The Sound of Indiana

Music has been around for a long time. It's what people bond over, and relate to. It is a big part of many people's lives. The same can be said about Indiana. However, when you put music and Indiana together, you get some of the most influential and famous musicians. Cole Porter, John Mellencamp, Michael Jackson, Axl Rose, and Janet Jackson will be featured here.

Cole Porter was born in 1891 to one of the wealthiest families in the state. His music career did begin in Indiana. By the age of eight, he had already mastered playing the piano and violin. His mother helped him write his first operetta. His father was a poet, and he might have influenced Porter’s unique rhyming ability. However, when it was time for college, his grandfather wanted him to become a lawyer. He sent him off to attend Worcester Academy, and later Yale. At both schools, he preferred to play piano. He never became a lawyer, and instead he went on to become one of the most iconic American composers. While he never returned to Indiana, it was said he ordered fudge from his hometown to be delivered to his house. His songs were durable across generations. His lyrics have been described as “urbane and witty” while the melodies have been said to have a “sinuous, brooding quality”. His most famous works were in “Paris”, “Anything Goes”, and “Kiss Me, Kate”. Some of those musicals have been remade and done on stages even to this day. “Kiss Me, Kate” has even had a film adaptation made from it. Cole Porter has made classics, and his music has inspired many others that came after him.

His old house has been turned into apartments, which were poorly maintained, and in 2003 the police found a methamphetamine lab in one of the apartments. But, in 2004, the Ole Olsen Memorial Theatre purchased the building. They wanted to restore the home. It is now a renovated structure that doubles as a museum. His memory and connection to Indiana will never be forgotten thanks to this building.

John Mellencamp was born in the small town of Seymour, Indiana. When he was younger, he had to have neonatal surgery to fix a spinal defect. He developed an early interest in music, and often didn’t focus on school. He was a rebellious teen, and often partied. At 18, he enrolled in Vincennes University and attempted to get a steady job before pursuing music. He recorded many demos and took them to NYC. After many failures, manager Tony DeFries picked him up and decided to change Mellencamp’s last name to Cougar, because he thought it would make him more appealing. His first album didn’t sell many copies. Mellencamp was viewed then as a lesser version of Bruce Springsteen or Bob Seger. His second album was never released, and he parted ways with DeFries. Later, his song “I Need a Lover” became a hit in Australia and reached the Top 30 Tracks in the US.

His big breakthrough came in 1982, when he released the chart-topping album American Fool. He won the Grammy for Best Rock Vocal Performance for the song “Hurts So Good”. His next albums continued to be popular, and he made his most iconic songs. Some of them are “Jack and Diane”, “Pink Houses”, “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.”, “Authority Song”, and “Rain on the Scarecrow”. He eventually changed his stage name to John Cougar Mellencamp, and was getting strong critical acclaim for his songwriting abilities. He was a co-founder of Farm Aid, and organized its first concert in 1985. Flash forward to 2008, and he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. However, in this year he also found his songs being used in politics. He was known to be a Democratic supporter, and he had his representatives ask Republican presidential candidate John McCain to stop playing his songs “Our Country” and “Pink Houses” at his rallies. After this, he even wrote some songs for a musical, collaborating with Stephen King. He still lives in Indiana, staying close to his hometown. 

Lately, he donated $50,000 for construction of a plaza near a mural that pays homage to him. The mural was completed by artist Pamela Bliss and features a 35 foot image of Mellencamp leaning on a guitar. The plaza is a friendlier and easier way to get pictures of the mural, which Mellencamp signed with his initials.

He has influenced many other musicians, such as the band Jimmy Eat World, who has a song called “The Authority Song” which references Mellencamp’s “Authority Song”. Jimmy Eat World is personally one of my favorite bands, and I have heard of some of Mellencap’s songs.

Fun Fact: Small Town was written about Seymour, Indiana.

Michael Jackson was born in 1958 in Gary, Indiana. He first started in the group the Jackson 5, with some of his other siblings. Motown records signed them in 1969, and the Jackson 5 became an immediate success. They scored 4 consecutive number one pop hits. The family’s string of hits with Motown lasted until 1975. They moved to Epic Records as the Jacksons, and eventually Michael broke off and started his solo career.

His first solo album was titled Off The Wall and it was the best-selling album of the year it came out. It showcased Michael’s energetic style and the contemporary disco dance fad of the time. Three years later he released the album Thriller, which featured an array of guest stars and won a record-setting eight Grammys. The singles off the album included “The Girl is Mine”, which was a duet with Paul McCartney, “Billie Jean”, which was where the famed moonwalk came from, and “Beat It”, which featured a solo from the guitarist Eddie Van Halen. “Beat It” is said to help break down the artificial barriers between black and white artists on the radio. 

By 1984 he was renowned worldwide as “The King of Pop”. In 1985 he co wrote “We Are the World” With Lionel Richie for USA for Africa. Two other solo albums solidified his dominance in the industry of pop music. The Jackson 5 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, and Michael Jackson shortly followed in 2001.

He has influenced many people, such as current pop stars. Even with his fashion and dancing, he has influenced many with his weird style.

