Big Daddy (John Mellencamp album)

Big Daddy
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 9, 1989
RecordedSeptember 1988–January 1989
StudioBelmont Mall (Belmont, Indiana)
Genre
Length41:43
LabelMercury
ProducerJohn Mellencamp
John Cougar Mellencamp chronology
The Lonesome Jubilee
(1987)
Big Daddy
(1989)
Whenever We Wanted
(1991)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic
Robert ChristgauB−
Hi-Fi News & Record ReviewA:1/2
Rolling Stone

Big Daddy is the tenth studio album by American singer-songwriter John Cougar Mellencamp, released in 1989 by Mercury Records. The album peaked at number seven on the Billboard 200 and contained the singles "Pop Singer" and "Jackie Brown", which peaked at No. 15 and 48, respectively, on the Billboard Hot 100. A re-mastered version of the album was released on May 24, 2005, and contains a bonus acoustic version of "Jackie Brown". Like The Lonesome Jubilee, Big Daddy is folk-inspired as violins and fiddles (among other instruments) are significantly played on a number of tracks. The album's lyrics largely take a serious tone and the album as a whole is regarded by some as Mellencamp's most reflective.

In 1991, Mellencamp said: "Big Daddy was the best record I ever made. Out of my agony came a couple of really beautiful songs. You can't be 22 years old and had two dates and understand that album."