It finally saw the light of day (at least in the US) on the John Cougar album, on account of being a success in Australia. The record wasn't released in the United States, but it yielded a top-five hit in Australia with "I Need a Lover". Once "I Need a Lover" became an Australian hit, Riva in America decided to release John Cougar's eponymous fourth album, adding the song to the record as well. The 1980 album track Cheap Shot contained gripes about the name change. Watch the video for I Need A Lover from John Mellencamp's Words & Music: John Mellencamp's Greatest Hits for free, and see the artwork, lyrics and similar artists. View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1979 Vinyl release of " The song climbed to #28 in December 1979 and earned Mellencamp another album. 28 single in late 1979. The singer says that at the time, he was worried that he was already washed up. I Need a Lover Lyrics: I need a lover that won't drive me crazy / (I need a lover that won't drive me crazy) / I need a lover that won't drive me crazy / Some girl that knows the meaning of, uh / "Hey Riva Records added "I Need a Lover" to Mellencamp's next album released in the United States, 1979's John Cougar, where the song became a No. [B F# C# G#m G A E Em] Chords for John Cougar Mellenkamp - I need a lover • TopPop with capo transposer, play along with guitar, piano, ukulele & mandolin. For reasons unknown the album wasn't released in the US. Also of note, "I Need a Lover" was actually recorded during the "A Biography" sessions in early '78. He now had the power to reach a compromise and became John Cougar Mellencamp. John Cougar is the third studio album by John Mellencamp.It was his first album to be released by his new record company Riva Records and to credit him as "John Cougar". The song did well in Australia, charting at #5, so it was included on his next album, John Cougar (which was released in America), with "I Need A Lover" also issued as a single in the States. https://www.grunge.com/168823/the-tragic-real-life-story-of-john-mellencamp In 1982, he hit number one pop and had his second number one rock song with Jack & Diane, which became his greatest hit. Essentially, John Cougar is sonically similar to A Biography, but apart from the tacked-on "I Need a Lover," none of the songs hit the mark. Released 1978 in Europe and Australia as a single release from thw album "A Biography" (which wasn't released at all in North America) Released in USA in 1979 after the song had become a Top 10 Hit in Australia, when it was released as the first single from the album "John Cougar". He became John Cougar. https://www.grunge.com/171384/the-untold-truth-of-john-mellencamp