9, 2010: Mellencamp received the Americana Lifetime Achievement Award in Nashville.
October 29, 2010: Mellencamp, who co-headlined 11 shows in the summer of 2010 with Bob Dylan, launched the No Better Than This theater tour in Bloomington, Indiana.
December 30, 2010: Mellencamp announced that he and Elaine Irwin had separated after 18 years of marriage.
August 12, 2011: Jonhn & Elaine's divorce became official with the couple negotiating "an amicable settlement of all issues involving property and maintenance rights, the custody and support of their children, and all other issues", according to the settlement agreement.
August 28, 2011: George Green died in Albuquerque, New Mexico at the age of 59 after losing a battle with a rapid-forming small cell lung cancer. Mellencamp co-wrote several of his best-known songs with his childhood friend George Green who, like Mellencamp, was born and raised in Seymour, Indiana. "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 shortly after Green's death. "George was a dreamer, and I was sorry to hear of his passing." Green contributed lyrics to numerous Mellencamp radio hits and classic album tracks, including "Human Wheels", "Minutes to Memories", "Hurts So Good", "Crumblin' Down", "Rain on the Scarecrow", "Your Life is Now", and "Key West Intermezzo"
August 28, 2011: George Green died in Albuquerque, New Mexico at the age of 59 after losing a battle with a rapid-forming small cell lung cancer. Mellencamp co-wrote several of his best-known songs with his childhood friend George Green who, like Mellencamp, was born and raised in Seymour, Indiana. "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 shortly after Green's death. "George was a dreamer, and I was sorry to hear of his passing." Green contributed lyrics to numerous Mellencamp radio hits and classic album tracks, including "Human Wheels", "Minutes to Memories", "Hurts So Good", "Crumblin' Down", "Rain on the Scarecrow", "Your Life is Now", and "Key West Intermezzo"
July 30, 2012: In San Jose, CA, Mellencamp was honored with the John Steinbeck Award, given to those individuals who exemplify the spirit of "Steinbeck's empathy, commitment to democratic values, and belief in the dignity of the common man."
July 8, 2014: Mellencamp released a new live album called Performs Trouble No More Live at Town Hall without any advance notice. The album captures his live performance at Town Hall in New York City on July 31, 2003, in which he performed every track from his 2003 Trouble No More covers album in addition to a rendition of "Highway 61 Revisited" by Bob Dylan and reworked versions of three of his own songs.
September 23, 2014: The album, Plain Spoken, was released and was his 20th album of original material and 22nd studio album overall.
September 23, 2014: The album, Plain Spoken, was released and was his 20th album of original material and 22nd studio album overall.
February 6, 2015: Mellencamp paid tribute to Bob Dylan at the annual MusiCares Person of the Year event by performing a piano-and-vocal rendition of "Highway 61 Revisited" (the piano was played by Troye Kinnett from Mellencamp's band). USA Today wrote: "The musical high point in a night of many highlights was probably John Mellencamp's interpretation of 'Highway 61 Revisited;' with a vocal tone and timbre that channeled Tom Waits', he made this usually scorching rocker into a blues dirge. Never has Mellencamp sounded so artful."
October 3, 2015: The Meg Ryan movie Ithaca at the Middleburg Film Festival in Virginia. Mellencamp wrote the score for it.
October 3, 2015: The Meg Ryan movie Ithaca at the Middleburg Film Festival in Virginia. Mellencamp wrote the score for it.
April 1, 2016: Mellencamp and Carlene Carter debuted two songs from the "Sad Clowns & Hillbillies" album, "Indigo Sunset" and "My Soul's Got Wings", during Mellencamp's concert in Tulsa. Indigo Sunset" was written by both Mellencamp and Carter, while Mellencamp wrote the music to "My Soul's Got Wings", giving life to a previously unheard lyric written by American folk singer Woody Guthrie.
April 27, 2016: The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) presented Mellencamp with its prestigious Founders Award at the 33rd annual ASCAP Pop Music Awards in Los Angeles.
May 6, 2016: Q&A after a screening of the movie "Ithaca" at Geena Davis' Bentonville Film Festival, Ryan said: "The music is so beautiful. John Mellencamp wrote every note – everything – the tiny little needle drops you hear in the back. He wrote about half of it after I read him the script, and then the next half after he saw the movie. He's just incredible."
October 25, 2016: Mellencamp played at the Chicago Theatre as part of Mellencamp's Plain Spoken Tour.
April 27, 2016: The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) presented Mellencamp with its prestigious Founders Award at the 33rd annual ASCAP Pop Music Awards in Los Angeles.
May 6, 2016: Q&A after a screening of the movie "Ithaca" at Geena Davis' Bentonville Film Festival, Ryan said: "The music is so beautiful. John Mellencamp wrote every note – everything – the tiny little needle drops you hear in the back. He wrote about half of it after I read him the script, and then the next half after he saw the movie. He's just incredible."
October 25, 2016: Mellencamp played at the Chicago Theatre as part of Mellencamp's Plain Spoken Tour.
January 19, 2017: Mellencamp released “Easy Target”–the first single from Sad Clowns & Hillbillies and a "reflection on the state of our country"
April 28, 2017: Mellencamp and Carlene Carter's duets album, titled Sad Clowns & Hillbillies, was released.
April 28, 2017: Mellencamp and Carlene Carter's duets album, titled Sad Clowns & Hillbillies, was released.
February 1, 2018: Netflix began streaming a concert that took place on October 25, 2016, at the Chicago Theatre as part of Mellencamp's Plain Spoken Tour.
