The song appeared on his 1978 album
A Biography, which was not released in the United States.
Record World said that "Cougar's midwestern roots grow into urban urgency on this explosive rocker." 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". ==Pat Benatar version==