How John Mellencamp’s Jack and Diane Defied His Label and Became an 80s Classic

Professor of Rock · Mar 18, 2025 · 21m

Coming up, John Mellencamp, a man who had to change his stage name so many times... to this day some are confused about what to call him and it all started with his label. We’ve talked about some really boneheaded decisions that the execs, and the suits have made in the history of rock... but this may be the winner. Even though he was a midwestern rocker with a chip on his shoulder, his label wanted to groom him to be the next Neil Diamond. They said his 1982 album American Fool was garbage. They said it was unlistenable and would ruin his career. It got so bad he got into a shoving match…