Artist: John Cougar Mellencamp
Video: From YouTube, with ads.
We go from the glitz and glamour of California to the heart of Middle America. Quite a contrast in tone and mood compared to the last video, possibly unparalleled elsewhere in this countdown. I challenge you, the reader, to find a starker contrast between two consecutive videos!
In 1985, we were still getting used to the “Mellencamp” portion of Johnny Cougar. With several top ten singles and a #1 album under his belt, the man had enough juice to demand that his real name be used. By the 1990s, the Cougar was gone forever.
“Small Town” was not one of my favorites. The simple, folksy message was lost on this San Fernando Valley boy. But it was very popular nationwide, peaking at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. And I grew to appreciate the song in time, but let’s be honest, it doesn’t measure up to “Jack and Diane” or even “Pink Houses”.
The “Scarecrow” album was one of Mellencamp’s most successful, spawning five top 30 hits. Its release coincided with the first Farm Aid, an annual benefit concert he created with Willie Nelson and Neil Young.
The video has the feel of a home movie, peppered with pictures from what appears to be Mellencamp’s personal scrapbook. Set in Seymour, Indiana (just an hour outside Bloomington!), it is a tour of all the different facets of small town life. Kids playing baseball, people involved with their different activities, and I swear I even caught a glimpse of Bobby Knight.
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