In his three or so decades as a hit-making musician, John Mellencamp has had his rock- star moments of fame and fortune. But now, for the first time, he’s getting noticed in the gossip pages — for dating Meg Ryan.
Mellencamp, who plays a pair of sold-out shows at Radio City Music Hall tomorrow and Saturday, was snapped walking arm-in-arm with actress Ryan last month, just days after he and his wife, model Elaine Irwin, announced they were splitting after 18 years of marriage. Those photos were subsequently plastered across the pages of The Post and People magazine.
“Quite honestly, I’m really shocked that anybody is even a little interested,” the 59-year-old singer tells The Post. “I’ve made it my business to stay off the gossip pages and the magazines. So I’m a little disappointed that I ended up in there for a week, but now it’s like everyone has lost interest, so you probably won’t see much more about my love life.” And that’s all he’ll say on the subject.
The romance doesn’t seem to be slowing. Mellencamp, who was seen lunching with Ryan, 49, at Balthazar in January, celebrated Valentine’s Day by walking and shopping with her in SoHo and NoLIta — and having lunch at Bread.
Still, Mellencamp would like to keep the focus on his music, rather than his personal life. He’s always been more about work than fame. After establishing himself as John Cougar with hits such as “Jack and Diane” and “Hurts So Good,” he ditched the phony stage moniker in favor of his given name in 1983. His heartland rock style has also gotten
back to basic, gimmick-free roots music and Americana.
That style is the hallmark of the singer’s current tour, a departure from his past raucous rock shows. The Radio City concerts, the singer says, “won’t be what people expect — it will challenge the audience because it isn’t a greatest-hits concert. There’s some familiar material, but it’ll be laden with blues and country and swing — all the roots music that I grew up with.”
It’s a risky move, considering that fans often reject this kind of concert — they want all the hits and nothing but the hits. Yet over the course of more than 20 shows on this tour, Mellencamp says, only one performance had fans heckling him and screaming for the big songs. “That was the only one where the audience didn’t listen,” he says.
On the other hand, he says, “Just the other night, in Ottawa, during the acoustic set, you could hear a pin drop. I was so pleased. I’d like everyone to come to the Radio City shows with the same open mind, and maybe leave with a full heart.”
Whether talking about fans’ attention spans or the distinct possibility that he’ll headline next year’s Super Bowl halftime show on his home turf in Indianapolis, Mellencamp has the tenor of an accomplished politician. No wonder: He’s one of music’s most outspoken social activists, from his work with Farm Aid to social-commentary songs such as “Jena” (about the Jena Six, the six African-American teenagers convicted in the beating of a white student in Louisiana in 2006).
His political opinions and personal popularity in his home state have sparked the Democratic Party there to entice him to run for office.
“A little while back, I was asked to run for the Senate. I said no because there’s nothing I could say or do that would make any progress for the people,” Mellencamp says. “Look at Obama. I know the guy — he’s compassionate and smart. If a guy as dedicated to serving the people as him can’t get things done, what could I do? I’ll stick to what I do best, and sing about it.”