[4] Producer Don Gehman stated in a 2011 interview that American Fool was fraught with layers of problems.

"We had 20 or so songs, we had a record company that was hoping we were making a Neil Diamond‑type album, and after we spent two or three months in the studio recording these songs and mixing them to the best of our ability, I can remember an A&R guy in a pink shirt coming in to listen to them and basically thinking we had nothing.

We had ‘Jack & Diane,’ we had ‘Hand to Hold On To,’ we had ‘Weakest Moments’ — we had some good songs — and while I don’t know the precise nature of the discussions that took place, Riva went from wanting to get a new producer to not even wanting John on the label anymore.

According to a 1983 article in the Toledo Blade, the song "Danger List" originated when John Mellencamp heard his guitarist Larry Crane playing some chords in a basement rehearsal room.

"I turned on the tape recorder and sang 30 verses,” Mellencamp explained.