I recently did something I’ve never done before — watched a live broadcast of an American political event. Specifically, I tuned in for the final night of the Democratic National Convention, perhaps like many others to see if there’d be an unannounced special appearance by Queen Bey — or even George W. Bush — as was rumoured.
No dice, but what I did notice was the huge payday for recording artists. Every speaker had walk-on and walk-off music. And every time that happens at a major event like the DNC, it’s just like that song being used in a TV show or movie. At this specific event, in fact, not only was there walk-on music — but each State got to choose music for the roll call, and there were a bunch of live performances.
The Washington Post did a very thorough Spotify playlist of all the music used at the DNC:
All the biggest names are on that playlist. It would seem the in-crowd votes Democrat. Or at least that’s the impression they want you to have. Furthering this notion is the fact that the Republicans, and Donald Trump in particular, seem to be routinely in the news for having musicians object to their songs being used.
So I thought I’d try to find as many examples as I could of musicians doing a cease-and-desist on a politician. But first, a bit of background on the use of music in political campaigns.
As far back as George Washington, music has been a key part of the hustings. The first American president had an original song, sort of. Basically it was a parody — an existing song with adapted lyrics. In this case, Follow George Washington. After this, everyone did it, and by the time William Harrison ran in the 1840 election, his campaign song Tippecanoe And Tyler Too actually became a hit. This practice continued right through into the ’60s and the Connie Francis-sung Nixon’s The One, used during the 1968 campaign. Not quite the last time an American presidential candidate’s name was used in a campaign song. That distinction goes to George H.W. Bush, who used both Woody Guthrie’s This Land Is Your Land and The George Bush Song in 1988.
For his re-election in ’72, Nixon used Nixon Now, performed by The Mike Curb Congregation. His Democrat opponent George McGovern used Bridge Over Troubled Water — which seems to be the first instance of a popular song being chosen, despite Ronald Reagan often being cited for this during re-election campaign in 1984. He was a Hollywood actor, so no big surprise, I guess. Reagan chose God Bless The USA (aka Proud To Be An American) — the signature song by Lee Greenwood. It was initially released on Greenwood’s third album You’ve Got A Good Love Comin’ in the spring of ’84. It was selected and used in a film about Reagan shown at the Republican National Convention in August, 1984. After that, it became his stumping theme. In 1988, Bush used it occasionally as well.
But it was Bill Clinton who first took a famous song and used it as his 1992 campaign music. Fleetwood Mac’s Don’t Stop actually helped both sides by making the younger, sax-playing Democrat seem hip, while reminding the public just how great Fleetwood Mac was. The song played during the big balloon drop at the end of the 1992 DNC. The song’s renewed popularity eventually led to the band’s reunion. Clinton managed to convince them to perform at his inauguration ball in 1993. Former U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron used the song in the 2010s during his time as Conservative party leader.
During that same 1992 Don’t Stop campaign, we got to watch the animated third-party candidate Ross Perot. The Texas businessman and philanthropist was often characterized as being a bit of a weirdo, something which he decided to own by choosing Patsy Cline‘s Crazy as a frequent campaign song.
In 1996, Republican Bob Dole used an adapted version of Sam & Dave’s Soul Man, dubbed Dole Man. But nothing tops this for Dole-related campaign cringe.
A Canadian makes a first appearance on this list courtesy of Al Gore’s 2000 campaign, where he occasionally trotted out to Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s 1974 double-negative banger You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet. But of course it was George W. Bush who emerged as the 43rd President. Dubya used a grab bag of various genres for his walk-on music — Tom Petty’s I Won’t Back Down, Van Halen’s Right Now and patriotic selections by Billy Ray Cyrus and Brooks & Dunn. When John Kerry challenged Bush in 2006, he used some bona fide classics — U2’s Beautiful Day, Bruce Springsteen’s No Surrender and Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Fortunate Son.
Barack Obama used multiple songs, but perhaps most frequently employed Steve Wonder’s Signed, Sealed Delivered. Hillary Clinton opted for Dolly Parton’s 9 To 5, Tom Petty’s American Girl and yet another apostrophe-laden Bachman-Turner Overdrive anthem — Takin’ Care of Business. Clinton actually used two Canadian songs during her campaign, occasionally blasting You And I by Celine Dion.
The late ’80s is when we start getting into issues with artists asking for candidates to stop using their music. Bobby McFerrin asked Dubya to stop using Don’t Worry, Be Happy in 1988. Sting allowed neither Bush nor Al Gore to use his song Brand New Day in 2000 and Sam Moore of Sam & Dave asked Obama to stop using Hold On, I’m Coming.
But nobody has more issues with cantankerous musicians than Trump. It began with Trump’s persistent use of Neil Young‘s Rockin’ In The Free World between 2015 and 2020. Young briefly launched a lawsuit for copyright infringement. Another early musical backlash came from Michael Stipe after R.E.M.’s It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) was used at a 2015 campaign stop. “Go fuck yourselves, the lot of you,” Stipe wrote in a statement. House Of Pain rapper Everlast used similar language after Jump Around was used at rallies.
Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider flip-flopped on the issue. Initially, he was OK with the Trump campaign using We’re Not Gonna Take It in 2014, but withdrew permission the following year. Trump also faced backlash from Elton John for using both Tiny Dancer and Rocket Man in 2016. U.K. singer Adele endorsed Hillary Clinton and told her fans not to vote for Trump after he used two of her songs — Rolling In The Deep and Skyfall — during his 2016 campaign without permission.
