John Mellencamp Shares His Family’s Fun Birthday Present Tradition
John Mellencamp has given his children and grandchildren the same birthday gift every year, and the story behind it is super heartwarming.
Mellencamp shared with People that he has given his children and grandchildren money corresponding with their age every year for their birthday. So, if you’re turning 15, you’d receive $15.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame singer said of this tradition, “That started with my grandmother, who raised me, on my birthday when I was a kid in the ‘50s and ‘60s. Every birthday, however old I was, that’s how much money she would give me in dollars. So I just kept it going.”
As for how the money is delivered, Mellencamp said it “has to be singles.” People noted that his daughter Justice gifted him $73 in singles for his birthday, which was on October 7.
In other Mellencamp news: The singer-songwriter was recently honored at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind. during homecoming weekend. At the university’s IU Auditorium, a sculpture of Mellencamp was unveiled in honor of his legendary career while representing his home state of Indiana. The university is also hosting the exhibit “Crossroads: The Paintings of John Mellencamp.”
Mellencamp was in attendance at the unveiling ceremony, which was attended by hundreds of people. According to the Indianapolis Star, he and some of his bandmates played an impromptu set of “Small Town,” “Rain on the Scarecrow,” and “Jack & Diane.”
“Look, I’m Not For Everyone Anymore”
John Mellencamp is well aware he’s past his hit-making/Top 40 days of the 1980s, and he’s more than okay with that. He just wishes more fans were okay with it, too.
These days, when he’s touring as a solo headliner, Mellencamp is much more comfortable in intimate theaters. In a new interview with The Washington Post, he shared that Pete Seeger once told him, “Keep it small, but keep it going.” It’s advice he’s taken to heart, but now he has some advice for fans.
Mellencamp told WaPo that he wants people who attend his theater shows to use similar etiquette as you would when attending a Broadway show. He also noted he doesn’t really do “concerts” anymore and that his shows are more like “performances.”
In typical blunt fashion, Mellencamp said, “Look, I’m not for everyone anymore. I’m just not, and if you want to come and scream and yell and get drunk, don’t come to my show.”
