Although Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp first met back in the ’80s, it was in 2019 when the two musicians collaborated with Sting at his Rainforest Benefit that they would finally gel. Mellencamp said in his SiriusXM interview (via YouTube), “At the Rainforest thing, Bruce and I connected and we just started talking and the next thing you know, we’re talking all the time.”
“[H]e’s like my, like my big brother now. Now I talked to him about everything, everything, and anything,” Mellencamp said. “So it’s very fortunate that people our age can make a connection with someone else who has a similar background.”
Mellencamp also spoke to USA Today about his connection to Springsteen. “I love the guy,” Mellencamp said. “He’s been an inspiration and I told him, you made me work harder, I’ve gotta compete with that. Bruce was a blessing to me all along. Maybe I didn’t see it that way, but I do now.”
