John Mellencamp

YAY! John Mellencamp is finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!

Before John Mellencamp recorded his classic Scarecrow, he learned hundreds of classic rock covers from the '60s. Here the Indiana troubadour ventures back to the very roots of American popular music, learning traditional songs associated with the likes of Robert Johnson, Son House, Howlin' Wolf, and Woody Guthrie. The result is Mellencamp's rawest album to date, updating the acoustic sounds of those early idioms for modern times while keeping them firmly rooted in traditio... MORE

"In My Time of Dying" is a blues song that has been covered by many rock musicians since the early 1960s. The original recording was a traditional gospel song recorded by Blind Willie Johnson, titled "Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed"; his sides were recorded over the period 1927-1930. "In My Time of Dying" gained greater prominence in popular music when Bob Dylan included the song (along with several others dealing with the subject of death) on his 1962 eponymous debut album.... MORE

Mellencamp's affinity for down-and-out characters on either side of the law is apparent in his version of the Memphis Minnie song Joliet Bound, a reference to a prison in Illinois. The mandolin adds to the old-time feel.

Also very much in the low-down-and-dirty blues vein is the Son House song Death Letter. Again, the musical setting is very much stripped down. Mellencamp and colleagues impart an appropriately ominous mood to the song. Though later, the instrumentation picks up steam as more players enter the picture. He is joined by a group which includes Andy York on the National resonator guitars, as well as some bass; Mike Wanshick on mandolin and guitars,; Dane Clark on percussion; ... MORE

I guess you could say I respect Mellencamp more than I love him, but his new record is produced by T Bone Burnett and sounds very, very good on DVD and a home theater. T Bone, aside from his own projects and Sam Phillips (who I confused with Aimee Mann), has produced Brother Where Are You soundtrack and the Plant Kruase duet Raising Sand. He has excellent taste and impeccable studio chops. This record uses a technology T Bone calls "Code" and may be downloaded from the DVD... MORE

If I don't post a Dylan cover at least once a week, I feel a void in my life Yes, Yes, such a shallow life

You can stream the new album here if you don't have a music service to enjoy it. Listen Here

I sprang for good seats at Berkeley's Greek Theater for John Mellencamp and Lucinda Williams last weekend. A long, loud, and thoroughly satisfying effort. Mellencamp's band is razor sharp, and he was in end-of-tour  happy mood. Lucinda Williams opened, and was good, but Mellencamp was spectacular, and I am not easily impressed. BerkeleyBob

Artists are coming out of hiding and supporting Jena! Listen and look at the video by John Mellencamp. I always loved him now I even adore him more!

So John Mellencamp is going to go into the Rock Hall of Fame. I still mostly think of him as "that kid who really really really wanted to be Springsteen" when he opened for the Kinks in 1977...

from Baltimoresun.com NEW YORK - Madonna, pop music's quick-change artist, joins the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Monday with a class that includes heartland hitmaker John Mellencamp, literate songwriter Leonard Cohen and Philly soul legends Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. British rockers the Dave Clark Five, surf rockers The Ventures and blues harmonica ace Little Walter were also being inducted. The annual ceremony, at New York's Waldorf Astoria Hotel, was scheduled ... MORE