''Chestnut Street Incident'' is the debut studio album by the American singer-songwriter

John Mellencamp John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrumentation ...

, and his first of six albums in which Mellencamp was credited as Johnny (later John) Cougar. It was released by

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

on October 1, 1976. Signing on with

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

's manager, Tony Defries, Mellencamp travelled to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to cut this first album. DeFries would also go on to produce the album as well. With the thinking that a name like "Mellencamp" wouldn't generate a lot of interest, DeFries changed Mellencamp's name to "Johnny Cougar." Mellencamp would later go on to say that he had no idea about the name change until he saw the final product and that nobody had ever called him "Johnny" before. It would take Mellencamp 15 years to have his full real name on an album, '' Whenever We Wanted'', in 1991. Five of the tracks are covers from the '50s and '60s, and six are original songs by Mellencamp. The 1998 Original Masters rerelease added two bonus songs that were also covers. The album sold 12,000 copies when it was originally released, which would lead to MCA's refusal to release his next album, ''

The Kid Inside ''The Kid Inside'' is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter John Mellencamp (credited as John Cougar). It was released January 27, 1983 by MainMan Records. It was recorded in 1977 for MCA Records and was intended to be the follow ...

'', and drop Mellencamp. The 2009 CD reissue by

Cherry Red Records Cherry Red Records is a British independent record label founded in Malvern, Worcestershire by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything but the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and Felt, among others, as w ...

added six bonus tracks recorded during the original album sessions.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Johnny Cougar (a.k.a. John Mellencamp); except where indicated # "American Dream" – 2:21 # "

Oh, Pretty Woman "Oh, Pretty Woman", or simply "Pretty Woman", is a song recorded by Roy Orbison and written by Orbison and Bill Dees. It was released as a single in August 1964 on Monument Records and spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, '' ...

" (

Bill Dees William Marvin Dees (January 24, 1939 – October 24, 2012) was an American musician known for his songwriting collaborations with singer Roy Orbison. Career Born and based out of Borger, Texas, United States, Dees played guitar and sang with a ...

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison's most successful periods were ...

) – 2:54 # " Jailhouse Rock" (

Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller Leiber and Stoller were an American songwriting and record production duo, consisting of lyricist Jerome Leiber (; April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011) and composer Michael Stoller (born March 13, 1933). As well as many R&B and pop hits, they wr ...

) – 2:11 # "Dream Killing Town" (Cougar, George M. Green) – 3:20 # "Supergirl" (Aldo Legui, Bob Marcus) – 2:37 # "Chestnut Street" – 3:18 # "Good Girls" – 3:09 # " Do You Believe in Magic?" (

John Sebastian John Benson Sebastian (born March 17, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter and musician who founded the rock band the Lovin' Spoonful in 1964 with Zal Yanovsky. During his time in the Lovin Spoonful, Sebastian wrote and sang some of the ban ...

) – 2:38 # "Twentieth Century Fox" (

John Densmore John Paul Densmore (born December 1, 1944) is an American musician. He is best known as the drummer of the Rock music, rock band the Doors and as such is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He appeared on every recording made by the band, ...

Robby Krieger Robert Alan Krieger (born January 8, 1946) is an American guitarist and founding member of the rock band the Doors. Krieger wrote or co-wrote many of the Doors' songs, including the hits " Light My Fire", " Love Me Two Times", " Touch Me", and " ...

Ray Manzarek Raymond Daniel Manzarek Jr. ( Manczarek; February 12, 1939 – May 20, 2013) was an American keyboardist. He is best known as a member of the rock band the Doors, co-founding the group in 1965 with fellow UCLA School of Theater, Film and Te ...

Jim Morrison James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, songwriter, and poet who was the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band the Doors. Due to his charismatic persona, poetic lyrics, distinctive vo ...

) – 2:14 # "Chestnut Street Revisited" – 5:22 # "Sad Lady" (Cougar, George M. Green) – 3:26

1998 CD bonus tracks

# "

Hit the Road Jack "Hit the Road Jack" is a song written by the rhythm and blues singer Percy Mayfield and recorded by Ray Charles. The song was a US number 1 hit in 1961, and won a Grammy Award for Best Rhythm and Blues Recording, becoming one of Charles' sign ...

" ( Percy Mayfield) – 2:32 # " I Need Somebody Baby" (

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...

, James Williamson) – 3:43

2009 CD bonus tracks

# " Man Who Sold the World" (

) – 2:28 # "Little Heroes" – 2:47 # "Hit the Road Jack" (Percy Mayfield) – 2:32 # "

Kicks A kick is a physical strike using the leg, in unison usually with an area of the knee or lower using the foot, heel, tibia (shin), ball of the foot, blade of the foot, toes or knee (the latter is also known as a knee strike). This type of a ...

" (

Barry Mann Barry Mann (born Barry Imberman; February 9, 1939) is an American songwriter and musician, and was part of a successful songwriting partnership with his wife, Cynthia Weil. He has written or co-written 53 hits in the UK and 98 in the US. Early ...

Cynthia Weil Cynthia Weil (October 18, 1940 – June 1, 2023) was an American songwriter who wrote many songs together with her husband Barry Mann. Weil and Mann were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987, and in 2011, they jointly received the ...

) – 2:35 # "Need Somebody Baby" (Iggy Pop, James Williamson) – 3:43 # "When I Was Young" – 2:38

Personnel

* John Mellencamp – vocals, guitar * Mike Boyer, Richard Kelly,

Mick Ronson Michael Ronson (26 May 1946 – 29 April 1993) was an English musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success working with David Bowie as the guitarist of the Spiders from Mars. He was a session musici ...

, Mike Wanchic – guitars *

David Mansfield David Mansfield (born September 13, 1956) is an American musician and composer. Mansfield was raised in Leonia, New Jersey. His father, Newton Mansfield was a first violinist in the New York Philharmonic. David played guitar, pedal steel guita ...

– steel guitar, mandolin, violin *

Michael Kamen Michael Arnold Kamen (April 15, 1948 – November 18, 2003) was an American composer (especially of film scores), orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, songwriter, record producer and musician. Early life Michael Arnold Kamen was born in ...

– keyboards * Tom Wince – keyboards, chimes * Kirk Butler – synthesizer, percussion, engineer * David Parman – bass, guitar, backing vocals * Wayne Hall – saxophone * Bill Bergman, Jerome Deupree,

Hilly Michaels Hilly Michaels, also known as Hilly Boy Michaels, is an American drummer and musician who is best known for playing drums with Sparks in the 1970s. Then a New York-based session drummer, he performed on Sparks' 1976 album ''Big Beat'', which was ...

– drums Technical personnel * Tony Defries – producer * James J. C. Andrews – co-producer * Bruce Tergesen – engineer

References

;Online resources * * * * *

External links

* {{Authority control John Mellencamp albums 1976 debut albums MCA Records albums 1970s covers albums Albums produced by Tony Defries