"Hurts So Good" is a song by 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 ...

, then performing under the stage name "John Cougar". The song was a number two hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 Whitburn, Joel (2004). ''The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits,'' 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 418. for the singer/songwriter. It was the first of three major hit singles from his 1982 album ''

American Fool ''American Fool'' is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter John Mellencamp (credited as John Cougar), released on April 12, 1982. The album was his commercial breakthrough, holding the No. 1 position on the ''Billboard'' 200 albu ...

''. The others were "

Jack & Diane "Jack & Diane" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter John Mellencamp, then performing as "John Cougar". Described by critics as a "love ballad", this song was released as the second single from Mellencamp's 1982 album '' ...

" and "Hand to Hold on To," which were all released in 1982. The song was also a critical success with Mellencamp, winning the

Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male The Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance was a Grammy Award presented to male recording artists for works (songs or albums) containing quality vocal performances in the rock music genre. Originally called the Grammy Award for Best Ro ...

at the

25th Grammy Awards The 25th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 23, 1983, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Album of the Year went to Toto for ''Toto IV'', and Song of the Year went t ...

on February 23, 1983.

Background and recording

"Hurts So Good" was written by John Mellencamp and George Green, Mellencamp's childhood friend and occasional writing partner. The song was first conceived, Mellencamp claims, when he had uttered the phrase "hurt so good.” Mellencamp repeated the lines to Green, and they finished the song very quickly. In 2004, Mellencamp expounded on the writing of "Hurts So Good" in an interview with ''

American Songwriter ''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee. History The ''American Songwri ...

'' magazine: "George Green and I wrote that together. We exchanged lines back and forth between each other and laughed about it at the time. Then I went and picked up the guitar, and within seconds, I had those chords." The song was recorded at

Cherokee Studios Cherokee Studios is a recording studio facility in Hollywood founded in 1972 by members of 1960s pop band the Robbs. Cherokee has been the location of many notable recordings by such artists as Steely Dan, David Bowie, Journey, Toto, Michael J ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and was engineered by

Don Gehman Don Gehman is an American record producer, engineer, and executive, best known for his work with John Mellencamp and Hootie & the Blowfish. AllMusic calls him one of "the most successful producers of the 1980s and 1990s." As a sound engineer, he ...

and George Tutko. Backing Mellencamp were Larry Crane and Mike Wanchic (

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

Kenny Aronoff Kenneth D. Aronoff (born March 7, 1953) is an American drummer, best known for his work as a session and touring musician. He has toured and recorded with a wide range of artists throughout his career, including the Rolling Stones, the Smashing ...

(

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

s),

George "Chocolate" Perry George Wesly Perry (born 1953), known professionally as "Chocolate Perry" is an American bassist, songwriter and producer. Perry has worked with the Bee Gees, John Cougar, Jon Secada, Stephen Stills, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Al Kooper, Di ...

(

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

) and Dave Parman (backing vocals).

Reception

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said that "steady 4/4

snare SNARE proteins – "Soluble NSF attachment protein, SNAP REceptors" – are a large protein family consisting of at least 24 members in yeasts and more than 60 members in mammalian and plant cells. The primary role of SNARE proteins is to m ...

work and choppy fuzz tone guitar chords kick off this steel-edged pop/rocker."

Music video

Much of the video was filmed in Medora,

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, a small town located approximately southwest of

Seymour, Indiana Seymour is a city in Jackson Township, Jackson County, Indiana, Jackson and Redding Township, Jackson County, Indiana, Redding Townships, Jackson County, Indiana, United States, located 62 miles south of Indianapolis, and 55 miles north of Louisvi ...

, where Mellencamp was born and raised.

Charts

The song hit number one on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

's'' Hot Tracks

mainstream rock chart Mainstream Rock is a music chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. It is an administrative category that combines the " active rock" and " heritage rock" fo ...

. It peaked at number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on August 7, 1982, and, although it failed to make number one, it spent 16 weeks in the top 10, the longest time for any song in the 1980s. It was kept off the top spot by "

Eye of the Tiger "Eye of the Tiger" is a song by the American rock band Survivor. It was written as the theme song for the 1982 film ''Rocky III'' and released that year as a single from Survivor's third album, '' Eye of the Tiger''. Sylvester Stallone, the di ...

" by

Survivor Survivor(s) may refer to: * one who survives Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Survivors, characters in the 1997 KKnD series#Armies, ''KKnD'' video-game series * ''The Survivors'', or the ''New Survivors Foundation'', a fictional ...

. The song was listed at #83 on ''Billboard's Greatest Songs of All Time''. The single was also a hit in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

reaching #3 on ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' magazine's Top 50 Singles chart. It reached number five in Australia and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 1982 songs 1982 singles John Mellencamp songs Cashbox number-one singles Music videos directed by Bruce Gowers Songs written by John Mellencamp Song recordings produced by Don Gehman Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance Songs written by George Green (songwriter) Songs about BDSM Riva Records singles