John J. Mellencamp, previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American musician, singer-songwriter, painter, actor, and film director. He is known for his catchy, populist brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrumentation. Mellencamp rose to fame in the 1980s while "honing an almost startlingly plainspoken writing style" that, starting in 1982, yielded a string of Top 10 singles, including "Hurts So Good", "Jack & Diane", "Crumblin' Down", "Pink Houses", "Lonely Ol' Night", "Small Town", "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.", "Paper in Fire", and "Cherry Bomb". He has amassed 22 Top 40 hits in the United States. In addition, he holds the record for the most tracks by a solo artist to hit number one on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, with seven. Mellencamp has been nominated for 13 Grammy Awards, winning one. His latest album of original songs, Sad Clowns & Hillbillies, was released on April 28, 2017 to widespread critical acclaim. Mellencamp has sold over 30 million albums in the US and over 60 million worldwide.
MTV Unplugged in New York is a live album by American rock band Nirvana, released on November 1, 1994 by DGC Records. It features an acoustic performance recorded at Sony Music Studios in New York City on November 18, 1993, for the television series MTV Unplugged.
"Fade to Black" is a song and the first power ballad by American heavy metal band Metallica, released as the first promotional single from its second studio album, Ride the Lightning. The song was ranked as having the 24th best guitar solo ever by Guitar World readers.
The Early November is an American rock band from New Jersey, United States. The group formed in 2001 and signed with Drive-Thru Records in 2002. As of 2018, they have released two EPs: For All of This (2002) and The Acoustic EP (2005). They have released four full-length albums: The Room's Too Cold (2003), triple album The Mother, the Mechanic, and the Path (2006), In Currents (2012), and Imbue (2015). Their most recent album, Lilac, was released September 27, 2019. The band is currently signed to Rise Records.
Motörhead is the self-titled debut studio album by British rock band Motörhead. It was released on 21 August 1977 via Chiswick Records, one of the first for the label. It is officially regarded as the band's debut album, though an album was recorded in 1975 for United Artists which was shelved, and was only released in 1979 after the band had established themselves commercially. This would be the first album to feature what would become the "classic" Motörhead lineup of Lemmy Kilmister, "Fast" Eddie Clarke and Philthy Animal Taylor and their only release under Chiswick, as they were signed to the larger Bronze Records by early 1978.
Mr. Happy Go Lucky is the 14th album by American singer-songwriter and musician John Mellencamp. It was released on September 10, 1996. It was his first album released after his heart attack in 1994. Mellencamp's music on the album is said to reflect his brush with death. The album was recorded in Belmont, Indiana, in Mellencamp's Belmont Mall recording studio. The first single from the album, "Key West Intermezzo ," peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is his last Top 40 single in the United States to date. "Just Another Day" was the album's second single and stalled at No. 46 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Dance Naked is the thirteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter John Mellencamp released on June 21, 1994. The album was released in response to the record company's accusations that Mellencamp's previous album, Human Wheels, didn't "fit the format." Mellencamp was irritated with this remark, feeling that none of his albums ever fit the format. As a result, he wrote several purposely radio-friendly songs and recorded them within the span of 14 days at his Belmont Mall recording studio in Belmont, Indiana, intending to show the lack of effort required to produce the type of album they were asking for.
Livin' it Up is the tenth studio album by American country singer George Strait, released in 1990 on MCA Records. It has been certified platinum by the RIAA. The Tracks "Drinking Champagne", "Love Without End, Amen", and "I've Come to Expect It From You" were all released as singles; "Drinking Champagne" was a #4 hit on the Hot Country Songs charts, while the other two singles were both Number One hits. "She Loves Me " was written and originally recorded by Conway Twitty, and was later recorded on Gary Allan's 1998 album It Would Be You.
England Dan & John Ford Coley were an American soft rock duo composed of Danny Wayland "England Dan" Seals and John Edward "John Ford" Coley, active throughout the 1970s. Native Texans, they are best known for their 1976 single "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight", a No. 2 hit in the Billboard Hot 100 and a No. 1 Adult Contemporary hit. After they disbanded, Seals began performing as Dan Seals and launched a country music career through the 1980s which produced 11 No. 1 country hits.
What Goes Around Comes Around is an album by American country music artist Waylon Jennings, released on RCA Victor in 1979.
The Acoustic EP is the second EP from The Early November, recorded shortly before the band's first full-length CD and released in 2003.
Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings is the fifth studio album by Counting Crows, released in the United States on March 25, 2008. It is thematically divided into two sides: the rock music of Saturday Nights and the more country-influenced Sunday Mornings. Vocalist and lyricist Adam Duritz states that the album "is about really wanting to mean something and failing to do it. You want your life to mean something. You want to be somebody and then what you turn out to be is so much less than what you thought you were going to be."
"Tell Me " is a song by English rock band the Rolling Stones, featured on their 1964 self-titled album. It became the first A-side single written by Jagger/Richards to be released, although not in the United Kingdom. The single reached number 24 in the US and the top 40 in several other countries.
Diamonds in the Rough is the second studio album by American country-folk singer-songwriter John Prine, released in 1972.
Forget the Night Ahead is the second studio album by Scottish indie rock band The Twilight Sad, released by FatCat Records on 22 September 2009 in the US, and on 5 October 2009 in the UK. The album was produced by guitarist Andy MacFarlane and recorded and mixed by Paul Savage at Chem19 Studios in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The album features the singles "I Became a Prostitute", "Seven Years of Letters", and "The Room".
"Lucky Man" is a song by the English progressive rock supergroup Emerson, Lake & Palmer, from the group's 1970 self-titled debut album. Written by Greg Lake when he was 12 years old and recorded by the trio using improvised arrangements, the song contains one of rock music's earliest instances of a Moog synthesizer solo. "Lucky Man" was released as a single in 1970 and reached the top 20 in the Netherlands. The song also charted in the United States and Canada. The single was re-released in 1973 and charted again in the U.S. and Canada.
Dust'n Off the Ol' Guitar is a new acoustic collection of songs from by Ace Enders, the third using the name I Can Make a Mess Like Nobody's Business. The album was released on September 16, 2010. Ace Enders including new versions of old favorites from his bands The Early November, I Can Make a Mess Like Nobody's Business and A Million Different People and a new song from I Can Make a Mess.
Aquostic is the thirty-first studio album by English rock band Status Quo, first released on 17 October 2014. Produced by Mike Paxman, this is the band's first completely acoustic album and the first recorded with drummer Leon Cave. Its cover features a photograph by Canadian singer Bryan Adams. The album earned a Gold certification in January 2015.
Sad Clowns & Hillbillies is the 23rd studio album by American singer-songwriter and musician John Mellencamp. It was released on April 28, 2017 by Republic Records. The album features significant contributions from Carlene Carter, who worked with Mellencamp on Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, his musical collaboration with Stephen King, and Ithaca, the movie he scored for Meg Ryan. Carter opened every show of Mellencamp's 2015–2016 Plain Spoken Tour.
Fifteen Years is a compilation album by The Early November. It includes 15 new acoustic recordings from the course of the band's career.
