“'Jack & Diane' was originally about race. I was playing nightclubs, and I was seeing new American couples, mixed-race couples. I thought it was cool. The song was my effort to make a song about that, but of course the record-company guy didn't like it.”

American singer-songwriter

John Mellencamp is an American singer-songwriter, born in 1951. Earlier in his career, he performed under the names Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp. He is known for heartland rock, a style built around traditional instrumentation and straightforward songwriting. His career was later recognized with induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2018.