Scarecrow

Scarecrow is the eighth studio album by John Mellencamp. Released on July 31, 1985, it peaked at number two on the US chart. The album contained three top-ten hits: "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.", which peaked at number two in the US; "Lonely Ol' Night", which peaked at number six; and "Small Town", which also peaked at number six. "Lonely Ol' Night" also peaked at number one on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, his second chart-topping single on this chart. In 1989, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Scarecrow number 95 on its list of the 100 greatest albums of the 1980s, saying: "Scarecrow consolidated the band's rugged, roots-rock thrash and the ongoing maturation of Mellencamp's lyrics." A remastered version was released May 24, 2005, on Mercury/Island/UMe and includes one bonus track. On November 4, 2022, a "deluxe" two-CD remastered and remixed version of the album was released. Background Rolling Stone also reported that the band spent a month in rehearsals, playing a hundred rock and roll songs from the 1960s before going into the studio. According to the record's producer, Don Gehman, the idea was to "learn all these devices from the past and use them in a new way with John's arrangements." The album was recorded at Mellencamp's own "Belmont Mall" studio in Belmont, Indiana.