June 14, 2018: Mellencamp was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
June 15, 2018: The title song to the 2017 American war movie The Yellow Birds, which was written by Mellencamp, was released.
August 30, 2018: Mellencamp was bestowed with the Woody Guthrie Prize in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
December 7, 2018: Mellencamp released a compilation album of cover songs titled Other People's Stuff.
June 14, 2018: Mellencamp was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
June 15, 2018: The title song to the 2017 American war movie The Yellow Birds, which was written by Mellencamp, was released.
August 30, 2018: Mellencamp was bestowed with the Woody Guthrie Prize in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
December 7, 2018: Mellencamp released a compilation album of cover songs titled Other People's Stuff.
April 30, 2019: Mellencamp played the last show of a 39-date theater tour, dubbed "The John Mellencamp Show" in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
June 12, 2019: Republic Records, Federal Films and Universal Music Theatricals announced that a musical based on Mellencamp's 1982 song "Jack & Diane" is officially in development.
October 30, 2019: It was reported that Mellencamp and Meg Ryan had ended their engagement.
June 12, 2019: Republic Records, Federal Films and Universal Music Theatricals announced that a musical based on Mellencamp's 1982 song "Jack & Diane" is officially in development.
October 30, 2019: It was reported that Mellencamp and Meg Ryan had ended their engagement.
January 21, 2022: The album, Strictly a One-Eyed Jack, was released.
February 27, 2020: Mellencamp's official social media accounts confirmed that he was currently recording an album at his Belmont Mall recording studio.
February 27, 2020: Mellencamp's official social media accounts confirmed that he was currently recording an album at his Belmont Mall recording studio.
February 3, 2021: In an extensive update on his website, Mellencamp said one of the songs he wrote record is called "I Always Lie to Strangers", and he shared a one-minute snippet of it.
June 10, 2021: Springsteen provided some details on his collaboration with Mellencamp on his Sirius XM radio station, saying: "I worked on three songs on John’s album and I spent some time in Indiana with him. I love John a lot. He's a great songwriter and I have become very close [with him] and had a lot of fun with him. I sang a little bit on his record."
August 27, 2021: Mellencamp released a CD and documentary of his 2000 Good Samaritan Tour, which consisted of free lunchtime concerts in city parks. The documentary is narrated by Academy Award winning actor Matthew McConaughey, who is an avowed Mellencamp fan.
September 29, 2021: Mellencamp released the audio and music video for "Wasted Days", a duet with Springsteen, as the lead single from Strictly a One-Eyed Jack. Written and produced solely by Mellencamp, "Wasted Days" is a song about aging and making the most of the time one has left.
December 10, 2021: Mellencamp released the second single, "Chasing Rainbows", from the "Strictly One Eyed Jack" album.
June 10, 2021: Springsteen provided some details on his collaboration with Mellencamp on his Sirius XM radio station, saying: "I worked on three songs on John’s album and I spent some time in Indiana with him. I love John a lot. He's a great songwriter and I have become very close [with him] and had a lot of fun with him. I sang a little bit on his record."
August 27, 2021: Mellencamp released a CD and documentary of his 2000 Good Samaritan Tour, which consisted of free lunchtime concerts in city parks. The documentary is narrated by Academy Award winning actor Matthew McConaughey, who is an avowed Mellencamp fan.
September 29, 2021: Mellencamp released the audio and music video for "Wasted Days", a duet with Springsteen, as the lead single from Strictly a One-Eyed Jack. Written and produced solely by Mellencamp, "Wasted Days" is a song about aging and making the most of the time one has left.
December 10, 2021: Mellencamp released the second single, "Chasing Rainbows", from the "Strictly One Eyed Jack" album.
Jan 21, 2022: Strictly a One-Eyed Jack was released.
August 24, 2022: Through social media, Mellecamp shared the lyrics to a brand new song called “The Eyes of Portland” – a diatribe against homelessness that will be on the new record.
September 17, 2022: During a performance in his hometown of Seymour, Indiana to benefit the Southern Indiana Center for the Arts, Mellencamp revealed the title of the new record to be Orpheus Descending. "The name of the new record is Orpheus Descending," Mellencamp said to the audience. "Do you guys know who Orpheus was? He was a Greek god that came down, and he was the best singer, the best songwriter, and men wanted to be like him and girls wanted to be with him. What happened was the girl he fell in love with got sent to Haiti, he went down and met with the devil and bad things happened......You can read about Orpheus in Greek mythology."
August 24, 2022: Through social media, Mellecamp shared the lyrics to a brand new song called “The Eyes of Portland” – a diatribe against homelessness that will be on the new record.
September 17, 2022: During a performance in his hometown of Seymour, Indiana to benefit the Southern Indiana Center for the Arts, Mellencamp revealed the title of the new record to be Orpheus Descending. "The name of the new record is Orpheus Descending," Mellencamp said to the audience. "Do you guys know who Orpheus was? He was a Greek god that came down, and he was the best singer, the best songwriter, and men wanted to be like him and girls wanted to be with him. What happened was the girl he fell in love with got sent to Haiti, he went down and met with the devil and bad things happened......You can read about Orpheus in Greek mythology."
January 24, 2023
The countdown continues. Only 12 days until the 2023 #mellencamptour kicks off. You got your tickets? #linkinbio pic.twitter.com/i2HYkSWREo
— John Mellencamp (@johnmellencamp) January 24, 2023
