John Mellencamp is 70 years old today.
Mellencamp is a rock singer-songwriter, musician, painter and occasional actor known for his catchy, populist brand of heartland rock which emphasizes traditional instrumentation.
He has sold over 40 million albums worldwide and has amassed 22 Top 40 hits in the United States. In addition, he holds the record for the most tracks by a solo artist to hit #1 on the charts.
Mellencamp is also one of the founding members of Farm Aid, an organization that began in 1985 with a concert in Champaign, Illinois to raise awareness about the loss of family farms and to raise funds to keep farm families on their land.
The Farm Aid concerts have remained an annual event, and the organization has raised more than $50 million to promote a resilient family farm system of agriculture.
Mellencamp’s biggest musical influences are Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, James Brown and The Rolling Stones.
"Mellencamp has created an important body of work that has earned him both critical regard and an enormous audience,” wrote Anthony DeCurtis, a music critic. “His songs document the joys and struggles of ordinary people seeking to make their way, and he has consistently brought the fresh air of common experience to the typically glamour-addled world of popular music."
Here, Mellencamp performs “Crumblin’ Down” in 1983