Happy Birthday John Mellencamp
John J Mellencamp was born in Seymour, Indiana, on October 7, 1951. He has gone by many names over the years: John Cougar, Johnny Cougar, Johnny Rockets, John J Jingleheimer Schmidt, John Mellenhead, Johnny Bravo and Jay Johnny Johansen.
Little Johnny was a sickly boy. He had spina bifida and was forced to wear braces on his legs. He walked with crutches and often used them as weapons to fight off other children who bullied him. When John was 13, he was kicked by a mule which cured him of his spina bifida. He no longer needed the crutches. He went onto become a star athlete in High School.
The River
When Mellencamp was 18, he married his pregnant girlfriend Mary Esterline. Mellencamp became a father in December 1970, only six months after he graduated from high school. He got a union card and a wedding coat. Bruce Springsteen wrote, “The River” about John’s life. His daughter, Michelle, later became a mother at the age of 18, making Mellencamp a grandfather at 37.
John was convinced by record company weasels to move to NY & London, put on makeup and change his name to Johnny Cougar. His first few albums did not do well. He had success with “I Need a Lover”, which Pat Benatar also recorded.
American Fool
In 1982, John Cougar released his breakthrough album, American Fool, which contained the singles “Hurts So Good” & “Jack and Diane”. 1983’s Uh-Huh, was recorded by John Cougar Mellencamp. It contained the hits, “Pink Houses”, “Crumbling Down”, and “Authority Song”. The next album “Scarecrow” was a huge success as well. The Lonesome Jubilee and Human Wheels rounded out the 1980’s. Finally in the 1990’s John released all albums under the name John Mellencamp. The cougar was dead.
John was married and divorced three times. He has five children. His daughter Teddi, has been a regular on the reality show, The Real Housewives of Somewhere. John has been romantically linked to Meg Ryan, Christie Brinkley, Bette Midler and Whoopi Goldberg. Mellencamp enjoys painting, smoking cigarettes and having heart attacks. He has an impressive net worth of $30 Million.
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