| Artist: | John Mellencamp |
| Studio: | 24 |
| Live: | 2 |
| Singles: | 71 |
| Tribute: | 1 |
| Compilation: | 5 |
| 1Option: | 1 |
| 1Option Name: | Guest singles |
The following is a comprehensive discography of John Mellencamp, an American singer-songwriter. During Mellencamp's career in the recording industry, he has released 24 studio albums, two live albums, four compilation albums, and 71 singles.
Mellencamp's first album to chart on the Billboard 200 was the self-titled John Cougar album in 1979; the album was certified gold by the RIAA. Mellencamp's major commercial breakthrough came in 1982 with American Fool, which reached number one on the Billboard 200 and yielded two singles, "Hurts So Good" and "Jack & Diane", which reached number two and number one respectively on the Billboard Hot 100. American Fool would eventually sell 10 million copies worldwide (five million in the US alone). From 1983 to 1987, Mellencamp released three consecutive albums—Uh-Huh (1983), Scarecrow (1985), and The Lonesome Jubilee (1987)—which were all certified triple platinum by the RIAA. Combined, the three albums spawned sixteen singles, seven of which—"Crumblin' Down", "Pink Houses", "Lonely Ol' Night", "Small Town", "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.", "Paper in Fire" and "Cherry Bomb"—became top 10 hits in the US. In 1997, Mellencamp released his first-ever greatest hits collection entitled The Best That I Could Do 1978–1988.
Mellencamp has charted 28 singles on the Billboard Hot 100, including 22 hits in the Top 40, 17 in the Top 20 and 10 in the top 10. He has scored 22 albums on the Billboard 200, including 17 in the Top 20 and 11 in the Top 10. Mellencamp has sold about 30 million albums in the US and over 60 million worldwide.
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [1] | AUS | CAN [2] | ||||
| 1976 | Chestnut Street Incident
| — | — | — | ||
| 1978 | A Biography
| — | 19 | 19 | ||
| 1979 | John Cougar
| 64 | 77 | 77 |
| |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | AUS [3] | CAN | GER [4] | NL [5] | NOR [6] | NZ [7] | SWE [8] | SWI [9] | UK [10] | ||||
| 1980 | Nothin' Matters and What If It Did
| 37 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| |
| 1982 | American Fool
| 1 | 18 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 30 | — | 37 | ||
| 1983 | The Kid Inside
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1983 | Uh-Huh
| 9 | 57 | 9 | — | — | — | — | 24 | — | 92 |
| |
| 1985 | Scarecrow
| 2 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | 14 | 9 | — | — | ||
| 1987 | The Lonesome Jubilee[A]
| 6 | 2 | 1 | 41 | 34 | 16 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 31 |
| |
| 1989 | Big Daddy
| 7 | 1 | 3 | 27 | 33 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 25 |
| |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||||||
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | AUS | CAN | FIN [16] | GER | NL | NZ | SWE | SWI | UK | ||||
| 1991 | Whenever We Wanted
| 17 | 3 | 8 | — | 44 | — | 40 | 19 | 16 | 39 |
| |
| 1993 | Human Wheels
| 7 | 7 | 6 | — | 48 | 87 | — | 8 | 18 | 37 |
| |
| 1994 | Dance Naked
| 13 | 6 | 17 | — | — | — | — | 24 | 32 | — |
| |
| 1996 | Mr. Happy Go Lucky
| 9 | 11 | 11 | 26 | 53 | — | 36 | 26 | 37 | 82 |
| |
| 1998 | John Mellencamp
| 41 | 41 | 37 | — | — | — | — | — | 48 | 108 |
| |
| 1999 | Rough Harvest
| 99 | 131 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||||||
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Rock [17] | AUS | GER | SWE | UK | ||||
| 2001 | Cuttin' Heads
| 15 | — | 131 | 99 | — | — |
| |
| 2003 | Trouble No More
| 31 | — | 159 | — | — | — | ||
| 2007 | Freedom's Road
