{{About|the John Mellencamp album|other uses|Uh Huh (disambiguation){{!}}Uh Huh}} {{redirect|Authority Song|"The Authority Song" by Jimmy Eat World|Bleed American}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}} {{Infobox album | name = Uh-Huh | type = studio | artist = [[John Mellencamp|John Cougar Mellencamp]] | cover = John Cougar Mellencamp-Uh-Huh (album cover).jpg | alt = | released = {{Start date|1983|10|25}} | recorded = [[Jackson County, Indiana]]<br/>July 1983 | venue = | studio = | genre = * [[Rock music|Rock]]<ref name= "RS 2004">{{cite book |chapter=John "Cougar" Mellencamp|last= Considine|first=J.D.|title=[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide|The New Rolling Stone Album Guide]] |year=2004 |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |edition=4th |editor1-last=Brackett |editor1-first=Nathan |editor2-last=Hoard |editor2-first=Christian |isbn=0-7432-0169-8 |pages= 536–537}}</ref> * [[heartland rock]] | length = 32:59 | label = [[Riva Records|Riva]] | producer = {{hlist|[[John Mellencamp]]|[[Don Gehman]]}} | prev_title = [[The Kid Inside]] | prev_year = 1983 | next_title = [[Scarecrow (John Mellencamp album)|Scarecrow]] | next_year = 1985 | misc = {{Singles | name = Uh-Huh | type = studio | single1 = [[Crumblin' Down]] | single1date = 1983 | single2 = [[Pink Houses]] | single2date = 1983 | single3 = Serious Business | single3date = 1984 | single4 = Play Guitar | single4date = 1984 | single5 = Authority Song | single5date = 1984 }} }} {{Music ratings | rev1 = [[AllMusic]] | rev1Score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref>[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r12910|pure_url=yes}} AllMusic review]</ref> | rev2 = [[Robert Christgau]] | rev2Score = B<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=2278|title=Robert Christgau: CG: Artist 2278|website=Robertchristgau.com}}</ref> | rev3 = ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' | rev3Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/uh-huh-19831208|title=Uh-Huh|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=8 December 1983 }}</ref> }}
'''''Uh-Huh''''' is a 1983 album by [[John Mellencamp|John Cougar Mellencamp]] and a transition from his early work under the names Johnny Cougar and John Cougar. It was Mellencamp's seventh studio album and the first in which he used his real last name. It charted at No. 9 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]].
''Uh-Huh'' contains three top 20 [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] hits: "[[Crumblin' Down]]" (No. 9), "[[Pink Houses]]" (No. 8), and "Authority Song" (No. 15). In 1989, it was ranked No. 32 on ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Albums of the '80s.
The remastered version was released on March 29, 2005 on [[Mercury Records|Mercury]]/[[Island Records|Island]]/[[Universal Music Enterprises|UMe]] and includes one bonus track.<ref name=officialsite>{{cite web|url=http://www.mellencamp.com/discography.html?dd_id=38|title=John Mellencamp – Official Website :: Discography|access-date=December 30, 2012|archive-date=September 7, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120907221938/http://www.mellencamp.com/discography.html?dd_id=38|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Songwriting collaborations== John Mellencamp almost always writes all of his own material. However, ''Uh-Huh'' saw him engage in one-time collaborations with two distinctly different songwriters: the well-known [[John Prine]] on "Jackie O", and the unknown Will Cary on "Lovin' Mother fo Ya".
Of "Jackie O", Mellencamp said on ''[[The Bob & Tom Show]]'' in November 2004: "I can't take credit – John Prine wrote most of that song."
Mellencamp had written "Lovin' Mother fo Ya" and was playing it live on his 1982 American Fool Tour before it was even recorded (and before Cary had anything to do with the song). According to a 2003 article on LouisvilleMusic.com, Cary sent Mellencamp's guitarist Mike Wanchic a copy of ''Out of My Dreams'', an album he had recorded with his band the Nightcrawlers. ''Out of My Dreams'' contained a song called "Cruisin' in the Park", which Mellencamp liked. This led to a phone call regarding Mellencamp's wanting to record "Cruisin' in the Park" as the first single from ''Uh-Huh''. Cary recalled, "He ended up using the fourth verse from my song to start his song, 'Lovin Mother fo Ya'." A writing-credit deal was signed and Cary got 15% royalties for that song.
