Mellencamp Makes More Music

John Mellencamp has had numerous hit singles over the years, including Jack and Diane, Hurts So Good, and Small Town. All have skyrocketed him to rock-star status. CBS This Morning Co-Anchor Mark McEwen talked with him recently about his 15th full-length album, titled simply John Mellencamp.

McEwen asked him what people might learn about Mellencamp through his new album.

"I don't know that they'll find out anything, actually," he says. "I think that this record is a very large landscape of different types of music, particularly American music. The best that I can do is make the listener think about himself for a moment. You know, it's not about John Mellencamp."

When does he consider a song finished?

"I have to personally believe it," says Mellencamp. "Now, I've had hit records that I did not believe, and I've had songs that weren't good that were hit records."

As an example, he cites Jack and Diane, which was released in 1982.

"Matter of fact, I didn't even want to put it on the record," Mellencamp says, "because it was like it wasn't doneÂ…and the lyrics weren't what I wanted and what I envisioned. Then it became this huge hit record. Now I love the song, because the public loves it so much."

In writing his hit Small Town, Mellencamp says, he tried to follow in the footsteps of such songsmiths as Woody Guthrie and James Brown.

"These guys were just looking out their window, being reporters," he explains. "That's all I was doing. I just looked out my window and wrote the song. I didn't make anything up."

McEwen asked him what the 18-year-old Mellencamp would do if he could walk into the room and eavesdrop on Mellencamp as he is now.

"He'd spit on the floor and walk out," Mellencamp says with a laugh. "That's the kind of hairpin he was. You know. Just anything to say, 'I don't belong here.' I've never been part of the music business. I never lived in one of these cities. I've always lived on the outskirts of town. I'm lucky to be able to live that way."

Mellencamp, 47, was born in Seymour, Ind, and he still lives nearby, in Bloomington, with his third wife, Elaine Irwin Mellencamp. They have been married for 10 years and have two sons. He has three other children from two previous marriages, and became a grandfather at 37 when his eldest daughter gave birth to a girl.

He joined his first band when he was in the fifth grade. His first album, Chestnut Street Incident, was released in 1976, under the name Johnny Cougar, a monicker imposed on him by his first manager. Over time, he reclaimed his own name on his albums, evolving from Johnny Cougar to John Cougar Mellencamp, and finally, back to John Mellencamp.

Mellencamp, with Willie Nelson and Neil Young, was one of he original organizers of Farm Aid in 1985.

The singer was born with a form of spina bifida, a tumor in his neck which doctors removed shortly after his birth. Many children born with spina bifida are confined to wheelchairs for life, and Mellencamp has said his own situation has made him feel lucky and more aware of the needs of the disabled. In 1987, he contributed I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus to the Special Olympics charity album, A Very Special Christmas. In 1991 he was the recipient of the Nordhoff-Robbins Silver Clef Award for his involvement with music therapy for handicapped and autistic children.

In 1994, a summer tour was cut short when a routine physical revealed that Mellencamp had suffered a mild heart attack. He spent about a year living quietly and recovering.

In addition to his 36 gold, platinum, and multi-platinum awards, Mellencamp has been nominated for 11 Grammys. The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences also has awarded him its President's Merit Award for his work on Farm Aid.

Music is not his only milieu. Mellencamp directed and starred in the movie Falling From Grace (1992), for which he also provided the soundtrack. He continues to pursue his avocation as a painter. Mellencamp: Painting And Reflections, a book showcasing 75 of his works, was published in November.