He had another Top-10 hit in early 1984 with “Pink Houses,” a country-flavored ditty about Americana that was built on an acoustic guitar riff. It quickly went Top-10, as did its first single “Crumblin’ Down.” This anthemic rocker also had a memorable video that showed off Mellencamp’s dancing skills. Now that he had a bit of clout, John Cougar officially became John Cougar Mellencamp on his next album, Uh-Huh. “Jack and Diane,” an autobiographical love saga punctuated by handclaps, gave Mellencamp his first #1 single, while “Hand To Hold On To” went Top-10 in early 1983. ![]() “Hurts So Good,” a riff-rocker with a memorable biker-themed video, was a #2 hit. He also continued to record, scoring a Top-40 hit in 1980 with “This Time” and a Top-20 hit in 1981 with “Ain’t Even Done With The Night.” 1982 was the breakthrough year for John Mellencamp: his American Fool album became a #1 hit, topping the charts for nine weeks and producing plenty of hits. John Mellencamp toured steadily to back up his new hit. He recorded and performed steadily throughout the late 70’s, scoring his first big hit with the Springsteen-esque Top-30 hit, “I Need A Lover,” a tune still popular on classic-rock radio today. He soon broke away from them and struck out on his own. Mellencamp did not learn his managers had renamed him ‘Johnny Cougar’ until he saw it on the album cover. He signed on with David Bowie’s management company and released an album of cover versions, Chestnut Street Incident. Mellencamp had been performing in rock bands since his teens, moving to New York in 1975 to become a star. He had to face plenty of obstacles along the way: managers who made questionable choices for him, having the name ‘Johnny Cougar’ thrust upon him, and the difficulties brought on by on his own refusal to ‘play the game.’ However, he persevered through these troubles and managed to carve out a personalized fusion of folk, rock and country music that resulted in many hit albums and singles. ![]() It was a long climb to the top for John Cougar Mellencamp. Two American kids growing up in the heartland." John Cougar Mellencamp Synopsis of Pop Music
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