Authority Song - John Mellencamp

[@hobbsmack]

I'm finding that I'm playing this video much more than the actual album version....I love this riff and need a fix often but It's so muted on the album...amazing job...thank you!!!

[@mvp019]

Dude - you are a really good guitarist and you like hockey - you must be an awesome guy!

[@eagles_s]

Hes the ghost of Terry Kath

[@CCB6939]

always liked John Mellencamp's music... he's got a great sound. nice sweater.. last year for the Joe, glad I was able to see a game there waaay back.

[@peterbonanno846]

Tone is sublime, just killer

[@tomy.1846]

Great video! So far, you have the best videos for any song with an alternate tuning! You nail the songs. Amazing talent! Thanks for sharing! :)

[@AlexanderTheGreatMusician]

What an awesome cover, thank you for sharing!

[@HigzyTeflon]

Two thumbs up. One for the killer cover. The other, well, I'm a Leafs fan, but that is a truly awesome Red Wings jersey!

[@mikethompson8539]

let's go red wings !

[@lawrenceklein3524]

Go, 'Wings!

[@mikethompson8539]

Let's go red wings 👍

[@Tbone3471]

I’m a Leafs fan too and I echo your sentiments exactly. I drive to from Cleveland for Wings games at least once or twice a year. Hopefully next year the wings contend again because it’s Hockeytown and hockey is just better when the wings are great. Anyway. The video and his playing are fantastic. Makes me want to learn. It’s simply one of the best songs and riffs ever written

[@cameronhunt854]

You are great at the rhythm. Great video and thank you so much!

[@terryholston872]

Great Job JJ. Had all the JCM records back in the day.

[@Meansunburn]

Dude you fuckin’ killed! Hell yeah! Hella talented!

[@drdobbs007]

Hey! That's always been my guitar play'n philosophy..."just whack it!" Mmmm, maybe that's why wifee sends me to the back of the house to play guitar-lol. Thanks a million and nice job as always, JJ.

[@QueensWino]

Dadgumit would never have picked up on the drop D sixth string. You have a great ear, not to mention chops! Cheers!

[@CerealDust-nStuff]

Thank you for posting this! We're doing this church this song in church on Sunday and I wanted to get it down right 👍

[@Fullthrottle375]

Well that made my night!!!! Holy talented!!!!

[@TheJwr108]

I love the guitar playing - and I love this song. And I love your hockey jersey!

[@ziggy72170]

Soooo, Sooo Good ! 👏👏👏.(I'd throw in some pick-Slides myself 😂😉)

[@sixxbrisbane]

Absolutely love this. Thanks. I’ll put a Ducks shirt in the mail for ya!! Thanks so much for posting this

[@Meansunburn]

Psh, more like The Kings, the Ducks need to stay down in their pond in OC haha

[@ERICWAGNERSLUCID]

Sorry you had to let PT go. I just found how to play The Who song Behind Blue Eyes. Really a great demo! I honestly hope you leave your work there intact, even if you have to disable the comments. Thank you for all the work you do. It is appreciated! And your guitar collection is fantastic! (I still wouldn't play them while wearing a ring on my finger though).

[@eagles_s]

When i learn a song i listen for familiar bits. Like the beginning riff sounds like footloose. Try listening for those bits before playing.

[@nancylewis1286]

Love this song .

[@brco6466]

Stopped for the jersey, stayed for the tunes. Well done 👍

[@farligspill]

Once again, thank you so much.

[@pendriss]

Great job - love it... I used to keep strumming on the D chord and play the lower dropped D stuff with my pinky - but like your way better!

[@rpatterson1]

About as hard as Mellencamp gets, and a great tune.

[@jamesjames9275]

Get a Leg Up is a contender.

[@truckerkevthepaidtourist]

Robert Patterson What if I came knockin goes pretty hard too😁

[@mokeimusic]

Your tone on this is great. I would rather listen to this than the normal recording. Thanks for posting

[@gerardosaucedo1309]

Awaited since such a long time, thank you!

