A Biography

A Biography
Studio album by Johnny Cougar
Released March 6, 1978
Recorded Wessex Studios, Basing Street Studios, AIR Studios, London, 1977–78
Genre Rock
Length 42:58
Label Riva
Producer John Punter
Johnny Cougar chronology
The Kid Inside
(1977)		 A Biography
(1978)		 John Cougar
(1979)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]

A Biography is John Mellencamp's third album, and the final album credited to his then-stage name "Johnny Cougar". Recorded in London, it was released in the U.K. and Australia by Riva Records on March 6, 1978.

Due to poor sales of Mellencamp's previous two efforts, A Biography did not receive a US release upon its 1978 debut. Two of its tracks, "Taxi Dancer" and the single "I Need a Lover", were on his 1979 album John Cougar which was released in the US.

In Australia, however, "I Need a Lover" became a huge hit, with the result that Mellencamp's career got its first start Allmusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine has described "I Need a Lover" as Mellencamp's "first good song."[2]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by John Mellencamp. 

Side One
No. Title Length
1. "Born Reckless"   4:35
2. "Factory"   3:02
3. "Night Slumming"   4:40
4. "Taxi Dancer"   4:05
5. "I Need a Lover"   5:37
Side Two
No. Title Length
1. "Alley of the Angels"   3:58
2. "High C Cherrie"   4:58
3. "Where the Sidewalk Ends"   3:56
4. "Let Them Run Your Lives"   5:55
5. "Goodnight"   2:05

Personnel

References

  1. ^ Allmusic review
  2. ^ "John Cougar: A Biography: review". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/a-biography-r34027. Retrieved October 21, 2010. 
John Mellencamp
Studio albums
Chestnut Street Incident (1976)  · The Kid Inside (1977)  · A Biography (1978) · John Cougar (1979)  · Nothin' Matters and What If It Did (1980)  · American Fool (1982) · Uh-Huh (1983)  · Scarecrow (1985)  · The Lonesome Jubilee (1987)  · Big Daddy (1989)  · Whenever We Wanted (1991)  · Human Wheels (1993)  · Dance Naked (1994)  · Mr. Happy Go Lucky (1996) · John Mellencamp (1998) · Rough Harvest (1999)  · Cuttin' Heads (2001) · Trouble No More (2003) · Freedom's Road (2007) · Life, Death, Love and Freedom (2008) · No Better Than This (2010)
Live albums
Compilations
The Best That I Could Do 1978–1988 (1997)  · Words & Music: John Mellencamp's Greatest Hits (2004)  · 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best of John Mellencamp (2007)  · On the Rural Route 7609 (2010)
Singles
Other