His name today is synonymous with the American heartland.  But when John Mellencamp started out, his manager and record label had saddled him with an ill-fitting image as a pretty boy they christened “Johnny Cougar.”  As Mellencamp later commented, “Nobody ever calls me Johnny.”

But that foot in the door to the music business was enough for John to begin to make a real name for himself:  first with a Top 5 hit overseas called “I Need a Lover”…and then with his first Top 5 hit in the U.S. (“Hurt So Good”)…followed by a string of hits both on the radio and on MTV.  And that’s not even mentioning his philanthropic achievements with Farm Aid.

Looking back, it’s an impressive career.  And when we take the stage to pay tribute to John Mellencamp, we’ll be playing music from throughout his evolution as an artist.  One thing’s for sure:  whether he’s protesting the fact that “authority always wins,” or celebrating “R. O. C. K. in the U. S. A.”, or just singing “a little ditty about Jack and Diane,” John Mellencamp is having his say in that time-honored Midwestern tradition of plain speaking.

Great Moments in Vinyl plays the music of John Mellencamp, Sunday, April 13th at The Venue in Aurora.  Great songs.  Great stories.