[@BeachBarn]

Really clean!

[@1stovetop]

Such a good rock & roll song

[@jeffstevens9295]

Man have I enjoyed your videos, the Authority song is one of my favorites and is so fun to perform live and you cover it so well. I would like to get close to the same tone your using for this one. I normally play the rythum on a Epiphone Casino with a Fender Mustang GT amp. Thanks for sharing!

[@whyyeseyec]

Aaaah, drop D. No wonder it never sounded right....

[@omcbob37]

Outstanding!

[@davidgpeterson]

Great sound.

[@mariaconner5746]

PERFECTION!

[@briantudor9850]

Great example of how to utilize drop D tuning and how many unique and cool riffs can be created with it. Gotta love JCougarM. BTW, what is your amp rig setup?

[@wooferdevlin3571]

YEE HAA!! the ES sounds tough with the drop. Larry Crane and Mike Wanchic riffing on this one. it looks like you play the G in different ways- 2nd verse muted scrubbing with pinkie and ring- then later, middle and ring. during the riff, just middle. whatever works for the moment. good lesson on playing simple in variety of ways. tune is rollicking good time. ♫ Ü

[@zak182006]

I also like this tuning for this song. I find it cool that he would have the lead tuned downed to D standard, but this is also very cool.

[@jordandelacruz1866]

Dig the Cinnamon Girl outro!

[@marbleriver3365]

That is one meaty riff.

[@jamesjames9275]

It's a great song, but then Footloose -- which sounded to me like a ripoff of this riff -- kind of ruined this one for me. But I recently saw a video of a live version from last year and that reaffirmed my faith in this one.

[@theericfreeze1493]

That is amazing

[@vernonguinn8945]

LOVE IT!!!

[@Bill-se4gr]

I've been working with my new Peavey Vypyr, having loved the tones you are getting from it coupled with the fabulous guitars you have. What are your settings for this one: did you tweak one of the programmed settings? If so, which one, or do you program the channels from scratch? I can't seem to dial this one in even with my 335.

[@jamesjames9275]

I start from scratch every time I use the amp.

[@CanadaMapleleaffanvacationin]

nice job

[@PeterPug]

Maybe the only correctly played video on KZbin! :)

[@devilsoffspring5519]

Very cool cover version! A lot more distortion than the Johnny version but it still sounds good!

[@John-tw1ke]

And he likes the right team, too!

[@Bill-se4gr]

Got it. Thanks!!

[@jordandelacruz1866]

Use to play this tune in my first gigging band at 15. Alas it was wrong!(Sheet music had riff in f#) Fun tune to sing! Love the hockey jerseys by the way! You get them online? Pretty pricey. Great job as usual JJ!

[@wartimemodels]

Sweet. Been digging on some Mellencamp. If you want to cringe your face off, look up "Ain't Even Done With the Night" and there's a live performance of it where he's dressed a little 50s and has these backup dancer guys in pink tuxes. The choreography and everything is just unbelievable, even by 80s standards. The sax solo is sort of lip synced by one of the dancers. There's even a part at the end where the dancers are trying to put a cape over Johnny like he's James Brown or something. It's all very awkward; perhaps intentional, perhaps just not well considered. In any event, great vid (with Cinnamon Girl tease!)

[@jamesjames9275]

I love that clip, as silly as it is. Great live vocal on it.

[@tiffanyamato4738]

The choreography is the same as the music video bur yes very cheesy

[@chasbodaniels1744]

Ha ha! As long as you had the E string tuned down to D, it was almost mandatory to play the end riff of Cinnamon Girl.

[@jerrystatic256]

Nice!

[@csn2419]

i thought you were going to break into layla at the end, great cover!

[@jeovannacorrea7966]

cool james james

[@montclairsv]

hi jj . thank you, first time I hit the daily double. my favourite team with one of my favourite songs together, although you play a heckuva lot better then the wings have been lately. finally figured out why I couldn't get it right [ the tuned down string.] thanks again.

