Playlist Preview: John Mellencamp

An advocate for American farmers. A future Rock and Roll Hall of Famer. A poor man's Bruce Springsteen.

All have been used to describe John Mellencamp, the native of Seymour, IN. who offered up a big slice of Americana through his music upon arriving on the scene in the early 1980s.

He spoke of the good and of the bad and never wavered from his focus on the blue collar worker.

Now with a new album in the works, which includes a song focusing on the recent Jena 6 scandal, I thought this would be a good time to take a look at the career of the former Johnny Cougar and five of what I consider to be his best songs.

Be sure to read Thursday's Star for the list, then come back to the blog to watch music videos of each.