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Tag: John Mellencamp

  • Rock Stars Who Paint: Accomplished Painters of Rock

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    From Guitar to Canvas: Rock’s Hidden Art World

    Some of the biggest rock stars are also accomplished painters. Rock stars who paint make up a larger group than you might think. We’re not talking about a side hobby. We’re talking real-deal art.

    Rock Stars Who Paint

    Ronnie Wood – Rolling Stones/Faces

    Long before he became a rock icon, Wood studied art in London. He’s known for bold, expressive portraits of fellow musicians, including Jimi Hendrix, Keith Richards, and Mick Jagger. His work has been displayed in major galleries around the world. Ronnie sells art through his website. He sells limited-edition canvases and prints that run into thousands of dollars. He once joked that painting helps him relax between tours. Not bad for a guy who’s been rocking stadiums for six decades.

    Paul McCartney

    Paul McCartney may be one of the most famous musicians in history, but he’s also a dedicated painter. After The Beatles broke up, he turned to painting as a form of therapy and self-expression. He works mostly in bold, colorful, abstract, and impressionistic styles. You can see a selection of his media pieces on his website. McCartney’s artwork has been displayed in galleries around the world, including major exhibitions in Europe and North America. His art regularly sells out shows.

    Paul Stanley – KISS

    This rock star who paints has a style that is loud, colorful, and unapologetically bold, just like his stage persona. His paintings feature bright splashes of color, abstract figures, and emotional themes. He’s sold thousands of pieces through galleries and touring exhibits. In true KISS fashion, Paul said his art is about “emotion and freedom,” not perfection. You can find a huge selection of Stanley’s work in the Wentworth Gallery.

    Stevie Nicks

    Most fans know Stevie Nicks as the mystical heart of Fleetwood Mac, but she’s also been a lifelong visual artist. Long before she became famous, she sketched and painted as a creative outlet. Over the years, she’s created drawings, handwritten lyric art, and mixed-media pieces inspired by fantasy, poetry, and personal experiences. You can see some of Stevie’s art on inherownwords.com. According to the website, Stevie said, “I only draw angels. I started to draw when my best friend got Leukemia.”

    John Mellencamp

    The Indiana-born rocker is a serious painter influenced by German expressionism. His work is darker and more intense, often focusing on faces and social themes. Mellencamp’s paintings have been displayed at the Butler Institute of American Art and other respected museums. He’s said painting keeps him grounded when the spotlight gets overwhelming. John’s website has a section dedicated to his paintings. Lithographs of his work are available for purchase.

    David Bowie

    David Bowie was also a trained visual artist who took painting seriously long before most fans knew about it. He studied art and design as a teenager in London and continued painting throughout his life. Bowie’s artwork often featured portraits, abstract figures, and surreal imagery influenced by German Expressionism and modern European art. One of David’s more famous paintings is a portrait of Iggy Pop. Here’s a cool 5-minute history of how Bowie started painting after he and Iggy Pop moved to Berlin while in recovery.

    Bob Dylan

    Dylan has been creating visual art for decades, including paintings, sketches, and even large metal sculptures. His work has been exhibited in major museums across Europe and the U.S. He admitted that his drawing began on tour to kill time. It turned into a whole new career. Bobdylanart.com showcases many of his paintings and sculptures.

    The Need to Express Creatively

    What connects all these artists is the same thing Detroit knows well: real creativity doesn’t clock out. Whether it’s Ronnie Wood sketching backstage, Mellencamp painting late at night, or Paul Stanley splashing color across a canvas, these musicians prove that rock and roll is more than music. It’s a mindset. Their need to express themselves manifests in many ways. These rock stars who paint rest one part of their creativity while expressing another side of that creative energy flow. Truly amazing.

    A NOTE ON THE TOP PICTURE OF THIS ARTICLE: The picture of David Bowie and Freddie Mercury was done by performance speed painter, Dave Santia. Dave is not in a rock band, but he is still a rock star in our book.

    Donielle Flynn has two kids, two cats, two dogs, and a love of all things rock. She’s been in radio decades and held down top-rated day parts at Detroit, Philadelphia, and Washington DC radio stations throughout her tenure. She enjoys writing about rock news, the Detroit community, and she has a series called “The Story Behind” where she researches the history of classic rock songs.

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    Donielle Flynn

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  • John Mellencamp set to play his biggest show in Charlotte in more than 20 years

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    John Mellencamp — a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer responsible for ’80s smashes like “Jack & Diane,” “Pink Houses” and “Small Town” — is returning to Charlotte in 2026 for what stands to be his biggest concert here, in terms of audience size, in more than 20 years.

