John Mellencamp, Las Vegas Sun, Jan. 23, 1998

Camping it up with John Mellencamp Lisa Ferguson Friday, Jan. 23, 1998 | 9:53 a.m. John Mellencamp is not the young, brooding rebel he used to be. The veteran rocker, whose dozens of hit tunes include "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.," "Pink Houses" and "Jack and Diane," is now a father of five on his third marriage (to model Elaine Irwin, who is 17 years his junior). In 1994, a heart attack he suffered while on tour served as a wake-up call to improve his health and cut back on his four-pack-a-day cigarette habit. But don't relegate him to a rocking chair just yet. "It's hard to figure out a way to carry on and do this without completely looking like a buffoon," 46-year-old Mellencamp told Live magazine last July. He performs at The Joint inside the Hard Rock hotel-casino tonight and Saturday. "You know, I was a pop star in the '80s," he said. "To continue to try to chase down that same thing seems a little ridiculous to me. I'm not 25 anymore." And it shows from time to time in his music. During a Chicago concert last year, he changed the line in the tune "Small Town" from "Married an LA girl and brought her to this small town," to "My wife was 13 years old when I wrote this song." On stage, he said, "it suddenly dawns on me sometimes that I never intended to be doing this at 45 years old. "It's kinda like that old joke: If I'd have known I was gonna live so long, I'd have taken better care of myself. Well, if I'd have known I was gonna be doing it so long, I might have tried to write better songs." But he gave it his best shot. Hence the title of his latest release, "The Best That I Could Do 1978-1988," which features 14 of Mellencamp's greatest hits and a new track, a cover of British rocker Terry Reid's 1968 tune, "Without Expression." The CD's liner notes, penned by Billboard magazine Editor-in-Chief Timothy White, is a history lesson titled "The First Two Hundred Years of the John Mellencamp Story," which traces the rocker's family roots and explains the inspiration behind his music. "I've been making records since 1976," Mellencamp reflected in Live. "I've sold at least a million of every record I've put out since '82, and this new one will end up at about a million, too. That's unbelievable for a guy with no more talent than I've got." Tickets for the 8 p.m. shows are $77, $152, $202 and $252. Call the box office at 693-5066 for more information. archive Share on print Share on email Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on google_plusone_share More Sharing Services 0