5 Times Politicians Used Songs for Their Campaigns Without Asking

Music is one of the most influential things on the planet. It only makes sense that politicians would use music as part of their campaigns. However, quite a few political figures out there have used songs for their campaigns without permission from the musician. Let’s take a look at five times politicians used songs for their campaigns without asking the musicians in question.

1. Heart vs. Sarah Palin

When Sarah Palin was selected as John McCain’s running mate in 2009, Palin decided to use the song “Barracuda” as one of her campaign songs. Heart, however, wasn’t happy about it and asked her to stop playing the song. It was an odd song choice to begin with, but apparently Palin’s nickname was “Sarah Barracuda” in high school. Heart didn’t love Palin’s views and values, so they asked her to stop using the track.

2. Elton John vs. Donald Trump

It’s a pretty well-known fact that Donald Trump is obsessed with Elton John. During his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump used the songs “Tiny Dancer” and “Rocket Man” as part of his campaign. Elton John came out and said that he didn’t love the feature, but that it wasn’t personal; he didn’t want any US politician to use his music.

“I don’t really want my music to be involved in anything to do with an American election campaign,” John said. “I’m British.”

3. Sting vs. George W. Bush

For those who were around to experience the 2000 presidential bid between George W. Bush and Al Gore, you probably remember all of the music that either side used at the time. Both of the politicians wanted to use Sting’s “Brand New Day” as their respective theme songs. Sting, however, turned them both down. Sting’s manager at the time said it would be “impolite” to choose sides in a country that was not his own.

[Buy Tickets To See Sting Live In Concert]

4. ABBA vs. John McCain

This is probably one of the funniest instances of politicans who used songs without asking the musicians in question. The late John McCain was a fan of ABBA, but that didn’t sway ABBA’s decision to keep him from using “Take A Chance On Me” during his campaign events in 2008. They even sent a cease-and-desist to the politician and noted that he would have to pay them cash if he wanted to keep using the song.

5. Survivor vs. Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, and Newt Gingrich

“Eye Of The Tiger” was a favorite among American politicians in the early 2010s. New Gringrich used it during his presidential campaign in 2012, and Frankie Sullivan ended up suing him over it. He also threatened to sue Mitt Romney around the same time for his use of the song. Mike Huckabee apparently didn’t get the memo in 2015 when he also tried to use the song without asking, and Sullivan sued him as well.

Photo by David Redfern/Redferns

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