Rock star John Mellencamp dropped the “Cougar” from his stage name as soon as his stardom allowed him to. But there were apparently a whole bunch of things the rocker couldn’t manage to drop — and the 65-year-old thinks he’s a lifelong pain in the ass as a result. Mellencamp found a sympathetic listener in Howard Stern, who has made much (hundreds of millions, in fact) of his own issues — he likes to talk about his psychotherapy.
Mellencamp, whose “Little Pink Houses” and “Jack & Diane” from the 1980s still get major radio play, faces personal demons like agoraphobia. But his main problem — and the reason women “hate” him, as he says — is that he, as he explains it:
“it’s because I’m a child. I throw fits, I gripe, I complain. I’m moody. Every bad thing that a fella can be, that’s me.”
Artists are supposed to tell the truth, even to themselves, so Mellencamp continues to live up to the title. But if a few women aren’t thrilled with him, Mellencamp’s charitable work is something to note. He’s done a lot of work to help veterans and just donated a bunch of his guitars, with Eddie Van Halen, to the Mr. Holland’s Opus music program for school kids.
