"Jack & Diane" is a 1982 hit song

Song

In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...

 written

Songwriter

A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

 and performed by American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

, John Mellencamp

John Mellencamp

John Mellencamp, previously known by the stage names Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American rock singer-songwriter, musician, painter and occasional actor known for his catchy, populist brand of heartland rock that eschews synthesizers and other artificial sounds...

, then performing as "John Cougar". It appears on Mellencamp's album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

 American Fool

American Fool

American Fool is the sixth album by John Mellencamp, released under the stage name John Cougar in 1982. This was Mellencamp's last album to be released under the name John Cougar. His next album, Uh-Huh, would be released under the name John Cougar Mellencamp. The album was Mellencamp's commercial...

. It was chosen by RIAA as one of the Songs of the Century

Songs of the Century

The "Songs of the Century" list is part of an education project by the Recording Industry Association of America , the National Endowment for the Arts, and Scholastic Inc. that aims to "promote a better understanding of America’s musical and cultural heritage" in American schools...

. The single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 spent four weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 in 1982, and, to date, is the biggest hit single ever for Mellencamp.

Background and production

According to Mellencamp, "Jack & Diane" was written after watching Splendor in the Grass

Splendor in the Grass

Splendor in the Grass is a 1961 romantic drama film that tells a story of sexual repression, love, heartbreak, and manic-depression, which the character Deanie suffers from...

, (a 1961 movie starring Natalie Wood

Natalie Wood

Natalie Wood, born Natalia Nikolaevna Zacharenko was an American film and television actress. After first working in films as a child, Wood became a successful Hollywood star as a young adult, receiving three Academy Award nominations before she was 25 years old.Wood began acting in movies at the...

 and Warren Beatty

Warren Beatty

Warren Beatty born March 30, 1937) is an American actor, producer, screenwriter and director. He has received a total of fourteen Academy Award nominations, winning one for Best Director in 1982. He has also won four Golden Globe Awards including the Cecil B. DeMille Award.-Early life and...

). "'Jack & Diane' was a terrible record to make. When I play it on guitar by myself, it sounds great; but I could never get the band to play along with me. That's why the arrangement's so weird. Stopping and starting, it's not very musical." Mellencamp has also stated that the clapping wasn't supposed to be included in the finished song. It was recorded with the clapping in order to help keep tempo and then it was to be removed. However, he realized the song didn't work without it.

The song's tone and lyrics are evocative of a nostalgia

Nostalgia

The term nostalgia describes a yearning for the past, often in idealized form.The word is a learned formation of a Greek compound, consisting of , meaning "returning home", a Homeric word, and , meaning "pain, ache"...

 for the novelty of youth, influenced in part by Mellencamp's own life experiences. Mellencamp has stated in interviews that "Jack & Diane" was originally about an interracial couple, but he realized that in the early '80s there could be backlash over such a song. Later on, he would make the title track on his 2001 album Cuttin' Heads

Cuttin' Heads

Cuttin' Heads is an album by American singer-songwriter and musician John Mellencamp, released in 2001. It was his second album for Columbia Records.- Track listing :All songs written by John Mellencamp, except where noted....

about an interracial couple.

The song was recorded at Criteria Studios

Criteria Studios

Criteria Studios is a music-recording studio in Miami, Florida, started in 1958 by Mack Emerman.In 1999, The Hit Factory purchased Criteria Studios, revamping and reopening the studios under the new name The Hit Factory Criteria Miami.-Notable artists:...

 in Miami, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, was produced

Record producer

A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

 by Mellencamp and Don Gehman

Don Gehman

Don Gehman is an American record producer, best known for his work in the 1980s with John Mellencamp.Gehman grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and played bass in a local rock band...

 (with Gehman also engineering

Audio engineering

An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...

), and backing Mellencamp were guitarist

Guitarist

A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...

s/backing vocalist

Backing vocalist

A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...

s Mick Ronson

Mick Ronson

Michael "Mick" Ronson was an English guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and producer. He is best known for his work with David Bowie, as one of The Spiders from Mars...

, Mike Wanchic, Larry Crane, drummer

Drummer

A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...

 Kenny Aronoff

Kenny Aronoff

Kenny Aronoff is an American drummer. He has played drums for many musicians, including John Mellencamp, Bob Seger, Belinda Carlisle, Elton John, John Fogerty, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Meat Loaf, The BoDeans, Gregg Alexander, The Smashing Pumpkins, Tony Iommi, Jon Bon Jovi, Vasco Rossi, Cinderella and...

, bassist

Bassist

A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...

/backing vocalist Robert Frank, and keyboardist

Keyboardist

A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...

 Eric Rosser.

In 1982, producer and guitarist Mick Ronson

Mick Ronson

Michael "Mick" Ronson was an English guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and producer. He is best known for his work with David Bowie, as one of The Spiders from Mars...

 worked with John Mellencamp on his American Fool album, and in particularly on "Jack & Diane". In a 2008 interview with Classic Rock

Classic Rock (magazine)

Classic Rock is a British magazine dedicated to the radio format of classic rock, published by Future Publishing, who are also responsible for its "sister" publication Metal Hammer. Although firmly focusing on key bands from the 1960s through early 1990s, it also includes articles and reviews of...

magazine, Mellancamp recalled:

"I owe Mick Ronson the hit song, Jack & Diane. Mick was very instrumental in helping me arrange that song, as I'd thrown it on the junk heap. Ronson came down and played on three or four tracks and worked on the American Fool record for four or five weeks. All of a sudden, for 'Jack & Diane', Mick said 'Johnny, you should put baby rattles on there.' I thought, 'What the fuck does put baby rattles on the record mean? So he put the percussion on there and then he sang the part 'let it rock, let it roll' as a choir-ish-type thing, which had never occurred to me. And that is the part everybody remembers on the song. It was Ronson's idea." (John Mellencamp, Classic Rock

Classic Rock (magazine)

Classic Rock is a British magazine dedicated to the radio format of classic rock, published by Future Publishing, who are also responsible for its "sister" publication Metal Hammer. Although firmly focusing on key bands from the 1960s through early 1990s, it also includes articles and reviews of...

, January 2008, p.61)

Music video

The accompanying music video

Music video

A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

 directed by Bruce Gowers

Bruce Gowers

Bruce Gowers is an English television director and producer, best known for work on large-scale live music and event productions. He started his career in his native England where his landmark music video for Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" brought him international recognition leading to his...

.

Charts

Chart (1982)	Peak position
Canada (RPM RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... )	1
Netherlands (Gfk)	32
United Kingdom (UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... )	25
US Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...	1
US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	3
US (Cash Box)	1

Derivatives

The opening guitar riff and drum beat of "Jack & Diane" were sampled as a hook on Jessica Simpson

Jessica Simpson

Jessica Ann Simpson is an American recording artist, actress, television personality, and fashion designer whose rise to fame began in 1999. Since that time, Simpson has achieved many recording milestones, starred in several television shows, movies, and commercials, launched a line of hair and...

's single "I Think I'm In Love With You

I Think I'm in Love with You

"I Think I'm in Love with You" is a song written and produced by Cory Rooney and Dan Shea for Jessica Simpson's debut album Sweet Kisses . It contains a sample of singer-songwriter John Mellencamp's "Jack and Diane" and was released as the album's third and final single in summer 2000...

", released in the summer of 2000.