John Mellencamphas accomplished a lot in his career. He’s gone to the top of the Billboard Hot 100, had a No. 1 album with 1982’s American Fool, sold millions of records, traveled around the world, and even won a Grammy award…
…not like that last one means anything to him. When recently appearing on Bill Maher’s Club Randompodcast, Mellencamp, 74, shrugged off the Grammys and the whole notion of award shows.
“I have never been to the Grammys in my life,” said Mellencamp, per Ultimate Classic Rock. John won the Best Male Rock Vocal Performance award in 1983 for “Hurts So Good,” and has since been nominated more than a dozen times.
When Maher, 70, brought up how he skipped out on this year’s Golden Globes, Mellencamp said, “Do you know what a Golden Globe is or a Grammy? It’s f—king nothing. It means nothing. It means less than nothing.”
However, Mellencamp did admit his appreciation for the Grammy Museum, which has locations in Los Angeles, Nashville, and Cleveland, Mississippi.
John Mellencamp’s Grammy Nominations
Mellencamp won the Best Male Rock Vocal Performance at the 25th Annual Grammy Awards, the same ceremony where he was nominated for Album of the Year (American Fool) and Producer of the Year. At the 27th Annual Grammy Awards in 1985, Mellencamp’s “Pink Houses” was up for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance. The following year, he was nominated in the category again for “Scarecrow.”
In 1988, Mellencamp was up for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical. In ’89, Mellencamp’s “Check It Out” video was nominated for Best Performance Music Video. At the 34th Annual Grammy Awards in 1992, Mellencamp was up for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance for his album, Whenever We Wanted.
Mellencamp’s 1994 collaboration with Me’Shell Ndegeocello, “Wild Night,” was nominated for the inaugural Best Pop Vocal Collaboration (with Vocal) category at the 37th Grammy Awards, losing to Al Green and Lyle Lovett’s “Funny How Time Slips Away.”
His “Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First)” scored him a Best Male Pop Vocal Performance nod at the 39th Grammys. He went back-to-back with Best Male Rock Vocal Performances at the 40th and 41st Grammys, with “Just Another Day” and “Your Life Is Now,” respectively. Mellencamp’s most recent nominations were in 2002 (Best Male Rock Performance, “Peaceful World”) and 2008 (Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance, “Our Country”).
Mellencamp’s Other Bold Statement
Mellencamp is not one to hold his tongue. At the start of the month, Mellencamp appeared on an episode of Real Time With Bill Maher, and dismissed his song “R.O.C.K. In The USA” as “f—king stupid and silly.”
Recently, Mellencamp announced his “The Dancing Words” tour, where he’ll perform his greatest hits in 19 cities across the United States. The tour runs between July 10, 2026, and August 12, 2026.
Related: ’80s Rock Artist Thought His Hit Was ‘Stupid and Silly,’ Before Release
This story was originally published by Parade on Feb 24, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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