    His “Dancing Words Tour — The Greatest Hits” will stop at Truliant Amphitheater (formerly PNC Music Pavilion) on Thursday, July 30, the 74-year-old singer-songwriter announced on Wednesday morning.

    The last three shows Mellencamp has played here, in 2015, 2019 and 2023, were all staged at 2,455-seat Ovens Auditorium.

    The new concert, meanwhile, will be set at Truliant, which has a capacity of approximately 20,000. He hasn’t performed at the venue since it was named for Verizon Wireless (in 2005), having also headlined there when it was named for Blockbuster (in 1999).

    Wednesday’s announcement noted that his 2026 tour “marks the first time Mellencamp will be performing all his most beloved songs in a single night, some of which haven’t been played live in many years” — including “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.,” “I Need a Lover,” “Wild Nights” and “Ain’t Even Done With the Night.”

    Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets from 10 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20, until 10 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 22; for details: www.citientertainment.com. Additional presales will run throughout the week ahead of the general on-sale kickoff, which is set for 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 23; details: Mellencamp.com. VIP options can be perused at vipnation.com.

    The first show of the tour will take place in Grand Rapids, Mich., on July 10.

    This story was originally published January 14, 2026 at 10:00 AM.

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  • Guitarist breaks down John Mellencamp’s biggest hits before this week’s concert at DAR Constitution Hall – WTOP News

    Guitarist breaks down John Mellencamp’s biggest hits before this week’s concert at DAR Constitution Hall – WTOP News

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    The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer performs live at DAR Constitution Hall in the nation’s capital this Thursday night, so WTOP spoke with longtime guitarist Mike Wanchic to reflect on a career of heartland rock.

    WTOP’s Jason Fraley previews John Mellencamp at DAR Constitution Hall (Part 1)

    Few artists captured the essence of American rock and roll like John Cougar Mellencamp.

    US musician John Mellencamp performs during the Farm Aid Music Festival at the Coastal Credit Union Music Park on September 24, 2022 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by SUZANNE CORDEIRO / AFP) (Photo by SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP via Getty Images)(AFP via Getty Images/SUZANNE CORDEIRO)

    The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer performs live at DAR Constitution Hall in the nation’s capital this Thursday night, so WTOP spoke with longtime guitarist Mike Wanchic to reflect on a career of heartland rock.

    “There are a lot of songs that people hold really dear to their hearts,” Wanchic told WTOP. “Music is a major trigger for memories and emotions, those are important things to people, so we can never disregard that. There are certain songs that you are obliged to play and we love to deliver those to our crowd, but conversely, we’re still making records — we’re 23 records into our career — and John’s the best songwriter that he’s ever been right now.”

    Their collaboration dates back to 1976 when Wanchic was a college graduate interning at a recording studio in Bloomington, Indiana. There, he met a young guy recording demos at the time named Johnny Mellencamp, before adopting the animalistic stage name John Cougar for the debut album “Chestnut Street Incident” (1976).

    Wanchic joined Mellencamp’s band full time in 1978, meaning he was there for the early albums “A Biography” (1978), “John Cougar” (1979) and “Nothin’ Matters and What if It Did” (1980), but it was their fifth album “American Fool” (1982) that blew up biggest with hits like “Hurts So Good” and “Jack & Diane.”

    “We worked on ‘Jack & Diane’ for a long time … The Bee Gees were in the studio next to us and Maurice Gibb said, ‘I’ve got this new drum machine, would you like to try it?’ … it had that little backbeat that we used in ‘Jack & Diane,’” Wanchic said. “We played (the record president) ‘Hurts so Good,’ he didn’t get it, looked at John and said, ‘Maybe we should put horns on it.’ John blew his top, shoved him out the side door of the studio and closed it. He ejected the president of the record company! They reluctantly released the album and it had two No. 1 songs.”

    After their sixth album “The Kid Inside” (1983), the band’s seventh album “Uh-Huh” (1983) delivered another round of hits with the catchy “Crumblin’ Down,” the defiant “Authority Song” and the social satire “Pink Houses” contemplating the American Dream with the most bittersweet lyrics: “They told me when I was younger, said, ‘Boy, you’re gonna be president,’ but just like everything else those old crazy dreams just kinda came and went.”

    “It’s a lot of the great things about America, but it also points out a lot of the inequities that exist in America where a kid thinks he can do anything and maybe he can’t: ‘There’s a young man in a T-shirt listening to a rock ‘n roll station, he’s got greasy hair and greasy smile and says, ‘This must be my destination,’” Wanchic said. “There’s all kinds of innuendo woven into the lyric of that song that’s a little more satirical than a lot of people think it is.”

