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Speck (left) and Hud enjoy the Indiana air in a convertible with their grandfather, Richard Mellencamp, as their father looks on.
A family man first
Mellencamp met his wife, supermodel Elaine
Irwin-Mellencamp, in 1991 at the photo shoot
for the cover of his album Whenever We Wanted.
The following year, the couple got married in
Seymour, at a log cabin belonging to the grooms
uncle. They have two sons—Hud, 11, and
Speck, 10—and Mellencamp has three chil
dren—Michelle, 34, Teddi Jo, 2.3, and Justice,
19 —from two previous marriages.
Irwin-Mellencamp admires her husbands
parenting techniques. “John makes an effort at
being very fun, which a lot of dads don’t do," she
says. “John plays to his strong suits, and he tries
to share with the kids the things that he is inter
ested in. He's pretty smart about the activities
that he does with them, and that makes things
enjoyable all around.”
Irwin-Mellencamp, 34, who has appeared
in ads for Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren and
Victorias Secret, currently is the spokesperson
for Almay cosmetics. Despite her fame, she
still sees herself as just a regular, small
town resident. "I grew up in Gilbertsville,
Pennsylvania (pop. 4,242), a town much
i smaller and more rural than Blooming
ton, but with similar values,” she says.
"Obviously, you don't forget that. I like
die way I was raised—in a very average
way—and that’s how I want my kids to
be raised."
With his voice taking on a serious
tone, Mellencamp comments, “I’m
k quite a different dad than my dad
I was. Fathers in the ’sos were a
whole different kettle of fish than
i
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Irwin-Mellencamp snuggles with her two sons.
fathers are today. For one thing, when I
was growing up, I never saw my dad. He
was always at work. Then, when I was old
enough to realize what time he got home
from work, I always made it a point not to
be home. From age 14 to probably 20, that
was a time when my dad and I were hardly
speaking. Now, I see him every day and he’s
become a big part of my life and my kids’
life. People do grow up."
And as he's matured, Mellencamp has
built quite an impressive body of work, as
evidenced by his latest album, the two-CD
compilation Worth & Music: John Mellencamp’s
Greatest Hits. He is promoting the album
during a summer tour with John Fogerty.
Following the tour, Mellencamp will
continue working on a stage prxxluction
that lie has been developing with Stephen
King for the past three years. Titled Ghost
Bmthers of Darkland County, it includes music
composed by Mellencamp and dialogue
written by King.
“The play has mystical qualities to
it," Mellencamp says. “It takes place from
1945 to right now. Plus, it takes place in
Louisiana and Mississippi, so I had the
opportunity to write blues songs, Cajun
songs and jazz songs.”
Making music is Mellencamp’s primary
creative outlet, but not his only one. He
directed and starred in the 1992 feature film
Falling From Grace, which was written by
Larry McMurtry. He also lias been a devoted
painter for many years, and has exhibited his
work in art galleries. In 1998, dozens of his
oil paintings were reproduced in the book
Mellencamp: Paintings and Reflections.
Tlie hallways and lounge of Mellencamp’s
recording studio are adorned with his color
ful figurative paintings. After more than 30
years in the music business, Mellencamp
hints that one day he will lay down his guitar
and pick up his paintbrush—permanently.
“I have an art studio, but I just haven’t
had the time to [saint as much as I’d like to,”
he says. “Painting, for me, is something that
I know I will return to. That’s how I will live
out my life—as a painter. I know it. My wife
knows it. Everybody who knows me knows
it. So, that is what I will do.”
Bobby Reed is a freelance writer who Hies in
Chicago.
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