John Mellencamp Says Bruce Springsteen Made Him Work Harder

John Mellencamp spoke candidly about his relationship with Bruce Springsteen and their recent collaboration, which includes the pair's new duet, “Wasted Days.”

While chatting with SiriusXM’s E Street Radio, Mellancamp recalled the first time the two shared a stage back in the day: “In the '80s, I was playing down in Laguna Beach, (California). Bruce came up on stage with me and played 'Way Back Then.' I’ve played with a lot of people, but I always thought the one thing that I had going for me was on stage, that I had a certain charisma on stage and that, that's how we got over, because I wasn't afraid to make a fool of myself.”

He went on to recall: “Bruce came on stage. . . And I remember this, he was the only guy that I ever sang with — and I've sang with a lot of people — that I could feel his presence next to mine. I always felt like, y'know, whoever I was singing with that I was overshadowing them because of my presence. But when Springsteen came on stage, it was like, 'Jesus Christ, this guy’s got some energy.'”

Mellencamp went on to discuss his long relationship with “The Boss”: “I would consider Bruce, now, one of my better friends in the music business. Bruce and I talk quite a bit. He and I relate to each other because we've had similar experiences of growing up in a small town, and y'know, starting out, and being bandleaders. 'Cause, y'know, Bruce — y'know, for guys like me — I'm a couple of years younger than him — he put down a big footprint, y'know, and he said, 'Fill it.' And it inspired a lot of guys to work a little bit harder.”