John Mellencamp just released his 24th studio album Strictly a One-Eyed Jack back on January 21. If you would have told him that fifty years ago, he’d probably think you were crazy.
LISTEN NOW: John Mellencamp’s full interview with Remy
Strictly a One-Eyed Jack was a long time coming for Mellencamp and marked his first album since 2017. “We started that record before the pandemic,” Mellencamp told Audacy’s Remy. “We got about half of it done and then had to stop for a year and a half.”
Although the COVID-19 pandemic threw a wrench in his plans for an album, having to isolate wasn’t a huge deal for Mellencamp, who has no problem staying out of the public eye. “My kids said, ‘dad, you’re the only person we know that the pandemic hasn’t affected at all,’” Mellencamp said with a laugh.
“I’ve definitely become more of an observer of life than I have a liver,” he said. “I prefer to watch people, hear what they say, and see if they do what they say they’re going to do.”
Throughout the interview, Mellencamp expressed how fortunate he felt that he was able to make a living as a musician and artist as well as speak his thoughts through song. That reigns especially true on his new album, which Mellencamp touches on a variety of topics, including politics. “The truth of the matter is Remy, is that John Mellencamp is not for everybody,” he adamantly stated.
At the same time, Mellencamp and a few of his musical peers are amazed that they still get to call being a musician a career at this stage of life. “I could have never imagined doing this this long,” he said. “Other guys that I know that are a little bit older than me, or my age – we all just kind of looked at each other and went ‘can you believe that we’re doing this still?’ We are grown men doing a teenage job.”
“Don’t forget that’s what rock music was, it was for teenagers,” he added. “When I started, I wasn’t much more of a teenager myself and I was a barroom singer.”
Hear songs from John Mellencamp and more on Audacy’s Americana station
Mellencamp also spilled the beans on his collegiate ambitions. He went for a degree in broadcasting and journalism, but had a realization pretty early on that it wasn’t going to work out. “I have to tell you,” Mellencamp says, “I was the worst f*****g guy on radio, I was terrible.”
“People used to listen to me on college radio to hear how many mistakes I’d make.”
You can check out the full interview with John Mellencamp above. Strictly a One-Eyed Jack is now available everywhere.
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