John Mellencamp

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风格: #硬摇滚　#摇滚　#根源摇滚
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John Mellencamp 于70年代末踏入歌坛，开始自己的歌唱事业。一开始，他以Johnny Cougar的名字发行专辑，被看作是对Bruce Springsteen的音乐的模仿。随着他事业的不断进步，他的音乐也越来越具有个人特色，后来发展成一种硬摇滚与摇滚民谣融合的曲风。John在1982年发行的”Hurts so Good”和”Jack and Diane”成为当时的卖座佳作。虽然他的唱片已经很卖座，但是他却很长时间没有得到摇滚评论家们的认真对待，这对一些歌手来说可能没什么，但John却很在乎。终于，在1985年他发行了”Scarecrow”后，引起了评论家们的重视，此后，John发行的每张专辑都得到了评论家们热情的欢迎。他的流行一直持续到90年代末。

在John于1976年以Johnny Cougar的名字发行自己的第一张专辑时，并不被看好。Mellencamp的童年过得并不容易，在他还是个婴儿的时候，就因为一种天生的，叫脊柱裂的神经缺陷而必须入院治疗。他还有个叛逆的青年时期，经常惹上一些麻烦。14岁时，John组建了自己的第一个乐队，并且整个青年时期都沉醉于自己的音乐世界。17岁，他跟自己怀了孕的女友私奔了，试图通过做一些蓝领工作来支撑自己的小家庭。John在24岁决定到纽约闯荡，试图在音乐界闯出一片天。

在纽约，Mellencamp成了David Bowie的经纪人Tony DeFries手下的歌手。Tony作了个很划算的生意，把他签给了Mainman/MCA。在这里，John录制了一张叫Chestnut Street Incident的专辑，但当专辑完成时，John被激怒了，因为DeFries私自把宣传海报上的歌手更名为Johnny Cougar，这颗炸弹直接导致了John与公司的解约。第一张专辑的惨败使John变得乖戾，两年后他与Riva Records签约，于1978年发行了专辑”A Biography”，但并没有引起大的反响。

之后，Mellencamp又于1982年发行了”American Fool”，这成了他事业的突破点。这张专辑在商业以及以音乐上都获得了不小的突破，比起他以前的专辑受到了更多的关注，特别是”Hurts so Good”和”Jack and Diane”,这两首歌都被拍成MTV并进入MTV最受欢迎歌曲的行列。更重要的是，American Fool的成功使John可以用自己真正的名字Mellencamp。1983年的专辑Uh-Huh成为第一张署名为John Cougar Mellencamp的专辑。Uh-Huh的发行也可以说是借了American Fool的流行之势，他也通过巡回演唱会给了自己的专辑以最大的支持。

在获得了商业上的成功后，Mellencamp通过1985年的专辑Scarescrow赢得了评论界的口碑。这张专辑展现出了极大的社会关注和在音乐上的折衷主义，这也成了他音乐事业中最成功的专辑。随着在音乐上的成功，Mellencamp开始变成一名为美国农民们说话的战士，他和Willie Nelson, Neil Young组织了农业援助协会。同时，John也拒绝啤酒和烟草公司对他演唱会的赞助。

Mellencamp继续着他的社会事业和音乐事业。1987年发行了带有独特的阿帕拉契地区民谣与乡村风格的专辑The Lonesome Jubilee，这是一首为被人们遗忘的美国中部地区所做的一首悲伤的挽歌。Mellencamp继续着对美国本土音乐的探索，专辑Big Daddy于1989年发行，反映良好。两年后，他带着Whenever We Wanted成功回归乐坛，1993年又发行了Human Wheels，虽然反响甚佳，但是却缺少了一首成功的单曲。

1994年Mellencamp借着与Me’Shell NdegéOcello在Van Morrion的专辑Wild Night里的二重唱再次吸引人们的眼球。收录了此曲的专辑Dance Naked也成为了继Big Daddy后最好的专辑。为了此张专辑宣传，John计划有一次巡回演唱会，但是却因为他在1994年末的一次突发心脏病取消。他花了1995年一整年的时间来恢复身体，并于1996年带着Mr.Happy Go Lucky再次崛起。随后John于1998年去了哥伦比亚，发行了合辑John Mellencamp. Rough Harvest，一张收录了John没有公开发表的作品的专辑。

2001年的Cuttin’Heads是他为哥伦比亚的第二张专辑，其中的Peaceful World与灵魂乐歌手India Arie合作，成为一首成功的单曲。同样是在2001年，他因为他富有创造性的成就赢得了Billboard世纪奖。受到2002年10月一个向Timothy White致敬的演唱会上Robert Johnson的”Stone in My Passway”的表演的启发，Mellencamp在2003年录制了Trouble No More，并于当年夏季发行，成为Billboard兰调榜的冠军专辑。2007年，Mellencamp将发行他的全新专辑Impressive Freedom’s Road.

