John Mellencamp has claimed that he "hated" his hit single, 'R.O.C.K in the U.S.A (A Salute To 60's Rock)'.
The track, which peaked at No 2 on the Billboard 200, was the final single from Mellencamp's multi platinum 1985 album, Scarecrow. It also tied with 'Hurts So Good' as Mellencamp's second biggest hit behind, 'Jack & Diane'.
However as it turned out, Mellencamp was not so keen on 'R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A' , which he reluctantly took on as a track for his album.
"I had a song called 'R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.' And I hated it," the singer said. "I just thought, this is f---ing stupid and silly".
"I didn't want to put it on the record, but I made the mistake — I never let the record companies hear my records until I present them," he explained, "because they have A&R people that want to come in and say, 'You need to do this, you need to do that.' And I always say, 'No, no, no, no.' They're not even gonna ask me anymore".
The singer continued: "So anyway, I made the mistake of letting somebody hear 'R.O.C.K.' and they just went nuts. They said, 'That's a number one record.' Well, it's not gonna be on the album because it didn't fit on the album. Back when albums had a theme. So I arm wrestled the guy, and we tied. Well, I had to put it on the record".
Despite his initial dislike of the track, John Mellencamp has revealed that it will take pride of place on his set list for his upcoming Dancing Words tour, which begins in Grand Rapids, Michigan on July 10, finishing off on August 12 in Mountain View, California. Tickets for the tour are on sale now.
Check out this track for yourselves below.
This is not the first time that John Mellencamp has not been so keen of his own music
Back in 2022, the singer claimed that he has "always detested" his single, 'Jack & Diane', admitting that he is amazed the track still resonates with people, forty years after its release in 1982.
“I always detested that song until the last couple, three years", he said. “I watched a football game this past weekend, and 80,000 people were singing that song at half time. Can you imagine? I thought, ‘Shit.’ I said, ‘How do all these f*****g people know this song?’".
Check out this track and Nova's report on this for more here.
