The album was a failure, selling just 12,000 copies. DeFries insisted that Mellencamp’s first album, Chestnut Street Incident, a collection of covers and derivative originals (Mellencamp had written just a handful of songs prior to landing a record deal and was still very raw), be released under the stage name Johnny Cougar, a move Mellencamp claims was made without his knowledge and against his wishes. In 1974, he graduated from Vincennes University, a two-year college in Vincennes, Indiana, and took a job at a telephone company in his hometown of Seymour, Indiana before deciding to go to New York in an attempt to land a record deal, which he finally managed to do in late 1975.Īfter about 18 months of traveling back and forth from Indiana to New York City in 1974 and ’75, Mellencamp finally found someone receptive to his music and image in Tony DeFries of MainMan Management (at the time well-known for representing David Bowie, one of Mellencamp’s musical idols at the time). He eloped with his pregnant girlfriend at the age of 17 and had his first child (Michelle) just six months after graduating from high school in 1970. Mellencamp had trouble with the law as a teeneager and formed his first band at the age of 14. He is descended from German immigrant Johann Herman Möhlenkamp who came to the White Creek area of Bartholomew County, Indiana in the United States in 1855. Mellencamp who was born, with a mild form of spina bifida which necessitated a lengthy stay in the hospital as a baby. His biggest musical influences are Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie and The Rolling Stones. Mellencamp was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 10, 2008, by Billy Joel. Mellencamp, (born October 7, 1951, in Seymour, Indiana) is a Grammy-winning American rock singer-songwriter, musician, artist and occasional actor. John Cougar Mellencamp, is the third stage name of John Mellencamp, who had previously been known as Johnny Cougar and then John Cougar.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |