By the time he reached twenty-four, John became determined to make music career full-time. He moved to New York City and signed with agent Tony DeFries, who was well known for managing David Bowie’s career. DeFries talked John into releasing his debut album under the stage name Johnny Cougar. The album, Chestnut Street Incident, was made up of a collection of covers and tanked when it hit the stands. As a result Mellencamp was dropped from MCA records.
After signing with Riva Records, Mellencamp, then known as Johnny Cougar, recorded the single, "I Need a Lover." The song became a hit in Australia in 1978 and was later re-recorded by Pat Benatar.
In 1982, Mellencamp recorded what most considered being his breakthrough album, American Fool. The album contained several top 20 singles, including "Hurts So Good," "Jack and Diane," and "Hand to Hold on to." His follow-up album in 1983, Uh-Huh, was criticized for being too much like a poor man’s Bruce Springsteen. After he had a series of hits under his belt, John became adamant about not letting alcohol or tobacco companies sponsor his tours or sell his songs for commercial use.
In the mid-1980s, Mellencamp became known for his amazing live performances. His concerts consisted of two sets of his own original songs, followed by covers of popular 1960s rock songs like "Proud Mary, "Nobody But Me," and "Money Money." The band was accented on tour by fiddle player and violinist Lisa Germano, who would tour with the band for about seven years before breaking out on her own.
The band eventually became known as one of the greatest rock bands of our time. To date, John Mellencamp albums have sold 25.7 million copies.
In the late 1980s Mellencamp decided to stop touring for a while and concentrate on his latest passion of painting. Art became therapeutic for John as he wrestled through a divorce to his second wife, Vicky. He had two children from that marriage; Teddy Jo, born in 1981, and Justice, born in 1985. In 1992, Mellencamp married his third wife, former super model, Elaine Irwin. The couple has two children together, Hud, born in 1994, and Speck, born in 1995. The couple has remained together to this day.
Also in 1992, Mellencamp made his debut into acting. He starred in and directed the film Falling From Grace, which co-starred Brent Huff and Mariel Hemingway. Mellencamp then starred in the following films, Madison in 2001, which co-starred James Caviezel; After Image in 2001; and Lone Star State of Mind in 2002, co-starring Joshua Jackson, Jaime King, Matthew Davis, and Ryan Hurst.
In 2000, Mellencamp gave the commencement speech at Indian University. After he completed his speech, he was awarded with an honorary doctorate in Musical Arts. Mellencamp is also known to be a huge Indiana University basketball fan.
Currently, he is recording his first original album since 2001. Although he did perform one of the new songs at a concert in 2006, the album will not hit stores until 2007.
YUDDY
