Mellencamp is also one of the founders of Farm Aid, an organization that began in 1985 with a concert in Champaign, Illinois to raise awareness about the loss of family farms and to raise funds to keep farm families on their land. The Farm Aid concerts have been held annually for the past 25 years, from 2010, the organization has raised over 39 million dollars to promote a strong and resilient family farm system of agriculture.
Mellencamp had enough influence to force the label to add to his real surname for his stage moniker. The first album he recorded as John Cougar Mellencamp was 1983 Uh-Huh, a Top-10 album, which started in the Top 10 singles "Pink Houses", "Crumblin 'Down" and the No. 14 hit "Authority Song" which he said , our version of "I fought the law".