In addition, Mellencamp turned a song his hairdresser Dan Ross (also lead singer in a local Indiana band) had started into "Play Guitar". Mellencamp's guitar player, [[Larry Crane (guitarist)|Larry Crane]], added to the music of "Play Guitar", which has numerous musical similarities to [[Van Morrison]]'s "[[Gloria (Them song)|Gloria]]".
==Songs== ''[[Cash Box]]'' reviewed the single release of "Authority Song", writing, "Opening with a twanging [[Country music|country]] riff, this rocker jumps off the vinyl with the authority that Cougar-Mellencamp is singing against: 'I fight authority, and authority always wins!'"<ref name=cb>{{cite magazine|title=Reviews|magazine=Cash Box|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/80s/1984/CB-1984-03-17.pdf|date=March 17, 1984|accessdate=2022-07-23|page=8}}</ref> ''Cash Box'' especially praised the "pounding rhythm section and percussion work."<ref name=cb/>
''[[Cash Box]]'' also said that "with a resounding bass line and lyrics that bite, 'Serious Business' is the kind of all-out rocking that Mellencamp makes his own as he renders some of the finest [[Rock music|rock]] artistry around."<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Reviews|magazine=Cash Box|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/80s/1984/CB-1984-06-09.pdf|date=June 9, 1984|accessdate=2022-07-23|page=7}}</ref>
==Track listing== All songs written by John Mellencamp; except where noted.
# "[[Crumblin' Down]]" (Mellencamp, [[George Green (songwriter)|George Green]]) – 3:33 # "[[Pink Houses]]" – 4:43 # "Authority Song" – 3:49 # "Warmer Place to Sleep" (Mellencamp, Green) – 3:48 # "Jackie O" (Mellencamp, [[John Prine]]) – 3:04 # "Play Guitar" ([[Larry Crane (guitarist)|Larry Crane]], Mellencamp, Dan Ross) – 3:25 # "Serious Business" – 3:25 # "Lovin' Mother fo Ya" (Will Cary, Mellencamp) – 3:06 # "Golden Gates" – 4:04 # "Pink Houses" (acoustic version, 2005 re-issue bonus track) – 3:45
==Personnel== * [[John Mellencamp]] – vocals, guitar, tambourine * [[Larry Crane (guitarist)|Larry Crane]] – guitar * [[Kenny Aronoff]] – drums, percussion * [[Toby Myers]] – bass * Mike Wanchic – guitar, background vocals * [[Louis Johnson (bassist)|Louis Johnson]] – bass * Caroll Sue Hill – vocals * [[Maggie Ryder]] – vocals * [[Jay Ferguson (American musician)|Jay Ferguson]] – vocals
==Charts== {{col-begin}} {{col-2}}
===Weekly charts=== {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" ! scope="col"| Chart (1984) ! scope="col"| Peak<br/>position |- ! scope="row"| Australian ([[Kent Music Report]])<ref name=aus>{{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6|page=197}}</ref> |align="center"|57 |- {{album chart|Canada|9|chartid=4444a|rowheader=true|access-date=9 November 2024}} |- {{album chart|Sweden|24|artist=John Cougar Mellencamp|album=Uh-huh|rowheader=true|access-date=26 February 2025}} |- {{album chart|UK2|92|date=19840226|rowheader=true|access-date=26 February 2025}} |- {{album chart|Billboard200|9|artist=John Mellencamp|rowheader=true|accessdate=9 November 2024}} |} {{col-2}}
===Year-end charts=== {| class="wikitable sortable" !Chart (1984) !Position |- {{album chart|Canada|47|chartid=9642|access-date=11 December 2024|refname=CA_YE}} |- |US ''Billboard'' 200<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bestsellingalbums.org/year-end/Billboard_Top_Albums_1984|title=Top US Billboard 200 Albums - Year-end 1984|website=BestSellingAlbums.org|access-date=11 December 2024}}</ref> |align="center"|19 |} {{col-end}}
==Certifications== {{certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for ''Uh-huh''}} {{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|artist=John Mellencamp|title=Uh-huh|award=Platinum|number=5|type=album|relyear=1983|certyear=1992|access-date=September 7, 2024}} {{Certification Table Entry|title= Uh-huh|artist=John Mellencamp|type=album|relyear=1983|certyear=1995|region=United States|award=Platinum|number=3|access-date=September 7, 2024}} {{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}
==References== <references responsive />
{{John Mellencamp}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:1983 albums]] [[Category:Albums produced by Don Gehman]] [[Category:John Mellencamp albums]] [[Category:Riva Records albums]]