John Mellencamp, The #47 Artist of the Rock Era, Part Three

 

(Continued from Part Two)

 

John was nominated for Producer of the Year and received a nomination for Best Performance in a Music Video at the Grammy Awards for "Check It Out".  He released "Pop Singer", a #1 smash in New Zealand that also rose to #8 in Canada and Australia but only #15 in the U.S.  John's message, however, goes deeper, and is about the disposable pop world in general that society has become.

Mellencamp spent more time painting rather than tour to promote the album, with his paintings available for viewing at several exhibitions.  Still, Big Daddy became his sixth consecutive Platinum-selling album.

 

Here is John's account of a stubborn independent woman as he cautions her to "look out".  This is "Martha Say".

In 1990, John was nominated for Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist at the American Music Awards.  In 1991, Mellencamp released the album Whenever We Wanted, another million-seller.  The single "Get A Leg Up" topped the Mainstream Rock chart and reached #14 overall in the United States and #7 in Canada.

 

John was nominated for Best Male Video at the MTV Video Music Awards for "Get A Leg Up" and he was nominated for Best Rock Solo Performance at the Grammy Awards for his work on the album.  "Again Tonight" gave him another #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart.

The following year, John appeared in and directed the movie Falling from Grace.

 

After his previous two albums featured instruments such as the violin and accordion, Mellencamp said he wanted to put those instruments "back in their cases", get back to basics, and return to a harder-edged sound.  "Love And Happiness" features the work of his new guitarist, Mike Wanchic.

 

You will recognize the woman on the album cover as the one who appeared in Mellencamp's video "Get A Leg Up".  Mellencamp and Irwin saw each other again six months later when he played in New York City.  They married later in 1992, but divorced in 2011.  Here is the title song.

 Mellencamp released the album Human Wheels in 1993, with the title song reaching #2 on the MR chart.  John's friend George Green wrote the lyrics as a eulogy to his grandfather.  "Human Wheels" could be about the alienation of labor, with workers feeling like they are just another wheel in the machine.  John revised the lyrics for the song and wrote the chorus, describing to American Songwriter that he "wrote that song without a guitar or anything.  I figured out the cadence in my head, and then I went to my guitar to figure out the chords."  

 Human Wheels also has sold over one million copies.  "What If I Came Knocking" topped the Mainstream Rock chart.

 

The following year, John released Dance Naked, another Platinum album.  He invited Meshell Ndegocello to record a remake of Van Morrison's "Wild Night" and the pair easily did better with it, reaching #3 on the Popular chart and #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.  John and Meshell were nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the Grammy Awards.

Mellencamp toured in support of the album that summer, but a minor heart attack forced him to cut the tour short.  "We'd finish a show and I'd go out and have steak and french fries and eggs at 4 in the morning and then go to sleep with all that in my gut. It was just a terrible lifestyle," Mellencamp told the Boston Herald.

 

John released the album Mr. Happy Go Lucky in 1996, which yielded the #14 song "Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First)", his last Top 40 hit.  John collected his 10th consecutive Platinum award for the album and received a Grammy nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

In 1997, John released the compilation album The Best That I Could Do 1978-1988, which has sold over three million units.

 Mellencamp signed a new four-album contract with Columbia.  In 1998, he released his self-titled album on Columbia and also released a book of some of his early paintings, called Paintings and Reflections.  John was nominated for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance at the Grammy Awards for "Just Another Day", his final #1 hit in Canada. 

Mellencamp was also nominated for a Grammy in the same category for "Your Life Is Now".  Having survived his own heart attack and knowing many others who had, John and friend George Green wrote the song about the importance of living life to its fullest before it ends.

 

Although most artists don't release a self-titled album this late in their career, he did so at Columbia's request to serve as a fresh start and a creative rebirth.  "I'm Not Running Anymore" is a solid song on the album.

Mellencamp has been a fixture writing songs about the average American and has an uncanny ability to write about the American Heartland in a powerful way.  He has continued to excel, as you will hear in Part Four!