Rocker JOHN MELLENCAMP is to be honoured with the ASCAP Foundation Champion Award for music in the service of humanity.
The singer/songwriter and Farm Aid founder, who has made a career out of penning hits about America's struggling farmers and those facing poverty issues, will be presented with his latest accolade at a gala evening in Manhattan, New York on 12 December (07).
A longtime activist for peace and social justice, Mellencamp has been part of the Vote for Change campaign and he recently demonstrated his support for the men and women in uniform, despite his opposition to the Iraq war, by performing a concert for 200 wounded veterans and their families at Washington's Walter Reed Hospital.
The rocker has just released a new song, Jena, in response to the racially charged situation in the Louisiana town of the same name, where African-American students have been accused of beating up a white schoolmate.
ASCAP Foundation President Marilyn Bergman says, "John Mellencamp has always been known as a people's artist, a performer who touches a common chord across class, age and regional lines."
