Serious Business: John Mellencamp’s Uh-Huh at 40
Looking back at the album that saw the Cougar reclaim his name
The early ‘80s was a boom period for rockers with strong regional ties commanding the ears of the nation.
Over in New Jersey, Bruce Springsteen was riding high with 1980’s The River and 1982’s Nebraska as he was prepping for the 1984 monster, Born in the U.S.A.
Meanwhile, out on Long Island, Bily Joel was fresh off his first-ever #1 single, “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me” from 1980’s Glass Houses album, and firing on all cylinders with 1982’s The Nylon Curtain and 1983’s An Innocent Man.
Over in Detroit, Bob Seger was on a hell of a run: 1980’s quintuple-platinum Against the Wind was followed up a year later by the quadruple-platinum Nine Tonight, and a year after that by 1982’s excellent record, The Distance.
Then there’s Indiana’s Johnny Cougar. Or John Cougar. Or John Cougar Mellencamp. Or John Mellencamp.
Yeah, that whole name thing was a hot mess. His first two albums were released under the name Johnny Cougar and his next three under the name John Cougar. That fifth studio album – 1982’s American Fool – was a huge breakthrough for the heartland rocker. Propelled by the massive success of the singles “Jack and Diane” and “Hurts So Good,” the album held the #1 spot on the Billboard chart for nine weeks.
Fans were anxious for the follow-up, so when The Kid Inside was released in January 1983, the result was confusion (and seriously, what the hell was going on with that cover photo?!). Recorded in 1977 and intended as his second studio album, MCA declined to release it, instead releasing Cougar from the label. Mellencamp’s former manager released it on his own label to capitalize on the success of American Fool. It’s …. not great. Don’t bother looking for it on Spotify, it’s not even there.
The true follow-up to American Fool was released October 25, 1983: Uh-Huh for which Mellencamp finally used his given last name. Side one kicks off with a blistering 1-2-3 salvo that would cause any rocker (even Bruce, Billy or Bob) to salivate with envy.
“Crumblin’ Down” is the first song of the album, but it was the last song written for the record. In a 2016 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame exhibit, Mellencamp explained: “‘Crumblin’ Down’ is a very political song that I wrote with my childhood friend George Green. 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.”
VIDEO: John Mellencamp “Crumblin’ Down”
Up next is “Pink Houses,” another immediate hit (it went to #3, while “Crumblin’ Down” went to #2). It’s the kind of song that you know is going to be one of those career-defining tracks from the very first time you hear it.
“I was driving through Indianapolis on Interstate 65 and I saw a black man holding either a cat or a dog,” Mellencamp told Rolling Stone in 2013. “He was sitting on his front lawn in front of a pink house in one of those shitty, cheap lawn chairs. I thought, ‘Wow, is this what life can lead to? Watching the fuckin’ cars go by on the interstate?’ Then I imagined he wasn’t isolated, but he was happy. So I went with that positive route when I wrote this song. This one has been misconstrued over the years because of the chorus – it sounds very rah-rah. But it’s really an anti-American song. The American dream had pretty much proven itself as not working anymore. It was another way for me to sneak something in.”
VIDEO: John Mellencamp “Pink Houses”
“Authority Song” completes the trifecta with a blazing guitar-and-drums opening that sounds like maybe Keith Richards and Charlie Watts took over Sun Studios. The lyric is Mellencamp’s version of “I Fought the Law” and I dare you to sit still while it’s playing.
While it doesn’t rise to the iconic status of those first three songs, “Play Guitar” got decent airplay as it explores well-worn play-guitar-to-get-laid territory: “All women around the world want a phony rock star / Who plays guitar / You can pump your iron and shine your shoes / And wear your hair just right … Forget all about that macho shit / And learn how to play guitar.”
VIDEO: John Mellencamp “Authority Song”
But in the record’s other minor hit, “Serious Business,” Mellencamp seems to understand that this musical life choice he’s made is about more than just getting laid: “Take my life / Take my soul / Put me on the cross for all to see / Put my name around my neck / Let those people throw stones at me / This is serious business / Sex and violence and rock and roll.”
Of the lesser-known cuts on Uh-Huh, “Jackie O” is the most interesting. Co-written by Mellencamp and John Prine, it’s about class differences and deflating the affectations of self-absorbed high society types. That it’s musically presented in a style that would sound wholly acceptable at a prissy cocktail party only underscores the singer’s disgust at such pretension.
The album closes with “Golden Gates,” a ballad that seems to sum up Mellencamp’s worldview of the moment even as it calls back to “Authority Song”: “The only promises I know to be true / Are the promises made from the heart / I don’t believe in the authorities / They ain’t gonna take care of me and you.”
Uh-Huh was a turning point for Mellencamp: He left John Cougar behind, reclaimed his name, reclaimed his artistry, and delivered an excellent set of music that was the true next step after America Fool. In doing so, he laid the groundwork for the two finest albums of his career: 1985’s Scarecrow and 1987’s The Lonesome Jubilee.
Authority didn’t win this time. Mellencamp did.
- No Surrender: Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A. Turns 40 - June 4, 2024
- Future Legend: David Bowie’s Diamond Dogs Turns 50 - May 24, 2024
- How Robert Hunter Stepped Out from the Shadows of The Grateful Dead - May 22, 2024
You May Also Like
-
April 23, 2023 -
February 5, 2020 -
May 28, 2019
