Video Classics: 'Pink Houses' - John Cougar Mellencamp

To honor WNEW's legendary Firecracker 500, every day we are highlighting the music that populated the 1991 and 1996 lists, with classic videos, live performances and little-known facts about the songs and how they came to be...

Really, how hard is it to make a rock song that is unabashedly positive about America? Pretty hard, apparently, with everyone from Bob Dylan to the Rolling Stones taking time to offer up cynical, downbeat takes on what they see as this country's shortcomings. Even Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA isn't a very positive piece, despite many peoples' misinterpretations over the years.

Even John Cougar Mellencamp's song Pink Houses has its points to make about income disparities and the different experiences different people face in America each day.  Still, it is less critical than some, and with Independence Day falling on a Saturday, this year, Video Classics takes today to present a song that almost goes someplace where many rock performers seem uncomfortable going (though many country performers practically live there) ... the land of Good Things About the USA:

Mellencamp's (more or less) ode to America isn't unconditionally available to all Americans, however. A liberal Democrat, Mellencamp denied Ronald Reagan permission to use Pink Houses for his 1984 campaign, and insisted recently that John McCain stop using it for his commercials, leaving Republicans to search elsewhere for their campaign music (most likely country stations).

First appearing on his 1983 album, Uh-Huh, Pink Houses appears on the 1991 Firecracker 500 at spot #278 and the 1996 list at spot #415.

Have memories of this song or the Firecracker 500? Add your thoughts to the comments below or take a look at Video Classics past...