John Mellencamp

John Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951, Seymour, Indiana, U.S.) is an 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 Indiana—with which he is strongly identified—Mellencamp 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...