| 5 | 3 | 145 | — | — | — | ||
| 2008 | Life, Death, Love and Freedom
| 7 | 3 | 21 | — | 53 | 162 | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Folk [18] | US Rock | AUS | GER | NL | NOR | SWE | SWI | UK | |||
| 2010 | No Better Than This
| 10 | — | 5 | 83 | 62 | 93 | 29 | 33 | 83 | 138 | |
| 2014 | Plain Spoken
| 18 | 2 | 5 | — | 84 | — | — | — | 58 | 169 | |
| 2017 | Sad Clowns & Hillbillies
| 11 | 1 | 3 | — | 52 | — | — | — | 28 | 78 | |
| 2018 | Other People's Stuff
| 7 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | 70 | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||||||||
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Folk | US Rock | GER | SWI | |||
| 2022 | Strictly a One-Eyed Jack
| 196 | 5 | 30 | 24 | 6 | |
| 2023 | Orpheus Descending
| — | — | — | 79 | 93 | |
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Rock | AUS | CAN | NZ | UK | ||||
| 1997 | The Collection
| — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997 | The Best That I Could Do 1978–1988
| 33 | 37 | 5 | 9 | 19 | 25 |
| |
| 2004 | 13 | — | 93 | — | — | — |
| ||
| 2010 | 20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of John Mellencamp
| — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
On the Rural Route 7609
| — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
| Year | Album details | |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Life, Death, Live and Freedom
| |
| 2014 | Performs Trouble No More Live at Town Hall
| |
| 2018 |
| |
| 2021 | The Good Samaritan Tour 2000
|
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [21] | AUS | ||||
| 1978 | "I Need a Lover" | — | 5 | A Biography | |
| "Factory" | — | — | |||
| 1979 | "Miami" | — | 31 | John Cougar | |
| "I Need a Lover" | 28 | — | |||
| "Taxi Dancer" | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Main [22] | US AC [23] | US Country [24] | CAN [25] | UK [26] | IRE [27] | AUS | NZ | GER [28] | |||||
| 1980 | "Small Paradise" | 87 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | John Cougar | ||
| "A Little Night Dancin'" | 105 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "This Time" | 27 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 43 | — | — | Nothin' Matters and What If It Did | |||
| 1981 | "Ain't Even Done with the Night" | 17 | 44 | — | — | 15 [29] | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Hot Night in a Cold Town" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 1982 | "Hurts So Good" | 2 | 1 | — | — | 3 [30] | — | — | 5 | 39 | — |
| American Fool | |
| "Jack & Diane" | 1 | 3 | — | — | 1 [31] | 25 | 7 | 7 | — | — |
| |||
| "Thundering Hearts" | — | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Hand to Hold on To" | 19 | — | — | — | 41 [32] | 89 | 26 | 97 | — | — | ||||
| 1983 | "Crumblin' Down" | 9 | 2 | — | — | 9 [33] | — | — | 42 | — | — | Uh-huh | ||
| "Pink Houses" | 8 | 3 | — | — | 15 [34] | — | — | 69 | — | — | ||||
| 1984 | "Serious Business" | — | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Play Guitar" | — | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Authority Song" | 15 | 15 | — | — | 41 [35] | — | — | 93 | — | — | ||||
| 1985 | "Lonely Ol' Night" | 6 | 1 | 37 | — | 7 [36] | 138 | — | 32 | 50 | — | Scarecrow | ||
| "Small Town" | 6 | 2 | 13 | — | 13 [37] | 53 | — | 80 | 40 | — | ||||
| "Justice and Independence '85" | — | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 1986 | "Minutes to Memories" | — | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. (A Salute to '60s Rock)" | 2 | 6 | 36 | — | 7 [38] | 67 | — | 18 | 17 | — |
| |||
| "Under the Boardwalk" | — | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album song | ||||
