Editing John Mellencamp (section)

===2004–2007: ''Words and Music'' and ''Freedom's Road''===
Mellencamp participated in the [[Vote for Change]] tour in October 2004 leading up to the [[2004 U.S. presidential election]]. That same month he released the two-disc career hits retrospective ''[[Words & Music: John Mellencamp's Greatest Hits]]'', which contained 35 of his radio singles (including all 22 of his Top 40 hits) along with two new tunes, "[[Walk Tall (John Mellencamp song)|Walk Tall]]" and "Thank You" – both produced by [[Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds|Babyface]] but written by Mellencamp.

In 2005, Mellencamp toured with [[Donovan]] and [[John Fogerty]]. The first leg of what was called the Words and Music Tour in the spring of 2005 featured Donovan playing in the middle of Mellencamp's set. Mellencamp would play a handful of songs before introducing Donovan and then duetting with him on the 1966 hit "Sunshine Superman". Mellencamp would leave the stage as Donovan played seven or eight of his songs (backed by Mellencamp's band) and then return to finish off his own set after Donovan departed. On the second leg of the tour in the summer of 2005, Fogerty co-headlined with Mellencamp at outdoor amphitheaters across the United States. Fogerty would join Mellencamp for duets on Fogerty's [[Creedence Clearwater Revival]] hit "Green River" and Mellencamp's "Rain on the Scarecrow".

[[File:JohnMellencampWalterReedCenter.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Mellencamp (right) and his band perform at [[Walter Reed Army Medical Center]] in 2007.]]

Mellencamp released ''[[Freedom's Road]]'', his first album of original material in over five years, on January 23, 2007. He intended for ''[[Freedom's Road]]'' to have a 1960s rock sound while still remaining contemporary. "Our Country," the first single from ''[[Freedom's Road]]'', was played as the opening song on Mellencamp's 2006 spring tour, and the band that opened for him on that tour, [[Little Big Town]], was called on to record harmonies on the studio version of "Our Country", as well as seven other songs on ''Freedom's Road''.

Although Mellencamp had always been outspoken and adamant about not selling any of his songs to corporations for commercial use, he changed his stance and let Chevrolet use "Our Country" in Chevy Silverado TV commercials that began airing in late September 2006. 

Mellencamp sang "Our Country" to open Game 2 of the [[2006 World Series]], and the song was nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award in the Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance category but lost to [[Bruce Springsteen]]'s "Radio Nowhere." ''Freedom's Road'' peaked at No. 5 on the ''Billboard'' 200 album chart by selling 56,000 copies in its first week on the market.