[@TypicalGirls]

Speaking of...James James, how much thought do you put into which shirt to wear with which song, if any? Can you throw out a percent for us?

[@michaelherman4129]

TypicalGirls My guess is there is a correlation between whoever the NY Rangers are playing against vs what hockey sweater is worn. Just a thought. It's ok if I am wrong..but the last two were game day opponents of the Blue Shirts. He is 1-1, during this streak.

[@TypicalGirls]

Michael Herman Could be, could be...that would make sense for the sports shirts/jerseys. How's his longstanding record? Sometimes he'll wear a shirt correlating to the band he's playing, other times he'll wear a Zep shirt and play the Stones. I just wondered if there was any rhyme or reason to the madness.

[@michaelherman4129]

Like Austin Powers, thisis a man of total mystery. However, if he wears an LA Kings sweater this evening, there can be a wonderful argument for my thesis.

[@jamesjames9275]

LA Kings? Not in a million years. I could never forgive them for taking The Great One away from Canada.

[@garthcarrier]

I'm a tele player but those pafs 90 grab nice

[@timothyng6534]

Such an inspiration to watch you play. What model guitar is that please?

[@jamesjames9275]

Gibson ES 335

[@Murfkj]

The sound him tuning his guitar is filthy

[@misterlarryb]

Excellent! Thank you! I can't believe I was trying to pull this off by tuning all my strings down a step and essentially playing with E forms! Brilliantly, giant-steps easier with the drop D tuning. Love the musical tip of the hat to Neil Young (Cinnamon Girl ending). Great job, James, thank you so much! (PS - No pick guard on your ES 335? Did you remove it due to cellulose disintegration/out-gassing issues, too? What year is your 335? I had to remove my 1981 L5 Custom pick guard that corroded my pick-up covers. What a crime - and couldn't reach Gibson for any assistance or replacement parts.)

[@jamesjames9275]

To be honest, I just yanked the pickguard because it seemed silly to have a black guard on a black guitar!

[@davidmack4495]

nice!!!

[@DrewDrums]

Liked and subbed!

[@RobertLane78]

That was fun! Do you think JCM wrote the riff?

[@jbrooks1348]

Great playing, as always....but the Red Wings jersey is super sweet.

[@DonRamiro1]

Go Wings!

[@1stovetop]

What is the best drill to do to develop the ability to do the licks in the D minor pentatonic scale. Thank you

[@Urankar3]

SUPEEEEER

[@Bill-se4gr]

That's what I assumed. But for a song like this do you have a "go-to" amp model to start with like a fender twin? I get the delay and distortion options.

[@jamesjames9275]

Usually Twin, but it really depends on the band/song.

[@stonesdude154]

I subscribe to you old channel as well and was wondering why numbers appear next to you name from time to time as if representing videos being added or is it just a ghost in the machine.

[@jamesjames9275]

No idea, I've never seen that.

[@captvid56]

Is that 1971 Mustang model in the background an item on your bucket list?

[@jamesjames9275]

That's not what it is.

[@stonesdude154]

Dodge Charger?

[@jamesjames9275]

I thought you meant the guitar hanging back there! Yeah, the car's an Eleanor. 1971 is a little bit past my window for dream Mustangs, though. A '68 GT390 would be my choice. In Highland Green, of course!

[@TypicalGirls]

When Bill Hickman fastens his seatbelt, you know it's on!

[@jamesjames9275]

The sound of the chase is more thrilling than the film of it.

[@davidbennett5981]

Thank you...

[@dianasepulveda615]

[@warthog5562]

Tab?

[@stevecelestino7352]

Great cover, tone is almost spot on to the recording. Detroit sux tho.

[@antonioscancariello3564]

Is it just me or this sounds a bit like "La Bamba"??

[@jamesjames9275]

Very similar.

[@hangtite87]

Nice !