John Mellencamp's 'Dancing Words Tour — The Greatest Hits' coming to Northwell at Jones Beach Theater

Indiana-born rocker John Mellencamp has enlisted Hollywood star Sean Penn to help announce his "Dancing Words Tour — The Greatest Hits," which will stop at Wantagh's Northwell at Jones Beach Theater on July 26.

In a promotional video posted to YouTube on Wednesday, Penn, 65, sits in the booth of a roadside diner with Mellencamp, 74, who insists he stopped singing his old hits nearly 20 years ago. "God forbid you become generous with your hits," Penn replies sarcastically. "I can’t imagine you would do that."   

Nevertheless, that’s exactly what Mellencamp will do on his 19-city tour, which kicks off July 10 at the Acrisure Amphitheater in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and ends Aug. 12 at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California. The singer is promising a set list that’s likely to include career-defining tracks such as "Jack & Diane," "Hurts so Good" and "Authority Song" alongside rarely played cuts like "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A." and "I Need a Lover."

Mellencamp began his career as a 1970s-era heartthrob called John Cougar. He scored his first and only No. 1 hit with "Jack & Diane" in 1982. Almost immediately, however, the singer reembraced his given surname, a risky career move that established him as one of rock’s rugged individualists. His decades-spanning career and critically acclaimed albums led to Mellencamp joining the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s Class of 2008, inducted by fellow Hall of Famer Billy Joel. 

In his promotional video, Mellencamp cuts a similar figure, riding his motorcycle — no helmet — to a 1950s-style diner where the waitresses wear pink and the jukebox plays only Mellencamp tunes. Meanwhile, Penn, clearly a fellow rule-breaker, smokes a cigarette — much as he did during Sunday’s Golden Globes ceremony — even after he’s asked to put it out.

Only when all the staff and customers in the diner stop to sing the chorus of "Jack & Diane" does Mellencamp make his decision to tour. "We’re doing it," he tells Penn.

The general-public ticket onsale starts Jan. 23 at 10 a.m. at Mellencamp.com.

By Rafer Guzmán

rafer.guzman@newsday.com