John Mellencamp’s road to success came with the early struggle and disappointment that has typified almost all musicians’ fight to control their own career. John took the hard road after eloping with his pregnant girlfriend just after graduating high school in 1970. After graduating from a two-year college a few years later and taking a job with the telephone company in his hometown of Seymour, Indiana, John Mellencamp took a chance and decided to chase his rock dream.

The 18 months of travel from Indiana to New York put incredible stress in his life, but he thought he had made it once he found Tony DeFries. DeFries served as the young singer’s manager and changed his name to Johnny Cougar without his knowledge. Mellencamp was stuck with the cat until 1990. He was only able to add his real last name after the success of his breakthrough album, American Fool, in 1982.

The album and its predecessors were produced to the artist’s displeasure. John Mellencamp maintains that the albums are among his least favorite with few good songs, even though American is his best known and most successful album.

The single “Hurt So Good” won him a Grammy for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance and the single “Jack and Diane” had the longest stay at number one on the billboard Hot 100 of any song during the decade.

John was able to take control of his own destiny after the album. In 1985, Mellencamp released Scarecrow. The album spoke with the lyrics of a socially aware songwriter who was painfully aware of the small-time farmers’ plight, as well as the overall mood of the nation.

The American classic started Melloncamps move toward vintage rock, R&B, and souls influenced songs. John strived to grow as a musician and experimented with folk and country on The Lonesome Jubilee in 1987. He found his audience willing and happy to listen.

John had become a star in the ‘80s. His album sold multi-platinum, his tours sold out of concert tickets around the world, and he was in control of his music. Mellencamp had finally gotten the place he dreamed of in high school in Indiana.

Though his personal life may have been filled with conflict, including divorce from his second wife coming into the ‘90s, his music became more harmonious and mature. The more acoustic sound of John Mellencamp kept the artist as a platinum selling artist in the era of grunge when many of the ‘80s acts had dropped off in popularity.

More than three decades had passed before Mellencamp began to lose touch at the beginning of the turn of the century. John has come back though and found his audience with a greatest hits album and a top five chart debuting Freedom’s Road.