One of John Mellencamp’s Biggest Hits Drew Inspiration From an Early Phil Collins Song

In 1982, John Mellencamp had his second consecutive No. 1 single, with “Jack & Diane”. Mellencamp is the sole writer of the song. It appears on his American Fool album. 

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“Jack & Diane” is more than four minutes long, which is why it’s a bit surprising that it became a four-week No. 1 hit. But the reason for the lengthy tune isn’t just because of the lyrics in the story song. Instead, there’s a significant drum solo in the middle, an idea that Mellencamp got from Phil Collins’ debut solo single, “In The Air Tonight”, out in 1981.

Mellencamp’s drummer, Kenny Aronoff, recalls thinking he was originally playing on all of “Jack & Diane”, only to find out when he got into the studio that he was being replaced by a drum machine. Devastated, Aronoff returned to the studio lounge. He recalls waiting a couple of hours to find out if he was going to be part of the recording. Later, Mellcnamp calls him into the control room.

“John tells me, ‘I need you to come up with a drum solo or something after the second chorus,’” Aronoff recalls to Songfacts. “At that moment, I was absolutely terrified and excited. Excited because I’m now going to be playing on the record. Terrified because I knew that I had to save the song in order to save my career. Because if I didn’t come up with it, they’d replace me. Two people had already been fired in the band. And when I joined two years prior, I was fired from playing on the record. So, this was a scary moment for me.”

“The long and short of it is, I come up with this part on the spot, and it becomes a No. 1 hit – John’s biggest hit ever,” he adds. “That and ‘In The Air Tonight” by Phil Collins are probably the two most air-drummed solos on pop radio, ever. It’s not technically hard. But I was forced to create that on the spot.”

How John Mellencamp Wrote “Jack & Diane”

“Jack & Diane” almost had an entirely different storyline instead. The song begins with, “Little ditty about Jack and Diane / Two American kids growin’ up in the heartland / Jackie gonna be a football star / Diane’s debutante backseat of Jackie’s car.”

In Mellencamp’s original version, he reportedly had Jack and Diane as an interracial couple. A progressive idea at the time, Mellencamp’s label convinced him to make it a more universal song. The video features photos of Mellencamp, which was his idea. At the time, he had a feeling the song would be a hit, even if his record label disagreed.

“He said, ‘Look, there’s a song on the album the label doesn’t believe in,’” Paul Flattery, who worked for the production company that made the video, recalls him saying. “’But I do. Can you do me a favor and save one roll of film? Shoot me singing the song. I’ll give you some old photos and stuff, and then you cobble it together for me?’”

One of Mellencamp’s biggest hits, he later said he “detested” “Jack & Diane”.

Photo by Lester Cohen/Getty Images