John Mellencamp

From Discogs:

John Mellancamp was born in Seymour, Indiana on October 7, 1951. He started out for a brief period of time as a glam rocker, but then tried out for a solo career with his first album Chestnut Street Incident released by former David Bowie manager, Tony DeFries on the Mainman (division of MCA) label. That album was a complete flop partly due to the fact that the record label wanted to mold John into something he was not (a pretty boy ala James Dean) and the fact that the album was just cover songs. It was also the label's idea to release the album under the name Johnny Cougar which Mellencamp did not approve of. It wasnt until the release of American Fool released this time under the moniker John Cougar which featured his most well-known hit to date, "Jack & Diane" that he really made it big; the album stayed at #1 on the charts for nine weeks. Following that was Uh-huh which would be his first release under the moniker John Cougar Mellencamp; the name he would stick by until he gradually dropped the "Cougar" and just went by his given name John Mellencamp. A heart attack in 1994 prevented him from touring for one of his most famous albums to date Dance Naked. John has collaborated with Me'Shell Ndegeocello and India Arie over the years.Inducted into Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 2008 (Performer).

From Lastfm:

John Mellencamp (born 7 October 1951 in Seymour, Indiana) is an American singer-songwriter, known for a long and successful recording and performing career highlighted by a series of 1980s hits, including "Jack & Diane", and by his role in the Farm Aid charity event. Mellencamp currently lives in Bloomington, Indiana. John's first record released was under the stage name "Johnny Cougar" at the behest of Tony DeFries, his first manager.

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From Wikipedia:

John J Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951) is an American rock singer-songwriter, musician, painter and occasional actor known for his catchy, populist brand of heartland rock which emphasizes traditional instrumentation. He has sold over 40 million albums worldwide and has amassed 22 Top 40 hits in the United States. In addition, he holds the record for the most tracks by a solo artist to hit number-one on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, with seven, and has been nominated for 13 Grammy Awards, winning one. His latest album, No Better Than This, was released on August 17, 2010 to widespread critical acclaim.

Mellencamp is also one of the founding members of Farm Aid, an organization that began in 1985 with a concert in Champaign, Illinois to raise awareness about the loss of family farms and to raise funds to keep farm families on their land. The Farm Aid concerts have remained an annual event over the past 27 years, and as of 2012 the organization has raised over $40 million to promote a strong and resilient family farm system of agriculture.