Jack & Diane Mellencamp and Don Gehman (with Gehman also engineering), and backing Mellencamp were guitarists/backing vocalists Mick Ronson, Mike Wanchic, Larry Crane, drummer Kenny Aronoff, bassist/backing vocalist Robert Frank, and keyboardist Eric Rosser. In 1982, producer and guitarist Mick Ronson worked with Mellencamp on his "American Fool" album, and in particular on "Jack & Diane." In a 2008 interview with "Classic Rock" magazine, Mellencamp recalled: Mick was very instrumental in helping me arrange that song, as I'd thrown it on the junk heap. Ronson came down and played on three or four tracks and worked on the "American Fool" record for four
If I Had No Loot John "Jubu" Smith played a Fender Telecaster on the song. "If I Had No Loot" incorporates a New jack swing beat, pronounced guitar licks, and a tempo of 108 beats per minute. It has 1960s Stax southern soul influences. The song also contains vocal samples from hip hop songs, including the "da-da-da-day" chant from Boogie Down Productions' 1987 song "Remix for P Is Free" and the line "and you can "new jack swing" on my nuts!" from Ice Cube's 1991 song "The Wrong Nigga to Fuck Wit". According to Raphael Wiggins, the song is about "fair-weather friends" and "people who