The estate of George Harrison objected to his Beatles classic Here Comes The Sun being used to introduce Ivanka Trump at the Republican National Convention in 2016. Earth, Wind & Fire objected to the use of their song September being used at the same event.
Vocalist Paul Rodgers says he called his lawyer after the Trump campaign used the 1970 Free song All Right Now at a 2016 rally. Meg and Jack White issued a statement that they didn’t give permission for The White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army to be used in a Trump TV ad. They not only asked Trump not to use any White Stripes or material by any Third Man Records artists, but issued Icky Thump merch altered to read Icky Trump.
Two members of The O’Jays asked Trump to stop using Love Train in 2016, with vocalist Eddie Levert writing, “Listen man, I don’t believe in what you’re doing.” The campaign used Rihanna‘s Don’t Stop The Music at a 2018 rally, earning a cease-and-desist order from her management.
In 2018, Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler issued a cease-and-desist order over the use of Livin’ On The Edge — the second time they had to do so. The first occasion was when Trump started using Dream On in 2015. He repeatedly used Queen’s 1977 anthem We Are The Champions in both his 2016 and 2020 campaigns, prompting the band to issue a statement saying they do not endorse him.
Pharrell Williams issued a cease-and-desist order against Trump after his song Happy was used at a rally in 2018. In Oct. 2019, Magne Furholmen of A-ha objected to Take On Me being used in Trump promotional material. Axl Rose had to twice object to the use of Guns N’ Roses music — first for Sweet Child O’ Mine in 2018 and again for the band’s cover of Wings’ Live And Let Die in May 2020.
Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne issued a statement after Trump used Crazy Train in a video making fun of technical issues at the 2020 Democratic presidential primary debate. In July 2020, Trump retweeted a fan-made re-election video which used the Linkin Park song In The End. The video was pulled after the band’s management filed a copyright infringement complaint with Twitter. A month later (Canadian!) Leonard Cohen’s estate objected to the use of Hallelujah at an Aug. 28, 2020 event.
In 2020, The Rolling Stones asked the Trump campaign to stop using their songs, after the baffling selection of You Can’t Always Get What You Want at rallies. Trump used the 1981 Phil Collins classic In The Air Tonight mixed in with rally messaging trivializing Covid-19. Collins’ management issued a cease-and-desist. The same year, John Fogerty forbade Trump from continuing to use his anti-Vietnam War CCR song Fortunate Son. While Kerry got away with it in 2006, Trump — who avoided Vietnam due to bone spurs — did not. Tom Petty’s family sent a cease-and desist to Trump in 2020 after I Won’t Back Down was used — something Petty himself did to Dubya in 2000 for the same song.
Founding Journey guitarist Neal Schon issued a cease-and desist in 2022 after his former bandmate Jonathan Cain performed Don’t Stop Believin’ at Trump’s home. Eddy Grant filed a lawsuit in 2020 for copyright infringement after he issued a cease-and-desist order when Trump used Electric Avenue in a video he shared on social media. The same year, Nico Vega objected to the use of their song Beast in a Trump video.
For years, Trump used both Macho Man and YMCA by The Village People at his rallies. Founding member Victor Willis finally publicly objected in June 2020, and officially lodged a cease-and-desist in May 2023.
Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr took to social media to say “consider this shit shut down right now” after he discovered Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want used at a 2024 rally. The family of Isaac Hayes says Trump has (like many others, as we’ve seen) used the Sam & Dave classic Hold On, I’m Comin‘ more than 130 times at rallies without paying for licensing or asking permission. Hayes co-wrote the song. The family sought legal action after Trump used the song at a 2024 NRA event, after a mass shooting.
Sinead O’Connor’s estate has also objected to the use of one of her songs, the Prince-penned Nothing Compares 2 U, at two 2024 rallies. Luciano Pavarotti‘s family has protested the use of the late opera singer’s recording of Nessun Dorma.
Celine Dion returns! The Canadian singer took to social media to condemn Trump this summer for his use of My Heart Will Go On at a campaign rally. She also, hilariously, questioned his choice of song, given that it was used as the theme of the 1997 film Titanic.
In August, Dave Grohl objected to Foo Fighters’ My Hero being used at a Trump rally. However, the song was legitimately licensed by the Trump campaign, so Grohl promised to donate the royalties to the Harris-Walz campaign. This is no small pledge, perhaps. When Trump tweeted a video using an altered version of the (Canadian!) Nickelback song Photograph, sales of the actual song rose 500% in the following days, despite the fact that Warner Music forced the video to be taken down. French singer-songwriter Woodkid (Yoann Lemoine) was angry that Trump used the LGBTQ+ song Run Boy Run in a 2024 rally.
Beyonce and her management team also issued a cease-and desist order after her song Freedom was used at a Trump rally in August 2024. The song has gone on to become an anthem of Kamala Harris’s campaign.
Here’s a playlist of all the songs Trump has been asked and/or forced to stop using:
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Area Resident is an Ottawa-based journalist, recording artist, music collector and re-seller. Hear (and buy) his music on Bandcamp, email him HERE, follow him on Instagram and check him out on Discogs.
