That time I asked John Mellencamp what a heart attack feels like and he said “they don’t feel good!”

By Steve Newton

The first time I interviewed John Mellencamp was way the funk back in the spring of 1983, after he’d released his multiplatinum breakthrough album American Fool (the one with “Hurts So Good” and “Jack and Diane” on it) and before he’d released his multiplatinum followup Uh-Huh (the one with “Pink Houses” and “Authority Song” on it).

I didn’t chat with him again until 16 years later, in the spring of ’99, when he called up from a concert stop in Austin, Texas. Five years earlier the heavy smoker’s four-pack-a-day habit had led to a heart attack that had sidelined his touring schedule, so I asked him what a heart attack feels like, since I’ve often wondered.

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