John Mellencamp has enjoyed a five-decade-long career and released some 25 studio albums, but don’t expect him to be honoured for his longevity at the Grammys any time soon. It means nothing to him, apparently.
The 74-year-old singer-songwriter was appearing on Bill Maher’s Club Random podcast when conversation got round to ‘music’s biggest night’. “I have never been to the Grammys in my life,” Mellencamp revealed to a seemingly surprised Maher, who then admitted that he had attended the Golden Globes a few weeks ago.
“Do you know what a Golden Globe is or a Grammy? It's f***ing nothing,” Mellencamp declared. “It means nothing… It means less than nothing.”
Mellencamp does actually have one Grammy to his name, from way back in the dim and distant past. In 1983, when he was still trading under the name John Cougar, he won Best Male Rock Performer off the back of his American Fool album and its two US Number One singles, Hurt So Good and Jack And Diane.
He’ll be heading back out on an extensive North American jaunt this summer, which kicks off at Grand Rapids on July 10, going all the way through to Mountain View, California on August 12.
And for what he’s calling the Dancing Words tour, Mellencamp has promised that he’ll play the hits. In recent years, the singer-songwriter has concentrated on theatre shows and mixed new material with storytelling segments, much to the chagrin of some hecklers who invariably just want to hear Jack And Diane, R.O.C.K in the U.S.A et al. And there have been some shows where Mellencamp has taken the bait.
On one occasion to referred to one punter as a c***sucker. Another time, he told the audience to "shut the f*** up....If I wanted to play in this type of drunken environment, I'd play outside or I'd play in an arena." At least that won’t be a problem this summer...
