R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. - Wikipedia R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. `` R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. ( A Salute to 60 's Rock ) '' Single by John Cougar Mellencamp from the album Scarecrow A-side `` R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. '' B - side `` Under the Boardwalk '' Released 1986 Format 7 '' 45 RPM Recorded April 25, 1985 at Belmont Mall, Belmont, Indiana Genre Rock Length 2 : 55 2 : 48 ( 7 `` ) Label Riva Songwriter ( s ) John Mellencamp Producer ( s ) John Mellencamp ( a.k.a. `` Little Bastard '' ), Don Gehman John Cougar Mellencamp singles chronology `` Small Town '' ( 1985 ) `` R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. ( A Salute to 60 's Rock ) '' ( 1986 ) `` Rain on the Scarecrow '' ( 1986 ) `` Small Town '' ( 1985 ) `` R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. '' ( 1986 ) `` Rain on the Scarecrow '' ( 1986 ) Music video `` R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. '' on YouTube `` R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. '', subtitled `` A Salute to 60 's Rock, '' is a rock song written and performed by John Mellencamp. It was the third single from his 1985 album Scarecrow and a top - ten hit on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Top Rock Tracks charts. Contents 1 Background & recording 2 Chart performance 2.1 Year - End charts 3 Music video 4 Appearances 5 References Background & recording According to Mellencamp biography Born in a Small Town, Mellencamp was initially reluctant to include `` R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. '' on Scarecrow, feeling the song was too light - hearted to include alongside the otherwise grim songs such as `` Rain on the Scarecrow '' and `` Face of the Nation. '' Mellencamp told Timothy White in a 1986 article for the Illinois Entertainer of his decision to include `` R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. '' on Scarecrow : `` It was one of those absolute last - split - second decisions. I was only including it on the cassette and CD copies of Scarecrow as a bonus party track, but my manager loved the energy of it and I thought, ' Yeah ! What the hell ! ' '' Mellencamp required his band to learn how to play hundreds of songs from the 1960s before recording Scarecrow, and the song includes several direct musical references to 1960s songs, including The Troggs ' `` Wild Thing. '' The song was recorded at Belmont Mall in Belmont, Indiana. The recording was produced by Mellencamp ( under the alias `` Little Bastard '' ) and Don Gehman, engineered by Gehman and Greg Edward ; backing Mellencamp on the recording were Kenny Aronoff ( drums ), Toby Myers ( bass ), Mike Wanchic ( guitars, background vocals ), Larry Crane ( guitars, flutophone ), John Cascella ( keyboards ), and Sarah Flint ( background vocals ). Chart performance `` R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. '' was the third single from Scarecrow, following `` Lonely Ol ' Night '' and `` Small Town. '' Like the previous two singles, it was a Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, entering the Top 40 on February 15, 1986 and peaking at # 2, coincidentally behind Falco 's `` Rock Me Amadeus. '' The song also reached # 6 on the Top Rock Tracks chart in October 1985. In Australia, the single effectively became a double - A side when the B - side `` Under the Boardwalk '' received significant airplay and both tracks were listed together on the singles chart, reaching # 18. Chart ( 1986 ) Peak position Australia ( Australian Music Report ) 18 Canada ( RPM ) 7 United Kingdom ( Top 100 ) 67 Billboard Hot 100 New Zealand ( Top 50 ) Netherlands ( Top 100 ) 42 Year - End charts End of year chart ( 1986 ) Position U.S. Billboard Hot 100 66 Music video A music video for the single was released in 1986. The video was directed by Mellencamp and Faye Cummings, and it was filmed using a kinescope camera. It featured an African American - vocal group and a Caucasian - instrumental group with the two groups playing together at the end of the video. Appearances During George W. Bush 's first presidential campaign, `` R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. '' was played at a campaign event. While Mellencamp had denied the request of President Ronald Reagan to use `` Pink Houses '' as a campaign song in 1984, he expressed reluctance to object to Bush 's use of `` R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. '' at the event, telling Rolling Stone that despite his opposition to Bush 's political positions, `` I do n't see any sense in being silly about it. It 's entertainment. It 's a song. '' `` R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. '' has appeared on a number of Mellencamp compilations, including 1997 's The Best That I Could Do 1978 -- 1988 and 2004 's Words & Music : John Mellencamp 's Greatest Hits. During the first Gulf War Howard Stern produced a song parody, `` K-I-L-L Colonel Gaddafi '', about Libya 's unstable dictator. The song was used in a Nissan commercial in 2017. References ^ Jump up to : The Best That I Could Do 1978 -- 1988 ( CD liner ). John Mellencamp. U.S.A. : Mercury Records. 1997. p. 11. 314 536 738 - 2. ^ Jump up to : Johnson, Heather ( November 1, 2007 ). Born In A Small Town. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8256 - 7336 - 8. ^ Jump up to : Whitburn, Joel ( 2004 ). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits ( 8th Edition ). Billboard Books. p. 419. ISBN 0 - 8230 - 7499 - 4. Jump up ^ `` John Mellencamp : Billboard Singles ''. allmusic. Retrieved November 7, 2010. ^ Jump up to : Kent, David ( 1993 ). Australian Chart Book 1970 -- 1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0 - 646 - 11917 - 6. Jump up ^ http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.0658&type=2&interval=50&PHPSESSID=m89iq841abagb37ld9c0fdc1f3 Jump up ^ http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=13331 Jump up ^ http://charts.org.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=John+Cougar+Mellencamp&titel=R%2EO%2EC%2EK%2E+In+The+U%2ES%2EA%2E&cat=s Jump up ^ http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=John+Cougar+Mellencamp&titel=R%2EO%2EC%2EK%2E+In+The+U%2ES%2EA%2E&cat=s Jump up ^ White, Timothy ( 1997 ). `` Who 's to Say the Way a Man Should Spend His Days : The First Two Hundred Years of the John Mellencamp Story ''. The Best That I Could Do 1978 -- 1988 ( CD liner ). John Mellencamp. U.S.A. : Mercury Records. p. 4. 314 536 738 - 2. Jump up ^ `` John Mellencamp : R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. ''. allmusic. Retrieved November 7, 2010. Jump up ^ https://www.ispot.tv/ad/wnVb/nissan-americas-best-sales-event-rock-song-by-john-mellencamp John Mellencamp Studio albums Chestnut Street Incident ( 1976 ) A Biography ( 1978 ) John Cougar ( 1979 ) Nothin ' Matters and What If It Did ( 1980 ) American Fool ( 1982 ) The Kid Inside ( 1983 ) Uh - Huh ( 1983 ) Scarecrow ( 1985 ) The Lonesome Jubilee ( 1987 ) Big Daddy ( 1989 ) Whenever We Wanted ( 1991 ) Human Wheels ( 1993 ) Dance Naked ( 1994 ) Mr. Happy Go Lucky ( 1996 ) John Mellencamp ( 1998 ) Rough Harvest ( 1999 ) Cuttin ' Heads ( 2001 ) Trouble No More ( 2003 ) Freedom 's Road ( 2007 ) Life, Death, Love and Freedom ( 2008 ) No Better Than This ( 2010 ) Plain Spoken ( 2014 ) Sad Clowns & Hillbillies ( 2017 ) Live albums Life, Death, Live and Freedom ( 2009 ) Trouble No More Live at Town Hall ( 2014 ) Compilations The Best That I Could Do 1978 -- 1988 ( 1997 ) Words & Music : John Mellencamp 's Greatest Hits ( 2004 ) 20th Century Masters : The Millennium Collection : The Best of John Mellencamp ( 2007 ) On the Rural Route 7609 ( 2010 ) Notable singles `` I Need a Lover '' `` Hurts So Good '' `` Jack & Diane '' `` Crumblin ' Down '' `` Pink Houses '' `` Lonely Ol ' Night '' `` Small Town '' `` R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. '' `` Paper in Fire '' `` Cherry Bomb '' `` Check It Out '' `` Wild Night '' `` Dance Naked '' `` Key West Intermezzo ( I Saw You First ) '' `` Just Another Day '' `` Peaceful World '' `` Walk Tall '' `` Our Country '' `` My Sweet Love '' Other singles `` What Say You '' ( with Travis Tritt ) Related Discography Farm Aid Falling from Grace ( 1992 ) Ghost Brothers of Darkland County ( 2012 ) Elaine Irwin ( former wife ) Book : John Mellencamp Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=R.O.C.K._in_the_U.S.A.&oldid=791771628 '' Categories : 1986 singles 1986 songs John Mellencamp songs Riva Records singles Songs written by John Mellencamp Song recordings produced by Don Gehman Songs about music Hidden categories : Articles with hAudio microformats Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 22 July 2017, at 11 : 38. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. 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Question: who sang r o c k in the usa
Answer: John Mellencamp