John Mellencamp
John Mellencamp
John J Mellencamp, also known as John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American musician, singer-songwriter, painter, and actor. He is known for his catchy, populist brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrumentation. He rose to superstardom in the 1980s while "honing an almost startlingly plainspoken writing style that, starting in 1982, yielded a string of Top 10 singles," including "Hurts So Good," "Jack & Diane," "Crumblin' Down," "Pink Houses," "Lonely Ol' Night," "Small Town," "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.," "Paper in...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionMusician
Date of Birth7 October 1951
CountryUnited States of America
I'm using my art to comment on what I see. You don't have to agree with it.
I have a bunch of information in my head that I'm not afraid to put in song or onto a canvas. Into any conversation.
Some people say I'm obnoxious and lazy, that I'm uneducated, that my opinion means nothing, but I know I'm a real good dancer.
An honest man's pillow is his peace of mind.
If you hide information from people, don't want people to see the Ten Commandments or don't want people to hear about Darwin, aren't we hiding things that we know from our future generations? I just think that that's incorrect.
We lost our way a long time ago with technology. Just because something is an advancement by going digital - that was a huge mistake. It was a way for people to make money, but it sure didn't improve sound or quality of record making. It made it faster, cheaper, but it isn't as durable.
Ain't that America, home of the free? Little pink houses for you and me.
There is nothing more sad or glorious than generations changing hands.
If Woody Guthrie set the bar for American songwriters, Bob Dylan jumped right over it. No one I know will ever come close to possessing the beauty of melody and the use of language that Dylan shares with us, with ease.
The greatest thing that ever happened to (my career) was the breakdown of the record companies, because there were no more stupid questions about how many hits are on the next record. It was very liberating.
Most people in life, give up too early.
What is there to be afraid of? The worst thing that can happen is you fail. So what? I failed at a lot of things. My first record was horrible.
I look at some of my contemporaries trying to emulate what they were 30 years ago and just because of the age factor alone, they look silly.
It's what you do and not what you say. If you're not part of the future, then get out of the way!