MELLENCAMP, JOHN

born Oct. 7, 1951, Seymour, Ind., U.S. also called Johnny Cougar or John Cougar Mellencamp American singer-songwriter who became popular in the 1980s by creating basic, often folk-inflected hard rock and presenting himself as a champion of small-town values. Growing up in southern Indianawith which he is strongly identifiedMellencamp began playing in rock bands as a teenager. His first two albums, released in the late 1970s, disappeared without a trace; however, repackaged as a heartland rocker, he had his first hit, I Need a Lover, in late 1979. With two more big hits, Hurts So Good and Jack and Diane, the album American Fool (1982) made Mellencamp a star. Although criticized by some at this stage of his career as a humourless, self-important Bruce Springsteen manqupatronizing his working-class subjects rather than celebrating themMellencamp suddenly matured as a songwriter. His lyrics grew more empathic, and his music acquired an incisive, crackling power, largely owing to his supertight backing band. Scarecrow (1985) and The Lonesome Jubilee (1987) were his commercial and artistic high points, exploring the impact of Ronald Reagan's presidency on Middle America and producing the hits Small Town, R.O.C.K. in the USA, and Cherry Bomb. Thereafter, Mellencamp released a series of albums that were successful commercially and critically, though they were not as well received as his work from the mid-1980s. He also was a chief sponsor of the first Farm Aid concert, in 1985, which benefited distressed American farmers, and remained active on behalf of similar causes.