Biography

Co-founded Farm Aid (benefitting family farmers) with Neil Young and Willie Nelson.

Became a grandfather at age 38 when his eldest child, Michelle Mellencamp, had her daughter, Elexis Suzanne Peach, in 1989.

Johnny Cash considered him one of America's 10 greatest ever songwriters.

Announced his engagement to 8 year relationship actress Meg Ryan on November 8, 2018.

Graduated from Vincennes University in 1973 with an associate degree in broadcasting.

I used to think that eating healthy was ordering a fish sandwich at McDonalds.

What [Bruce Springsteen] does is a marathon. What we do is a sprint.

You think I'm an asshole now, you should have seen me when I was drunk.

[on "Between a Laugh and a Tear"] There's a great line in this song: "I know there's a balance/I see it when I swing past." I suffered severely from panic disorders and anxiety around this time. Still do. I'm also very excitable and get angry very quickly. This was the peak of my success, but I didn't enjoy any of it. I blame it on the fact that I was born with spina bifida. I had one of the first successful operations for it in the world. It meant I had a hole in my spine and all my nerve endings were on the outside of my body. They were all exposed to air, so it's no wonder I go up and down so quickly.

[on :Crumblin' Down"] Radio was my friend after "Jack & Diane" and "Hurts So Good." I was coming off this huge fucking record, but it wasn't a good one. Very uneven. My task with "Uh-Huh" was to make a more even record and get away from juvenile topics like "Hurts So Good." But I also knew if I wanted to continue, I had to have more hits. "Crumblin' Down" is a very political song that I wrote with my childhood friend George Green. [Ronald Reagan] was president--he was deregulating everything and the walls were crumbling down on the poor. The song was the last one recorded and the first single. It was a hit immediately. I felt like I was pulling the wool over everyone's eyes.