    The eighth album “Scarecrow” (1985) delivered “Lonely Ol’ Night,” “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.” and “Small Town.”

    “(‘Small Town’) really does tell the tale of who and what we are,” Wanchic said. “I still live here in Bloomington, John still has a house here in Bloomington, we’re just small-town guys. … There’s like a moral fiber to the Midwest and small-town America that is undeniable and is part of the charm of America. If you lose that, you lose the identity of America, you become the corporate strip mall, and that’s what we don’t want to see happen.”

    The ninth album “Lonesome Jubilee” (1987) ignited with “Paper in Fire,” “Cherry Bomb” and “Check It Out.”

    “In my opinion, ‘Scarecrow’ and ‘Jubilee’ were the pinnacle of a lot of the writing when everything came together,” Wanchic said. “After ‘Scarecrow,’ which was still a guitar-based drums record, John says, ‘Hey, man, let’s all go out and learn another instrument,’ so I went away and worked on banjo, worked on Dobro, (while bandmates added steel, fiddle and accordion). That’s when we started doing instrument combinations to get different sounds.”

    The band continued to land sporadic hits off the albums “Big Daddy” (1989), “Whenever We Wanted” (1991), “Human Wheels” (1993) and “Dance Naked” (1994), which featured a cool cover of Van Morrison’s “Wild Night.”

    Dozens of albums have followed: “Mr. Happy Go Lucky” (1996), “John Mellencamp” (1998), “Rough Harvest” (1999), “Cuttin’ Heads” (2001), “Trouble No More” (2003), “Freedom’s Road” (2007), “Life, Death, Love and Freedom” (2008), “No Better Than This” (2010), “Plain Spoken” (2014), “Sad Clowns & Hillbillies” (2017), “Other People’s Stuff” (2018), “Strictly a One-Eyed Jack” (2022) and the newest record “Orpheus Descending” (2023).

    “‘Hey, God’ is an absolutely amazing song, to me that’s the most amazing song on the (new) record,” Wanchic said. “It has relevance on all fronts: political, personal, familial, all of these different things are touched on in this song and it’s a bit of a slice of today’s political environment. It’s a remarkable record, John’s still writing beautifully, and we’ll probably be heading into another studio and making another record soon.”

    Mellencamp was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2018, while Wanchic was inducted into the FarmAid Hall of Fame for his philanthropic work with FarmAid since 1985.

    “I was one of the four original people that got it off the ground,” Wanchic said. “I’ve been the musical producer of the FarmAid records and a consultant from the very beginning. It’s something that’s held really dear to John’s heart, his sister and brother-in-law lost a farm during that ‘Scarecrow’ era, that was one of the things that pushed that song to get written. FarmAid is still vital, still happening and will be happening next September yet again.”

    WTOP’s Jason Fraley previews John Mellencamp at DAR Constitution Hall (Part 2)

    Hear our full conversation on the podcast below:

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    Jason Fraley

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  • 8 great songs about baseball — that aren’t actually about baseball

    8 great songs about baseball — that aren’t actually about baseball

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    Baseball has a long and storied connection with great music. Whether it’s the walk-up music, selections from the seventh-inning stretch or anything featured in those cheesy ad campaigns, it’s these songs that speak to the sport’s greater appeal.

    We’re about halfway through the 2024 Cactus League spring training season, and we’ve got America’s pastime on the brain. If you truly want to understand baseball, you need only listen to the following collection of eight songs. A mix of crowd favorites and oddball choices, the list speaks volumes about baseball’s cultural significance, its inner workings and politics, and even its core values. That, and these songs sure beat another terrible rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”

    John Mellencamp, ‘Authority Song’

    Do you ever think about the role of baseball (and if so, why are you lonely)? Whereas rough-and-tumble football feels rebellious, and basketball seems too squeaky to transcend corporate connotations, baseball falls somewhere in the middle ground. Sure, it’s a multi-billion-dollar enterprise, but it’s mostly retained some down-home sensibility from its early days. Which is why John Mellencamp’s “Authority Song” feels like a great choice: It’s about a man stuck between doing what feels good (fighting, rabble-rousing) and what’s right (growing up, getting on with life), and that just feels like the best analogy for this sport. Maybe baseball leans more one way than the other these days, but that earnest spirit still imbues the game. That, and $5 beers, of course.