Axl Rose, (born William Bruce Rose Jr.) was born in 1962 in Lafayette, Indiana. During his teenage years, he was frequently in trouble with the police and spent time in jail. Eventually, he hitchhiked to California and dropped out of high school. In 1982, he joined the band AXL. The experience was so all-consuming that he legally changed his name to W. Axl Rose. He eventually formed Guns N’ Roses, with their debut album releasing in 1987. The band was successful, and he became an admired but controversial musical artist. He was thought to be one of the most charismatic and successful lead singers of all time. However, he was frequently late to performances, and he was accused of being racist and homophobic because of the lyrics to “One in a Million”. 

After 2 people died while slam-dancing to GNR’s “It’s So Easy”, Rose became known for stopping shows to deal with unruly fans. On the Use Your Illusion Tour, his ranting, raving, and walk-offs from the stage became more frequent. After their performance on that tour in 1993, the band went dormant.

As life went on, he got into some controversies, and became a recluse. All of the original band members except for Rose left GNR. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, but he was not in attendance. However, 4 years later, it was announced that GNR would be coming back for a reunion tour. The tour sold 4.3 million tickets in 2017, making it third place in highest grossing tours since 1990.

“ "People that I used to go to school with, people that used to hate my guts, want me to invest money in this and that. People say (things) like ‘Axl thinks he's too cool to party with us.’ But those people never wanted to party with me before,” Rose, talking about Indiana to Rolling Stone magazine in 1989.”

Guns N’ Roses paved the way for many other rock bands in the future. They’ve inspired those such as Avenged Sevenfold, The Strokes, and even Fall Out Boy.

Janet Jackson was the 9th child in the family, and she was born in 1966. 

““I wrote my very first song when I was 9. ‘Fantasy’ is the title. I remember being a kid and my brother Randy, my brother Mike and myself, we have our chores to do after dinner, especially, I remember one night in particular, I was doing dishes, I think Mike was sweeping the floor. And Randy was cleaning off the tables and all the countertops. And that's how we would always create music. We could come up with melodies and then we would add lyrics to them. And we would sing a three part-harmony," Jackson, on “Larry King Live” in 2010.”

However, Janet didn’t start out as a musician. She was a regular on the comedy TV show Good Times, and later as a teenager she was on the dance oriented series Fame. 

When she got into music, her first two albums did not do so well. Following those albums, she took control of her career, moved out on her own, and developed her own sound and influential style. She came back in 1986 with her breakthrough record Control, which featured 5 singles that topped the rhythm and blues charts. Her fierce independence struck a chord with the youth, and she rose to stardom. She had “bold, beat-heavy, catchy songs that defined the punch and power of 1980s dance and pop music”. 

She had a couple more albums, and performed at the Superbowl Halftime in 2004. After some more albums, and one considered her comeback album, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019. In addition to her music career, she continued to act, and was in some movies. 

She is very influential, especially towards women, because of her fierce independence, as stated before.

In conclusion, many famous musicians got started in the state of Indiana. Some of these are extremely influential to other musicians, and helped them get started. These musicians show that it doesn't matter where you started, but how you got there.

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“Icons Highlight IndyStar List of Top 25 Indiana Musicians of All Time.” Indianapolis Star,  https://www.indystar.com/story/entertainment/music/2017/09/25/new-2017-top-25-indiana-musicians-all-time/639839001/ . Accessed 24 Apr. 2020.

“EDITORIAL: Cole Porter Museum Gives Indiana Another Attraction.” Herald Bulletin,  https://www.heraldbulletin.com/opinion/editorial-cole-porter-museum-gives-indiana-another-attraction/article_1020e664-6d4a-5fd0-a037-1808766ab278.html . Accessed 6 May 2020.

“John Mellencamp.” Biography,  https://www.biography.com/musician/john-mellencamp . Accessed 24 Apr. 2020.

“Rocker John Mellencamp Gives $50K to His Indiana Hometown.” WTOP, 4 Jan. 2020,  https://wtop.com/national/2020/01/rocker-john-mellencamp-gives-50k-to-his-indiana-hometown/ .

Southern Indiana Center For The Arts.  http://www.soinart.com/ . Accessed 24 Apr. 2020.

Britannica School.  https://school.eb.com/?target=%2Flevels%2Fhigh%2Farticle%2FMichael-Jackson%2F2498.  Accessed 24 Apr. 2020.

“Axl Rose.” Biography,  https://www.biography.com/musician/axl-rose . Accessed 24 Apr. 2020.

AdamSG. “What Bands Have Been Inspired by Guns N’ Roses | Article.” Sounds Good, 4 Dec. 2017,  https://soundsgoodblg.com/2017/12/04/what-bands-have-been-inspired-by-guns-n-roses-article/ .

Britannica School.  https://school.eb.com/?target=%2Flevels%2Fhigh%2Farticle%2FJanet-Jackson%2F106232 . Accessed 24 Apr. 2020.

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YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1w7OgIMMRc4 . Accessed 6 May 2020.

YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAwaNWGLM0c . Accessed 6 May 2020.