''Chestnut Street Incident'' is the debut studio album by John Mellencamp, then known as "Johnny Cougar," released in 1976. Signing on with David Bowie's manager, Tony Defries, Mellencamp travelled to New York City to cut this first album. DeFries would also go on to produce the album as well. With the thinking that a name like "Mellencamp" wouldn't generate a lot of interest, DeFries changed Mellencamp's name to "Johnny Cougar." Mellencamp would later go on to say that he had no idea about the name change until he saw the final product and that nobody had ever called him "Johnny" before. It would take Mellencamp 15 years to have his full real name on an album, ''

Whenever We Wanted ''Whenever We Wanted'' is American singer-songwriter and musician John Mellencamp's 11th album, and the first to be credited simply to Mellencamp's given name (i.e., without the "Cougar" name). The album reached the top 20 and went platinum. It ...

'', in 1991. With five of the tracks covers from the '50s and '60s, only six are original songs by Mellencamp. The 1998 Original Masters rerelease added two bonus songs that were also covers. The album only sold 12,000 copies when it was originally released, which would lead to MCA's refusal to release his next album, ''

The Kid Inside ''The Kid Inside'' is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter John Mellencamp. It was released January 27, 1983 by MainMan Records. It was recorded in 1977 for MCA Records and was intended to be the follow-up to his debut album ''Ch ...

'', and drop Mellencamp. The 2009 CD reissue by

Cherry Red Records Cherry Red Records is a British independent record label founded in Malvern, Worcestershire by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything But the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and Felt, among others, as well ...

added six bonus tracks recorded during the original album sessions.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Johnny Cougar (a.k.a. John Mellencamp); except where indicated # "American Dream" – 2:21 # " Oh, Pretty Woman" ( Bill Dees,

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as ...

) – 2:54 # " Jailhouse Rock" ( Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller) – 2:11 # "Dream Killing Town" (Cougar, George M. Green) – 3:20 # "Supergirl" (Aldo Legui, Bob Marcus) – 2:37 # "Chestnut Street" – 3:18 # "Good Girls" – 3:09 # " Do You Believe in Magic?" ( John Sebastian) – 2:38 # "Twentieth Century Fox" ( John Densmore, Robby Krieger,

Ray Manzarek Raymond Daniel Manzarek Jr. (né Manczarek; February 12, 1939 – May 20, 2013) was an American keyboardist. He is best known as a member of the Doors, co-founding the band with singer and lyricist Jim Morrison in 1965. Manzarek was induct ...

, Jim Morrison) – 2:14 # "Chestnut Street Revisited" – 5:22 # "Sad Lady" (Cougar, George M. Green) – 3:26

1998 CD bonus tracks

# " Hit the Road Jack" (

Percy Mayfield Percy Mayfield (August 12, 1920August 11, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues singer with a smooth vocal style. He also was a songwriter, known for the songs " Please Send Me Someone to Love" and "Hit the Road Jack", the latter being a song ...

) – 2:32 # " I Need Somebody Baby" (

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of ...

, James Williamson) – 3:43

2009 CD bonus tracks

# " Man Who Sold the World" ( David Bowie) - 2:28 # "Little Heroes" - 2:47 # "Hit the Road Jack" (Percy Mayfield) - 2:32 # " Kicks" (

Barry Mann Barry Mann (born Barry Imberman; February 9, 1939) is an American songwriter and musician, and part of a successful songwriting partnership with his wife, Cynthia Weil. He has written or co-written 53 hits in the UK and 98 in the US. Early li ...

Cynthia Weil Cynthia Weil (born October 18, 1940) is an American songwriter who wrote many songs together with her husband Barry Mann. Life and career Weil was born in New York City, and was raised in a Conservative Jewish family. Her father was Morris Wei ...

)- 2:35 # "Need Somebody Baby" (Iggy Pop, James Williamson) - 3:43 # "When I Was Young" - 2:38

Personnel

* John Mellencamp – vocals, guitar * Mike Boyer, Richard Kelly, Mick Ronson, Mike Wanchic – guitars * David Mansfield – steel guitar, mandolin, violin * Michael Kamen – keyboards * Tom Wince – keyboards, chimes * Kirk Butler – synthesizer, percussion, engineer * David Parman - bass, guitar, backing vocals * Wayne Hall – saxophone * Bill Bergman, Jerome Deupree,

Hilly Michaels Hilly Michaels, also known as Hilly Boy Michaels, is an American drummer and musician who is best known for playing drums with Sparks in the 1970s. Then a New York-based session drummer, he performed on Sparks' 1976 album ''Big Beat'', which was ...

– drums ;Technical * Tony Defries - producer * James J. C. Andrews - co-producer * Bruce Tergesen - engineer

References

;Online resources * * * * *

External links

* {{Authority control John Mellencamp albums 1976 debut albums MCA Records albums Covers albums Albums produced by Tony Defries