    Wheatus, ‘Teenage Dirtbag’

    Anyone who has heard “Teenage Dirtbag” — it’s been played in the neighborhood of 4 trillion times since its June 2000 release — knows that Wheatus captured something essential. Our adolescent protagonist struggles with trying to find himself and fall in love, learning a mighty lesson about the real power of self-acceptance. And baseball certainly could stand to do the same. Even if it is technically America’s pastime, baseball is often overshadowed by football and, sometimes, even basketball. Yet like the song’s titular “dirtbag,” baseball does its best when it stays true to those key elements that appeal to all fans: patriotism, honest competition and day-drinking galore. That, baseball fans, is how you get the girl — err, snag big ratings and pack ballparks.

    Rise Against, ‘Hero of War’

    Baseball is America’s star-spangled sports extravaganza. There’s a certain overt patriotism coloring the sport; spectators know to expect little American flag lapels on uniforms or some extra-cheesy rendition of the national anthem. That’s exactly why Rise Against’s “Hero of War” feels like the perfect song for grasping baseball’s true sense of patriotism. It checks all the major boxes: 1. a curious blend of both anti- and pro-war sentiments, 2. acoustic grooves with a sturdy alt rock energy and 3. just enough sentimentality to make this suitable for public crying. God bless America and rock ‘n’ roll.

    Rob Zombie, ‘Dragula’

    Most American sports don’t have the awareness or fortitude to make the hard choices in music selections. Call it corporate influence, or that BMX has a monopoly on anything dope, but baseball seeks more universal appeal. So, if the game wanted to get weird and still satisfy those corporate overlords, they could feature “Dragula” by Rob Zombie. The song’s popped up in sports before, and it needs to make more appearances. What other tune is totally weird and intense, but in a way that doesn’t really seem all that offensive (like the game itself)? Even throngs of people screaming “dig through the ditches” would be both playfully bizarre and still acceptable (also like baseball). And who doesn’t want to hear this song while skipping work on a Tuesday afternoon?

    Christina Aguilera, ‘Fighter’

    A few years back, Phoenix New Times spoke to Arizona Diamondbacks players about their walk-up songs. One lesson seemed immediately clear: Players put little work into their choices. They seem to pick songs less for an overt sound or message and more how they feel as it blares over loudspeakers. Which is why Christina Aguilera’s “Fighter” should be blared full volume at more parks. Is this song actually about personal empowerment and coming back from total romantic loss? Sure is. But could a team then re-appropriate it into this “Jock Jams”-esque ditty about overcoming the odds and fighting on with a champion’s heart? Yes! If years of listening to baseball songs have taught us anything, it’s the best choices reek of irony.

    Rush, ‘Tom Sawyer’

    A lot’s already been said about baseball as a whole. Like, how it’s got real carny vibes. Or that it’s not nearly as popular as other sports. But lest we forget, it’s also deeply nerdy. It’s something about all the emphasis on stats, the uniforms and perhaps the helmets that scream “dweeb energy.” But that’s why Rush’s seminal hit “Tom Sawyer” is the perfect song for addressing the soul of baseball. It’s this unabashedly nerdy prog-rock jam that’s all about standing as your own person. It rocks not just because of Neil Peart’s drumming (though that helps), but because the band readily embraces what makes this song so weird and left-of-center. Baseball is at its collective best doing the same, maintaining its authenticity despite all the pinstripe uniforms in the world.

    Shakira, ‘Whenever, Wherever’

    This choice feels like it ticks a lot of the same boxes as some of the other songs. It’s a totally weird appropriation of a song about the wonders of finding true love. It’s also kind of nerdy to admit you still happen to love it all the way in 2024. And it’s got that sense of directness and simplicity that makes for truly great baseball anthems. Yet this song does speak to a larger truth about the game: If you play it, people will come to have a little fun. This song, like baseball itself, transcends any rules or observations, and captures people’s attention for being too fun to truly deny. Maybe it’s not a perfect fit like some of the other songs, but it would kill during almost any seventh-inning stretch — especially as an entire ballpark shakes their hips in collective joy.

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    Chris Coplan

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  • John Mellencamp revisits ‘Scarecrow,’ his game-changing disc

    John Mellencamp revisits ‘Scarecrow,’ his game-changing disc

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    NEW YORK — An urgency in the ringing guitar and thunderous drums that opened the 1985 album “Scarecrow” was the first hint that this was something different for the artist then billed as John “Cougar” Mellencamp.

    The disc, which is getting the deluxe reissue treatment this week, stands as a rare reputation-changing work. It elevated Mellencamp from a generic heartland rocker to a serious artist with something to say, helping spark Farm Aid, a movement that lives on.

