John Mellencamp

The evolution of heartland rocker John Mellencamp can be easily charted through the various monikers he’s put on his album covers. Initially dropping his Germanic surname for the more all-American stage handle of Johnny Cougar, the Seymour, Indiana native (born in 1951) emerged in the late ‘70s as a leather-clad rock ‘n’ roll rebel for the New Wave age, enjoying his first success with 1978’s ersatz-Springsteen sing-along “I Need a Lover.” But a tiny name tweak to the slightly more sophisticated John Cougar heralded his chart-topping breakthrough with 1982’s American Fool, whose eternal teen-romance serenade “Jack and Diane” recast him as a keen observer of small-town American life. That focus would only turn sharper as he rebranded himself John Cougar Mellencamp for 1983’s Uh-Huh and 1985’s Scarecrow, where acoustic anthems like “Small Town” and “Pink Houses” celebrated Rust Belt resilience while quietly raging at the socioeconomic inequalities that necessitate it. (The latter song has a long history of being misappropriated by politicians who mistake its weary “ain’t that America” chorus as a patriotic campaign jingle.) For 1987’s Cajun-spiced The Lonesome Jubilee, he simply put the Mellencamp name on the cover, signaling his complete transition from rock ‘n’ roll bad boy to down-home Americana icon (an image reinforced by his cofounding role in the Farm Aid charity-concert series). Since his ’80s commercial peak, Mellencamp has remained highly prolific both as a musical and visual artist, expanding his roots-rock aesthetic through collaborations with bass queen Meshell Ndegeocello, rapper Chuck D, and producer T Bone Burnett. Yet as socially conscious later efforts like 2014’s Plain Spoken show, he’s remained resolute in his fight for the little guy. To quote one of his rabble-rousing ’80s hits: “I fight authority, authority always wins.” But John Mellencamp is never going to stop throwing punches.