Trouble No More is American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

 and musician John Mellencamp

John Mellencamp

John Mellencamp, previously known by the stage names Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American rock singer-songwriter, musician, painter and occasional actor known for his catchy, populist brand of heartland rock that eschews synthesizers and other artificial sounds...

's eighteenth full-length album and his final recording for Columbia Records

Columbia Records

Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...

, released in 2003. It consists of blues and folk covers.

A re-working of "To Washington" featuring new lyrics critical of President George W. Bush

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

 and the Iraq War, generated much controversy upon the album's release.

In addition to the album, a documentary titled "Trouble No More: The Making of a John Mellencamp Album" was produced and directed by Ron Osgood, along with students from his documentary course at Indiana University. The documentary won a Regional Emmy and several small festival awards in 2004 and 2005.

Track listing

1. "Stones in My Passway" (Johnson)
2. "Death Letter
   Death Letter
   "Death Letter", also known as "Death Letter Blues", is the signature song of the Delta blues musician Son House. It is structured upon House's earlier recording "My Black Mama, Part 2" from 1930...
   
   " (House
   Son House
   Eddie James "Son" House, Jr. was an American blues singer and guitarist. House pioneered an innovative style featuring strong, repetitive rhythms, often played with the aid of slide guitar, and his singing often incorporated elements of southern gospel and spiritual music...
   
   )
3. "Johnny Hart" (Guthrie
   Woody Guthrie
   Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
   
   )
4. "Baltimore Oriole" (Carmichael
   Hoagy Carmichael
   Howard Hoagland "Hoagy" Carmichael was an American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader. He is best known for writing "Stardust", "Georgia On My Mind", "The Nearness of You", and "Heart and Soul", four of the most-recorded American songs of all time.Alec Wilder, in his study of the...
   
   /Webster
   Paul Francis Webster
   Paul Francis Webster was an American lyricist who won three Academy Awards for Best Song and was nominated sixteen times for the award.-Biography:...
   
   )
5. "Teardrops Will Fall" (Allard/Smith)
6. "Diamond Joe" (Traditional; new lyrics by Mellencamp)
7. "The End of the World" (Dee
   Sylvia Dee
   Sylvia Dee was an American songwriter and novelist best known for penning the lyrics to "Too Young", a hit for Nat King Cole, and "The End of the World", a hit for Skeeter Davis...
   
   /Kent)
8. "Down in the Bottom" (Dixon
   Willie Dixon
   William James "Willie" Dixon was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. A Grammy Award winner who was proficient on both the Upright bass and the guitar, as well as his own singing voice, Dixon is arguably best known as one of the most prolific songwriters...
   
   )
9. "Lafayette" (Williams
   Lucinda Williams
   Lucinda Williams is an American rock, folk, blues and country music singer and songwriter. She recorded her first albums in 1978 and 1980 in a traditional country and blues style and received very little attention from radio, the media, or the public. In 1988, she released her self-titled album,...
   
   )
10. "Joliet Bound" (McCoy
    Kansas Joe McCoy
    Kansas Joe McCoy was an African American Delta blues musician and songwriter.-Career:McCoy played music under a variety of stage names but is best known as "Kansas Joe McCoy". Born in Raymond, Mississippi, he was the older brother of the blues accompanist Papa Charlie McCoy...
    
    /McCoy
    Memphis Minnie
    Memphis Minnie was an American blues guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. She was the only female blues artist considered a match to male contemporaries as both a singer and an instrumentalist.-Career:...
    
    )
11. "John the Revelator
    John the Revelator (song)
    "John the Revelator" is a traditional Gospel/blues call and response song. In the chorus, John of Patmos, the traditional author of the Book of Revelation, is writing "the book of the seven seals." At the time of the song's composition , John of Patmos was generally considered the same person as...
    
    " (Traditional)
12. "To Washington" (Traditional; new lyrics by Mellencamp)

Personnel

• John Mellencamp – vocals, guitar
• Andy York – guitars, bass
• Dane Clark – drums, percussion
• Miriam Sturm – violin, viola
• Michael Ramos – accordion, organ
• Toby Myers – upright bass
• John Gunnell – electric bass
• Pat Peterson – background vocals, tambourine
• Courtney Kaiser – background vocals, tambourine
• Heather Headley
  Heather Headley
  Heather Headley is a Trinidadian-American R&B and soul singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She has won one Tony Award and one Grammy Award.-Personal life:...
  
   – background vocals
• Janas Hoyt – background vocals
• Michael Clark – pedal steel
• T. Blayde – kazoo

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year	Chart	Position
June 21, 2003	The Billboard 200	31

DVD

Trouble No More: The Making Of A John Mellencamp Album:

A rare inside look inside the studio during the recording of John Mellencamp's new album. "Trouble No More" consists of a collection of historic blues, folk and American roots music. With over 120 hours of footage, the documentary provides an intimate look at the making of the album.

Production

• Producer and Director: Ron Osgood
• Associate Producer: Will Deloney
• Assistant Directors: Matt Bockelman, Brian Rogat
• Head Writer: Chris Booker
• Senior Photographer: Ron Prickel
• Location Sound: Stuart Notion
• Graphics and Effects: Abbie Harmon, Scott Carmichael
• Post-Production Sound: Charlie Hoyt
• Special Thanks: Indiana University
• Booklet Photos: Elaine Mellencamp
• Design: Design Monsters
• Management: Hoffman Entertainment
• publicity: Bob Merlis/M.f.h.