Walk Tall (John Mellencamp song)

In a 2004 interview with CMT, Mellencamp said that in writing the song, he was inspired by Woody Guthrie. Mellencamp reflected that Guthrie had said that "it was important for him to write songs about people and try to make them feel good about themselves", which led him to write "Walk Tall" as an inspirational song. Mellencamp recalled that he played Babyface "one verse and one chorus and he had already come up with the feel. And that happened within, no exaggeration, thirty seconds of him hearing the song... he was already playing that rhythm against my folk rhythm. So I looked at him at that point and said, 'I’ll see you in Indiana in a few weeks.'" In a review for PopMatters, Hank Kalet deemed the song a "political folk rocker". ==Reception==

Critics reviewed the song favorably. Bessman, in a review for Billboard, pointed to the song as evidence that Mellencamp "has managed to remain current for a quarter-century". On the Adult Alternative Airplay chart, it became his sixth top five hit, as well as his first since 2001's "Peaceful World" with India Arie. Subsequent comments by Quayle called Mellencamp's performance "not very good to begin with" and opined that Mellencamp's "comment put it over the top." ==Music video==

A music video for the song, directed by Chris Milk and produced by Gina Leonard, was filmed in Hanford, California, in September 2004. The filming site was selected for its "small town feel". The video went into rotation on MTV, CMT, and VH1. For the week ending November 7, 2004, it was among the 30 most-played videos on both MTV and VH1. The video won Adult Contemporary Video of the Year. At the 2005 CMT Music Awards, Mellencamp was a first-round nominee for multiple awards, including "most inspiring video of the year" for "Walk Tall". Following fan voting, the video failed to qualify for the top-four second round. Although the video was not nominated for an award at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, an article by the Associated Press argued that it should win Best Male Video. ==Track listing==

• UK Promotional CD single • Walk Tall (Radio Edit) — 3:43 • US Promotional CD single • Mellencamp Medley — 2:24 • Walk Tall (Radio Edit) — 3:43 ==Credits==

Adapted from CD single liner notes. • Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds — guitars, background vocals • Reggie Hamilton — bass • Rick Lawson — drums • John Mellencamp — vocals • Michael Ramos — keyboards • Miriam Sturm — violin • Andy York — guitars ==Charts==