Jack And Diane

It was chosen by RIAA as one of the Songs of the Century. The single spent four weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 at number one in 1982, and, to date, is the biggest hit single ever for Mellencamp, especially with its accompanying music video.
According to Mellencamp, "'Jack and Diane' was written after watching Splendor in the Grass, .Stopping and starting, it's not very musical." Mellencamp has also stated that the clapping wasn't supposed to be included in the finished song. However, he realized the song didn't work without it.
The song's tone and lyrics are evocative of a nostalgia for the novelty of youth, influenced in part by Mellencamp's own life experiences.
Musical references
Musical comedian "Weird Al" Yankovic was denied permission to use this song for his self-titled debut album.(Legally, a parody does not require permission, as long as royalties for using the melody of the original song are paid, but Yankovic has always asked permission because he doesn't wish to offend the original artist.) He, thus, chose to alter the musical content of his intended parody song "Chuck & Diane" and changed the title to "Buckingham Blues". Incidentally, however, "Weird Al" did get to do a parody of this song on The Simpsons episode "Three Gays of the Condo".
The instrumental hook is sampled in the Jessica Simpson song "I Think I'm in Love with You".
The song was mentioned in the opening lines of the Kenny Chesney song "I Go Back" ("Jack & Diane painted a picture of my life and my dreams").
"Jack and Diane" is also referenced in the Bowling For Soup song "Why Don't I Miss You?" ("Two young kids like Jack and Diane...").
Boy band LFO reference the song on "28 Days" ("...and it makes me wonder what kind of spell we're under.