We already brought you part one of our list of 15 things you probably did not know about John Mellencamp, and now we’re back with part two! Check out eight more fascinating facts about the singer and musician that you definitely (probably) did not know below. You might be surprised by what you find out!
Number Eight: He Has Been Nominated for 13 Grammy Awards. And he won one! The Grammy he took home was for Best Male Rock Performer for his song, “Hurts So Good.” He took the Grammy home in 1982.
Number Seven: He Was Born With Spina Bifida. Though Mellencamp no longer suffers from spina bifida, he was born with it. He had corrective surgery to fix the defect when he was an infant.
Number Six: He Was in a Band as a Teenager. Mellencamp joined his first band when he was just 14 years old. The band called themselves Crepe Soul. He also played in bands called Trash, Snakepit Banana Barn, and the Mason Brothers.
Number Five: He Was a Young Father. Just six months after Mellencamp graduated from high school, he became a father. When he was 18 years old, he eloped with his pregnant girlfriend.
Number Four: He Experimented With Marijuana. While in college at Vincennes University, Mellencamp admitted that he experimented heavily with weed. He said, “When I was high on pot, it affected me so drastically that when I was in college there were times when I wouldn’t get off the couch…There would be four of five days like that when I would be completely gone.”
Number Three: He Lives in Indiana. Mellencamp’s home state is Indiana, and he now lives back there. He currently lives right outside of Bloomington, Indiana, which is the home of Indiana University.
Number Two: He Has Been Married Three Times. Mellencamp first got married in 1970 (the pregnant girlfriend we mentioned above), but they divorced in 1981. He then married Victoria Granucci from 1981 to 1989, and after they split, he married former model Elaine Irwin in 1992. They were married for 18 years before they separated.
Number One: He Has Released Over 20 Studio Albums. Mellencamp has released 22 studio albums, which is incredibly impressive for anybody of his age. He released his first album in 1976, and his most recent album, Plain Spoken, was released in 2014.