I Need a Lover

About I Need a Lover

"I Need a Lover" is a rock song written by John Mellencamp and first released by him under the stage name "Johnny Cougar". It appeared on his 1978 album A Biography, which was not released in the United States. After becoming a Top 10 hit in Australia, the song was later included on his 1979 follow-up album John Cougar to introduce it to U. S. audiences, and was released there as a single, becoming his first U. S. Top 40 hit when it reached No. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 in late 1979. AllMusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine described "I Need a Lover" as Mellencamp's "first good song". On his inspiration for writing "I Need a Lover", Mellencamp said: "The song's about a friend of mine who goes to Concordia College. When that song was written, he was pretty sad. He was . . . livin' in his bedroom. I told him, ‘You got to get the hell out of the house!' He'd say, ‘Man, if I only had a girl, she'd make me forget my problems.' I just said, ‘Well . . . '" Mellencamp has also stated that "I Need a Lover" was inspired by the Rolling Stones' 1972 song "Happy". more »