Wednesday, October 7: Rock n Roll Birthdays

Happy Birthday today (Oct. 7) to rocker John Mellencamp. He’s 64. Also celebrating today is drummer Tico Torres of Bon Jovi (62), original Kansas bassist Dave Hope (66), and singer Marc Storace from Krokus (64).

John Mellencamp rose to fame in the 1980's with a string of Top 10 singles, starting in 1982. Songs like 'Hurts So Good', 'Jack & Diane', 'Crumblin' Down', 'Pink Houses', 'Lonely Ol' Night', 'Small Town', 'Paper in Fire', 'Cherry Bomb', and 'R.O.C.K. in the USA' were among his 22 Top 40 hits in the U.S. He has been nominated for 13 Grammy Awards, only winning once. His latest Album 'Plain Spoken' was released in 2014.

Mellencamp is one of the founders of Farm Aid, which was started in 1985 to raise money for American farmers and their families. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008.