The Story Of John Mellencamp’s First Hit

Born in Seymour, Indiana, in 1951, John Mellencamp has always been passionate about music. At the early age of 14, he had already joined his first band. However, his teenage life took a quick turn. At 17, Mellencamp became a father, and to support his new family, so he took on several steady jobs. The singer had to set aside music for a while. However, even with big responsibilities on his shoulders, his passion for music stayed strong. Mellencamp was still determined to follow his dream, so he made a life-changing decision at 24, packing his bags and moving to New York City, hoping to make it big in the music industry.

A Rocky Start in the Music Industry

Shortly after arriving in New York, Mellencamp caught the attention of Tony DeFries, the former manager of David Bowie. Under DeFries’ guidance, Mellencamp released his debut album Chestnut Street Incident in 1976. Unfortunately, the album was a commercial flop. Adding insult to injury, Mellencamp only realized after its release that DeFries had changed his stage name to “John Cougar” without him knowing about it. This might have been a frustrating blow to Mellencamp’s early career, but he didn’t give up. He quickly moved forward and used the setback for his next move.

Breakthrough with “I Need A Lover”

Two years later, in 1978, Mellencamp released his second album, A Biography, which featured what would become his first hit, “I Need A Lover.” The song gained traction internationally, especially in Australia, where it climbed to No. 5 on the charts. This success gave Mellencamp the breakthrough he had been working toward. In 1979, he released his third album, John Cougar, in the United States, and “I Need A Lover” reached No. 28 on the charts. This marked the beginning of Mellencamp’s rise to fame, and he soon shed the “Cougar” stage name, taking full control of his identity as a musician.

Listen to the song below.