John Mellencamp's 5×-platinum 1985 album Scarecrow yielded three Top 10 hits: “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.” (#2), “Small Town” (#6), and “Lonely Ol' Night” (#6).
Mellencamp perfected his heartland rock with Scarecrow, a loose concept album about lost innocence and the crumbling of small-town America. His writing has never been more powerful.
“Rain on the Scarecrow” and “Small Town” campture the hopes and fears of Middle America, while “Lonely Ol Night and "Rumbleseat” effortlessly convey the desperate loneliness of being stuck in a dead-end life.