By Jessica Kerman
Hoosier rocker John Mellencamp has positioned himself in the common vocabulary of American households with a series of events that are sure to be enhanced by his induction Monday into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Mellencamp appealed to the rural population with his co-founding of Farm-Aid concerts.
He was on TV through Chevy commercials using his song, “My Country.”
And, recently announced, he formed a partnership with author Stephen King for a Broadway musical.
Each time his name is heard, people might think it’s a “comeback” for the Seymour native.
“He’s not really making a comeback,” said Randy Albright, college lecturer at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis. “It’s a real cliche to say, ‘I’m not making a comeback,’ but he’s not because he never went away.”
Albright teaches the history of rock and roll at IUPUI.
“(Mellencamp) never made a joke out of himself, he just kept doing what he was doing,” Albright said.
In ceremonies Monday in New York, Mellencamp will be inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Leonard Cohen, The Dave Clark Five, Madonna and The Ventures. He’ll join the ranks of rock greats like Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones and Van Morrison.
Mellencamp’s roots and ethics are based in the American heartland but his musical influences are varied, Albright said.
“John is like all great artists -- he’s a great fan,” he said. “Being a great fan, he gravitates toward what’s great, great music.”
Larry Smith, associate professor of communication studies at Ball State University, said Mellencamp’s influences “run far and wide. He not only captures the intersection of a generation and a geography, but his insistence on musical diversity has contributed to rock music in many, many ways.”
Smith wrote a biography of Bob Dylan and analyzes storytelling in the lyrics of rock music.
“I have to say that John Mellencamp is most deserving of the Rock Hall,” Smith wrote in an e-mail. “Great artists like Bob Dylan respect him greatly.”
Mellencamp has been able to achieve what no rock musician ever could, Albright said.
“John Mellencamp accomplished the impossible,” he said. “He was able to be a rock star while still living in Indiana. That’s something no one else could do.”
Mellencamp is also unique in that he has the supremely loyal fans, Albright said.
“He also accomplished the impossible of shedding the name of Johnny Cougar,” he said. “That’s quite an accomplishment in itself to get fans to go through that. But his music is so good, so they just said ‘fine.’”
Mellencamp is a midwestern icon, holding true to his Hoosier roots, but becoming a national hit.
“It’s an accomplishment to get in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,” Albright said. “John’s music stands up as much as everybody else’s in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He’s not as experimental as Jimi Hendrix or as lyrical as Bob Dylan, but he makes music, like Creedance Clearwater, it’s classics, the classic radio song.”