| "Rain on the Scarecrow" | 21 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | 34 | — | — | Scarecrow | |||
| "Rumbleseat" | 28 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | 84 | — | — | ||||
| 1987 | "Paper in Fire" | 9 | 1 | — | — | 3 [39] | 86 | — | 13 | 16 | — | The Lonesome Jubilee | ||
| "Cherry Bomb" | 8 | 1 | 12 | — | 5 [40] | — | — | 20 | 4 | — |
| |||
| "Hard Times for an Honest Man" | — | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "The Real Life" | — | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 1988 | "Check It Out" | 14 | 3 | — | — | 10 [41] | 96 | — | 22 | 18 | — |
| ||
| "Rooty Toot Toot" | 61 | 7 | — | — | 19 [42] | 124 | — | 54 | 10 | — | ||||
| "Rave On" | — | 17 | — | — | 18 [43] | — | — | — | 7 | — | Cocktail soundtrack | |||
| 1989 | "Pop Singer" | 15 | 2 | — | — | 1 [44] | 93 | — | 8 | 1 | 87 | Big Daddy | ||
| "Jackie Brown" | 48 | 20 | 31 | 82 | 23 [45] | — | — | 47 | 30 | — | ||||
| "Martha Say" | — | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out)" | — | 42 | — | — | 83 [46] | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||||||||||
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Main | US AC | US Adult [47] | CAN | UK | AUS [48] | NZ | GER | ||||
| 1991 | "Get a Leg Up" | 14 | 1 | — | — | 4 [49] | — | 21 | — | — | Whenever We Wanted | |
| "Love and Happiness" | — | 5 | — | — | 54 [50] | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1992 | "Again Tonight" | 36 | 1 | 46 | — | 8 [51] | — | 39 | — | — | ||
| "Last Chance" | — | 12 | — | — | 73 [52] | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Now More Than Ever" | — | 3 | — | — | 29 [53] | — | 61 | — | — | |||
| 1993 | "Human Wheels" | 48 | 2 | 40 | — | 3 | — | 40 | — | — | Human Wheels | |
| "What If I Came Knocking" | — | 1 | — | — | 23 [54] | — | — | — | — | |||
| "When Jesus Left Birmingham" | — | 35 | — | — | 21 [55] | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1994 | "Junior" | — | 35 | — | — | 45 [56] | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Baby Please Don't Go" | — | — | — | — | 72 [57] | — | — | — | — | Blue Chips soundtrack | ||
| "Wild Night" (featuring Me'Shell Ndegéocello) | 3 | 17 | 1 | 30 | 1 [58] | 34 | 18 | — | 55 | Dance Naked | ||
| "Dance Naked" | 41 | 21 | 37 | — | 7 [59] | — | 79 | — | — | |||
| 1996 | "Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First)" | 14 | 10 | 15 | 4 | 1 | 92 | 21 | 35 | — | Mr. Happy Go Lucky | |
| 1997 | "Just Another Day" | 46 | 13 | 24 | 13 | 1 | — | 81 | — | — | ||
| "Without Expression" | — | 25 | — | — | 14 | — | — | — | — | The Best That I Could Do | ||
| 1998 | "Your Life Is Now" | — | 15 | 19 | 23 | 3 | — | 136 | — | 92 | John Mellencamp | |
| 1999 | "I'm Not Running Anymore" | — | 37 | 22 | 22 | — | — | 196 | — | 100 | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||||||||
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Main | US AC | US Adult | US Country | ||||
| 2000 | "Yours Forever" | — | — | — | — | — | The Perfect Storm soundtrack | |
| 2001 | "Peaceful World" (featuring India.Arie)[B] | — | 38 | 27 | 11 | — | Cuttin' Heads | |
| 2003 | "To Washington" | — | — | — | — | — | Trouble No More | |
| "Teardrops Will Fall" | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2004 | "Walk Tall" | — | — | 25 | 26 | — | Words & Music | |
| 2006 | "Our Country" | 88 | — | 16 | — | 39 | Freedom's Road | |
| 2007 | "The Americans" | — | — | — | — | 55 | ||
| "Someday" | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2008 | "My Sweet Love" | — | — | 25 | — | — | Life, Death, Love and Freedom | |
| "Troubled Land" | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2009 | "A Ride Back Home" (featuring Karen Fairchild) | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||||
