John Cougar Mellencamp, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter has recorded 23 albums. He is best known for his #1 hit song “Jack & Diane.” Nominated for thirteen Grammy Awards he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. Where did his drive to succeed come from? A look at his life and birth order will give us some answers.
John “Cougar”
The Drive and Power to Achieve
Where does one get the personal power to drive themselves to achieve? Using birth order theory, we usually see Double birth orders that combine the ordinal number of birth with the Only birth order that increases a person’s personal power. We can also see an increase in drive when one fights for power with an older sibling, sibling rivalry. This is the story of John Mellencamp.
Early Years
John was born October 7, 1951, the second of five children in Seymour Indiana. He was born with spina bifida but an early operation corrected it. His older brother may have resented the extra attention he received even though John didn’t know about the problem until he was twelve. His older brother Joe is three years older. His younger siblings are Ted, Janet and Laura. He formed his first band, Crepe Soul, at the age of 14.
Second Born and Sibling Rivalry
John, the Second born child did not want to be told what to do. Second borns will usually never give in even if they know that they are wrong. The Second born will often go off in another direction from their older sibling.
When there are two boys the sibling rivalry can become intense. We all know the story of Cain and Able and that didn’t turn out too well. Both boys had bands growing up but John’s older brother Joe took a more traditional route in life than did John.
Two Boys Two Directions
Joe played quarterback on the football team and was a member of the student council. He went off to Indiana University after High school and majored in sociology and psychology. He finished his education at Ohio State in electrical engineering, following in his father’s profession.
He achieved to become the President of Beacon Electric. John took a different route, he was a beer-swilling truant in school and eloped with his pregnant girlfriend when he was 18. This was the first of three wives and five children. He attended Vincennes University a two-year college. This is when his use of drugs and alcohol escalated. He did graduate as his focus got better after giving up drugs and alcohol.
John’s Song About Brothers
Nothing can express the feeling a younger brother has for his older sibling than the song John wrote called “Brothers”. Some of the lyrics show just how powerful sibling rivalry can be. “You don’t care for me and man, I don’t think that much of you” “It’s as normal at it can be this sibling rivalry.
We should have dropped it at 22 but man I can’t stand the things you do.” “Now that we’re grown up it ain’t helped nothin’ at all. On my birthday, please don’t bother to call.” As we can see the effects of one’s Birth order lasts a life time. John may have won the battle of the brothers when his father left his job as executive vice president of Robbins Electric to become his financial manager.
John the Social Reformer
John seems to have been angry all his life and his music tells stories of just how life seems unfair. He was been the scrappy musical spokesman for forgotten man. He has been an advocate for farmers and testified before congress with Willie Nelson.
His great-great grandfather, Johann Heinrick Mollenkamp was a peasant farmer from Germany that settled in Indiana in 1851. John went on to play concerts for Farm Aid. He is politically a left-of-center populist with no love for big business.
Health Issues
In 1994 John suffered a heart attack. Today, still a chain smoker, he is true to his Second born birth order letting no one tell him what to do. He feels that it is the combination of drugs and smoking that will kill you so that is why he no longer takes drugs.