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Throughout his career, John Mellencamp has had to fight, whether it was for the right to record under his own name or for respect as an artist. Of course, he never made it easy on himself. Mellencamp began his career in the late 70s as a Bruce Springsteen clone called Johnny Cougar. As his career progressed, his music became more distinctive, developing into a Stonesy blend of hard rock and folk-rock. His musical development coincided with his growth in popularity — by the time Hurts So Good and Jack and Diane became hits in 1982, Mellencamp had created his own variation of the heartland rock of Springsteen, Tom Petty, and Bob Seger. While he had the record sales, it took several years before rock critics took him seriously. For some artists, this would be easy to ignore, but Mellencamp had the desire to be a serious social commentator, chronicling the times and trials of Midwestern baby boomers. Scarecrow, released in 1985, fulfilled his wish of being taken serious, and every record he released after it was greeted warmly by critics. Furthermore, he sustained his popularity into the late 90s, only occasionally experiencing dips in record sales.

A prolonged, acclaimed career seemed an impossibility when Mellencamp released his first album under the name Johnny Cougar in 1976. As a child in Seymour, IN, Mellencamp had suffered a number of setbacks, including being born with a neural tube defect called spina bifida that necessitated a lengthy hospitalization as a baby. As a teenager, he was rebellious, often getting in trouble with the law. He formed his first band at the age of 14, and continued to play throughout his teens. When he was 17, he eloped with Pricilla Esterline, his pregnant girlfriend, and proceeded to try to support his family by working a series of blue-collar jobs. By the time he was 24, he had decided to move to New York City to attempt to break into the music industry.

In New York, Mellencamp became a client of David Bowies manager, Tony DeFries, who signed him to a lucrative deal with Mainman/MCA. Mellencamp recorded an album of covers called Chestnut Street Incident. Upon receiving the finished album in 1976, he was infuriated to learn that DeFries had billed the singer as Johnny Cougar. Chestnut Street Incident was a bomb and MCA immediately dropped the singer. The fiasco of his first album was enough to sour Mellencamp toward the industry for the remainder of his career. Two years later, he signed with Riva Records, releasing A Biography (1978) to little attention. However, Johnny Cougar (1979) spawned the Top 40 hit I Need a Lover, which also became an AOR hit for Pat Benatar a few years later. Steve Cropper produced 1980s Nothin Matters and What If It Did, which contained the Top 30 hits This Time and Aint Even Done with the Night.

Mellencamps next album, 1982s American Fool, became his breakthrough, both commercially and musically. More focused than his earlier records, American Fool rocketed to number one on the strength of the number two hit Hurts So Good and the number one single Jack & Diane, both of which were supported by videos that became MTV favorites. The success of American Fool meant that he could add Mellencamp to his stage name, and 1983s Uh-Huh became the first album credited to John Cougar Mellencamp. Uh-Huh was released while American Fool was still high on the charts, and it became a hit, peaking at number nine and generating the Top Ten hits Crumblin Down and Pink Houses, as well as the Top 15 Authority Song. He supported the album with his first headlining tour.

While he had commercial success, Mellencamp made his bid for critical acclaim with his next album, 1985s Scarecrow. Scarecrow displayed a greater social conscious and musical eclecticism, resulting in his best-reviewed — as well as his biggest — album to date. Peaking at number two, Scarecrow generated the Top Ten singles Lonely Ol Night, Small Town, and R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. Following the release of Scarecrow, Mellencamp became an outspoken advocate of the American farmer, organizing Farm Aid with Willie Nelson and Neil Young. He also became known for his anticorporate stance, refusing to accept tour sponsorship offers from beer and tobacco companies.

Mellencamp continued to explore social commentary and new musical avenues with 1987s The Lonesome Jubilee. Featuring a distinct Appalachian folk and country influence, The Lonesome Jubilee was a melancholy elegy for the forgotten middle America, and while it was more adventurous than its predecessors, it was another hit, peaking at number six and generating the hits Paper in Fire, Cherry Bomb, and Check It Out. Mellencamp continued to explore American roots music on Big Daddy (1989). While the album received generally good reviews and peaked at number seven, it failed to produce a big single. Two years later, he returned with Whenever We Wanted, which was another moderate hit, peaking at number 17. Human Wheels (1993) received some of Mellencamps strongest reviews, yet the record didnt generate a hit single and quickly fell down the charts after debuting at number seven.

Mellencamp bounced back into the Top Ten in 1994, when his duet with MeShell NdegéOcello on Van Morrisons Wild Night peaked at number three. Its accompanying album, Dance Naked, became his biggest album since Big Daddy, going gold months after its release. Mellencamp planned to support the album with an extensive tour, but he suffered a major heart attack in late 1994 that necessitated its cancellation. Mellencamp spent 1995 recuperating, re-emerging in 1996 with Mr. Happy Go Lucky. Produced by Junior Vasquez and demonstrating a slight dance influence, Mr. Happy Go Lucky was greeted with positive reviews and featured the minor hit single Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First), which helped the album go gold. The album was his last for longtime label Mercury, and he moved to Columbia for 1998s John Mellencamp. Rough Harvest, a collection of unreleased material, appeared a year later.

Cuttin Heads, his second album for Columbia and 20th overall, followed in 2001 and spawned a radio hit with Peaceful World, featuring neo-soul singer India.Arie on backing vocals. Also in 2001, he won the Billboard Century Award for creative achievement. Inspired by his performance of Robert Johnsons Stones in My Passway at an October 2002 tribute concert for the late music journalist Timothy White, Mellencamp recorded a covers album, Trouble No More, in 2003. It was released that summer and topped the Billboard blues chart. The impressive Freedoms Road appeared in 2007.

John Mellencamp

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