Mellencamp is of German ancestry. He was born with spina bifida, for which he had corrective surgery as an infant. Mellencamp formed his first band, Crepe Soul, at the age of 14 and later played in the local bands Trash, Snakepit Banana Barn and the Mason Brothers. When Mellencamp was 18, he eloped with his pregnant girlfriend Priscilla Esterline.

Country music star Keith Urban has consistently cited Mellencamp's influence on his music. It originated when Mellencamp's Lonesome Jubilee tour went to Australia in 1988; Urban was in attendance at one of the concerts and described the experience as an "epiphany."  "'I Need A Lover' and 'Hurts So Good' were massive hits in Australia", Urban told the Vancouver Sun in 2016. "I played so many of those songs in my cover bands. But for me, The Lonesome Jubilee was the defining record and tour. I've since gotten to know John a little bit and it was one of the greatest opportunities I've ever had to meet a hero and tell him about a concert you went to when you were a nobody and how much of an effect that concert had on me.  "I just remember that moment: Here's that full-on rock section, with Kenny Aronoff on drums and Larry Crane a rock guitarist with swagger. But there was also Lisa Germano on fiddle, they had an accordion player, there was an acoustic guitarist. I was hit by lightning by that concert. I said to John, 'I didn't walk away thinking: I want to do that. I walked away feeling: I get it -- just put all the things you love into what you do.' It was singularly the most important concert I've ever been to in my life because it showed me the way."  Urban went into more detail on the impact Mellencamp's Lonesome Jubilee Tour concert had on him when CMT asked him about the concert that most influenced him: "The most impactful one for me was probably John Mellencamp in '88 or '89 on the Lonesome Jubilee Tour. It was singularly the most epiphany experience I'd ever had at a concert. Prior to that, from the age of 6 or 7, I was somewhere in between Top 40, country and, 'Who the hell am I and what do I do?' But The Lonesome Jubilee came out. I loved 'Paper in Fire' and 'Check It Out' because it was such a melting pot of things. But when I went to see him live, his band was so phenomenally good. Great, great band. And I remember watching the concert - and the light went off. There's a rock rhythm section, but there's acoustic guitar, electric guitar. This fiddle, this accordion. He's singing these rural lyrics, but he's got swagger and attitude for days. It was like everything came together. I got to talk to John years later, and I said to him how much that concert changed my life. I didn't leave that concert thinking 'I want to be Mellencamp.' I went away going, 'Take all of your influences and make your own thing.' It was such a liberating experience for me."  Urban has covered numerous Mellencamp songs in his concerts over the years, including "Hurts So Good", "Jack and Diane", "Authority Song", and "Rumbleseat". In 2015, Urban and Mellencamp performed "Pink Houses" together twice during nationally televised events. Urban's 2015 hit single "John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16" further illustrated Mellencamp's influence on his music.

Why was it defining
it was one of the greatest opportunities I've ever had to meet a hero and tell him about a concert you went to when you were a nobody