    In that first song, “Rain on the Scarecrow,” Mellencamp described the financial crisis that was swallowing family farms in the Midwest. The Indiana-bred singer embraced his roots in the anthem “Small Town.” At age 34, his writing in “Minutes to Memories” showed a new maturity about life.

    A high standard is maintained through the closer, “R.O.C.K. in the USA,” which neatly summarized the musical approach — even if Mellencamp had to be talked into putting it on the album.

    Ask him now, at age 71, whether “Scarecrow” represented an elevated standard, and you’ll discover the chip that remains on his shoulder. He’ll remind you of hit songs that predated the album.

    “I didn’t know,” he said, “because I didn’t know I had to change my game.”

    Still, the singer professionally christened “Johnny Cougar” against his will at age 21 admits he made five albums before making a good one. “Scarecrow” was No. 7, excepting one shelved when his first record company dropped him.

    “I think John really found his voice on this album,” said veteran music writer Anthony DeCurtis, who contributed liner notes to the reissue.

    “There were certainly signs of it before, like on ‘Jack and Diane’ and ‘Pink Houses,’” he said. “But the sense of him looking at the world, taking his personality as someone who grew up in Seymour, Indiana, and making a wider statement about it, that was all a big deal for him. It raised him to the level of someone who was an important musical voice in the culture.”

    As someone who didn’t think much about songwriting until he had a record deal, Mellencamp saw others around him setting a high benchmark and thought, “I better step up my game.” He mentioned Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Joni Mitchell.

    As two chart-topping rockers aware of comparisons made between them, Springsteen and Mellencamp circled each other warily in the 1980s but are good friends today.

    You can see, in “Scarecrow,” Mellencamp creating a musical world from what he knew growing up in the Midwest, much like Springsteen did for the Jersey Shore. Mellencamp’s “Lonely Ol’ Night” is a thematic cousin to Springsteen’s 1984 hit “Dancing in the Dark” in the narrators’ late-night search for a connection.

    “What I learned from him was to be a good observer of life,” Mellencamp said. “You don’t have to be the person. You can watch. I’ve had people say to me, ‘John, have you ever had writer’s block?’ And I would say no, all you’ve got to do is look out the window.”

    He remembers a long conversation with his late friend and songwriting partner, George Green, wondering why so many of the small towns they knew were fading away. From those talks, they wrote “Rain on the Scarecrow.”

    The album’s cover features a serious-looking Mellencamp on a farm, a fuzzy scarecrow and tractor in the background. He dedicates it to his grandfather, Speck, who died at the end of 1983.

    After he made the record, he recalls another conversation with someone who was making some of their music videos, “who looked at me and said, ‘you know, this is a really special record for these times.’

    “I said, ‘You think so?’ he said. ”That was the first time I had ever given it any thought that it was much different than anything else I’d done.”

    With the spirit of Live Aid and the themes of “Scarecrow” in the air, Mellencamp helped organize the initial Farm Aid concert with Willie Nelson and Neil Young. To date, the organization says it has raised $64 million for family farming; Nelson and Mellencamp both appeared at its most recent show, in September in Raleigh, North Carolina.

    Mellencamp and his band were tight from years on the road in the mid-1980s, but he still gave them an assignment prior to making the new album: learn to play dozens of rock hits from the 1960s, a sound their leader wanted to recreate.

    They included several from artists name-checked in “R.O.C.K. in the USA.” Mellencamp didn’t want the song on “Scarecrow,” figuring it sounded “cartoonish” compared to the rest of the material. To his gratitude now, he listened to the pleas of record company executives to change his mind.

    Versions of songs from the band’s assignment, like James Brown’s “Cold Sweat” and “Shama Lama Ding Dong” from Otis Day & the Knights, make it on the “Scarecrow” reissue.

    “I don’t mean to sound arrogant,” he said, “but I was not surprised that people liked that record. I’m not surprised that ‘Small Town’ stuck around for as long as it has. I don’t listen to the radio anymore, but when I do, I always hear that song.”

    Through the 1980s, Mellencamp built a formidable jukebox worth of his own hits. But his time at the top coincided with his unhappiest time personally, and he stepped off.

    “I had a girlfriend over who was a real famous actress,” Mellencamp said (He didn’t drop names, but a good guess is Meg Ryan, who he dated for several years in the 2010s). “She looked at me one night and said, ‘You know, John, we’ve both been to the moon and we both know we don’t want to go back there.’ She was right.”

    He has a new album, “Orpheus Descending,” due out in February and a lengthy concert tour booked from February to May. Theaters, not arenas.

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