| Year | Single | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | "No Better Than This" | No Better Than This |
| "Save Some Time to Dream" | ||
| 2014 | "Troubled Man" | Plain Spoken |
| 2020 | "A Pawn in the White Man's Game" | |
| 2021 | "Wasted Days" (featuring Bruce Springsteen) | Strictly a One-Eyed Jack |
| "Chasing Rainbows" | ||
| 2022 | "Did You Say Such a Thing" (featuring Bruce Springsteen) | |
| 2023 | "Hey God" | Orpheus Descending |
| "The Eyes of Portland" |
| Year | Single | Artist | Peak chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | |||||
| 1992 | "Sweet Suzanne" | Buzzin' Cousins | 68 | Falling from Grace soundtrack | |
| 2004 | "What Say You"[C] | Travis Tritt | 21 | My Honky Tonk History |
| Year | Song | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" | A Very Special Christmas | |
| 1994 | "Pink Houses" (live version) | The Unplugged Collection, Volume One | |
| 2007 | "This Land Is Your Land" | Song of America | |
| 2009 | "Pink Houses" (live version) | The Official Inaugural Celebration (DVD) |
| Year | Video | Director | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | "I Need a Lover" | David McMahon | |
| 1979 | "Miami" | Bruce Gowers | |
| 1980 | "Small Paradise" | Bruce Gowers | |
| 1980 | "This Time" | Bruce Gowers | |
| 1981 | "Ain't Even Done with the Night" | Bruce Gowers | |
| 1982 | "Hurts So Good" | Bruce Gowers | |
| 1982 | "Hand to Hold Onto" | Bruce Gowers | |
| 1982 | "Jack and Diane" | Bruce Gowers | |
| 1983 | "Crumblin' Down" | Chris Gabrin | |
| 1983 | "Pink Houses" | Chris Gabrin | |
| 1984 | "Authority Song" | Jay Dubin | |
| 1985 | "Lonely Ol' Night" | Jonathan Kaplan | |
| 1985 | "Small Town" | Jonathan Kaplan | |
| 1986 | "R.O.C.K. in the USA (A Salute to '60s Rock)" | John Mellencamp | |
| 1986 | "Rain on the Scarecrow" | Jonathan Kaplan | |
| 1986 | "Rumbleseat" | Faye Cummins | |
| 1987 | "Paper in Fire" | Jonathan Dark | |
| 1987 | "Cherry Bomb" | ||
| 1987 | "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" | ||
| 1988 | "Check It Out" | Jonathan Dark | |
| 1988 | "Rooty Toot Toot" | Jonathan Dark | |
| 1989 | "Pop Singer" | Jonathan Dark | |
| 1989 | "Jackie Brown" | John Mellencamp | |
| 1989 | "Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out)" | Wayne Maser | |
| 1991 | "Get a Leg Up" | ||
| 1991 | "Love and Happiness" | ||
| 1992 | "Again Tonight" | Dennis Virkler | |
| 1992 | "Now More Than Ever" | ||
| 1992 | "Sweet Suzanne" (Buzzin' Cousins) | Marty Callner | |
| 1993 | "Human Wheels" | ||
| 1993 | "When Jesus Left Birmingham" | ||
| 1994 | "Baby Please Don't Go" | ||
| 1994 | "Wild Night" (With Meshell Ndegeocello) | ||
| 1994 | "Dance Naked" | ||
| 1996 | "Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First)" | ||
| 1996 | "Just Another Day" | ||
| 1998 | "Your Life Is Now" | Samuel Bayer | |
| 1999 | "I'm Not Running Anymore" | Robert Duffy | |
| 2001 | "Peaceful World" (With India.Arie) | ||
| 2003 | "To Washington" | ||
| 2003 | "Teardrops Will Fall" | ||
| 2004 | "What Say You" (With Travis Tritt) | Chris Lenz | |
| 2004 | "Walk Tall" | ||
| 2006 | "Our Country" | Deaton Flanigen | |
| 2007 | "The Americans" | Eric De Fino | |
| 2008 | "My Sweet Love" | ||
| 2008 | "Troubled Land" | ||
| 2009 | "A Ride Back Home" (With Karen Fairchild) | Jamie Anderson | |
| 2010 | "No Better Than This" | Ian And Kurt Markus | |
| 2014 | "Troubled Man" | ||
| 2017 | "Easy Target" | ||
| 2020 | "A Pawn in the White Man's Game"[60] | ||
| 2021 | "Wasted Days" (With Bruce Springsteen) | ||
| 2023 | "Hey God" | ||
| 2023 | "The Eyes of Portland" |
