John Mellencamp Had to Tell Bob Dylan to Stop Calling Him
John Mellencamp was a fan of Bob Dylan when he was growing up. Mellencamp eventually became a successful musician himself, and he met Dylan. They became friends, and Dylan started calling Mellencamp for songwriting advice. While many people would likely appreciate a phone call from a childhood hero, Mellencamp had to tell Dylan to stop calling him.
John Mellencamp was a big fan of Bob Dylan growing up
Mellencamp grew up in Indiana and began playing in a band as a teenager. He started playing shows at bars, and it quickly became a nightly gig.
“Some people go to a bar one night a week, maybe two,” he told American Songwriter. “I was in a bar every night playing with a band.”
He was such a fan of Dylan that many of the songs he covered were from the artist.
“I was a Bob Dylan jukebox,” he says. “I could play every Bob Dylan song.”
Even after Mellencamp rose to prominence as a musician and performed his own songs, he occassionally covered Dylan in concert.
“When you put someone up against Bob Dylan, he is the only singer/songwriter,” Mellencamp said. “With Bob, it’s God’s mind to Bob’s fingers. There’s just nobody else.”
He no longer wanted late night calls from the ‘Like a Rolling Stone’ singer
Mellencamp eventually met Dylan and befriended him. He greatly admired Dylan, but eventually, Dylan started turning to him for songwriting advice. After a while, Mellencamp had to tell him to stop.
“It reminded me a little bit of when Bob Dylan used to call me up in the middle of the night and read his lyrics to me that he was working on for new records,” Mellencamp told Billboard. “And I finally told him, ‘Bob, would you quit calling me, because I’m not gonna say anything. I’m not a good sounding board because I like everything you do. I’m happy to hear this stuff, but I’m not that great of a sounding board.’”
Still, he said he was happy to be friends with one of the musicians he most admired.
“There’s very few guys I ended up admiring, musically,” he said. “Bruce [Springsteen] and Bob are definitely two of those guys, and I’m happy to say I have a good relationship with both of them.”
Bob Dylan shouted out John Mellencamp in his MusiCares speech
When Dylan was named the MusiCares Person of the Year in 2015, he mentioned Mellencamp in his speech. He referenced the song “Life is Short Even on Its Longest Days,” and called it one of the better songs in recent years. Mellencamp said the moment meant a great deal to him.
“That wink and a nod was worth more than 50 Grammys,” Mellencamp told Rolling Stone in 2017. “That came from Bob, that came from his heart. He didn’t have to f***ing say that. The girl I was with started crying. Bob doesn’t like very many people.”
