Use, and misuse, of music in US presidential campaigns

As the US election draws closer, Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris is receiving more and more celebrity support.
Last week, US megastar Taylor Swift publicly backed the current vice president in her presidential campaign.
Now another superstar, Billie Eilish, has endorsed Harris for US president. In a social media clip, she and her brother, Finneas O’Connell, spoke out in support of Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, citing their stance on reproductive rights and their concern for the environment and democracy.
“Vote like your life depends on it, because it does,” said the singer in the video.

Swift and Eilish have now joined the ranks of high-profile campaigners from music and show business.
Many musicians feel honored when their music is used as a candidate’s campaign anthem. However, that’s not always the case. 
The White Stripes have taken legal action against Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump because he used their massive hit “Seven Nation Army” without permission. In a video posted on X that has since been deleted, Trump was seen boarding a plane with the iconic opening riff of the song playing in the background.
Jack White, the band’s singer and guitarist, published a picture of the lawsuit on Instagram.
Back in August, Canadian singer Celine Dion announced she would not tolerate her song “My Heart Will Go On” being used for Trump’s election campaign either.
A long list of artists, including ABBA, Beyonce, Bruce Springsteen, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Earth, Wind and Fire, the Foo Fighters, Guns N’ Roses, Neil Young, Ozzy Osbourne, R.E.M., Rihanna, the Rolling Stones, the Village People and the estates of Sinead O’Connor and Tom Petty have already asked the Trump campaign not to use their music.
There is a very long tradition of using music in election campaigns, going back to the first US president, George Washington.
George Washington was the first presidential candidate to use a specific song in his election campaign. “God Save Great Washington” is considered the personal anthem of the first president of the United States.
The melody of the British anthem “God Save The King” was given new lyrics, with the president’s name replacing the words “Our gracious king” in the song.
Sammy Cahn wrote new lyrics to Frank Sinatra’s Oscar-winning 1959 hit “High Hopes” for the Kennedy election campaign in 1960. It became the official campaign tune.
The song chosen for Reagan’s 1984 reelection campaign is one of the biggest misinterpretations of a song’s meaning in the history of campaign anthems.
“Born in the U.S.A.” is not as patriotic as one might think. In the song, Bruce Springsteen takes a critical stance on the Vietnam War and denounces the US government for its treatment of war veterans.
It’s believed that the choice of the 1977 hit “Don’t Stop (Thinking About Tomorrow)” was carefully calculated by the Clinton campaign. That song had been especially popular with young Americans at the time, and 15 years later, Fleetwood Mac fans were middle-aged voters — a generation with a particularly high voter turnout.
Protesting against the use of his song at campaign rallies, Tom Petty prohibited George W. Bush from using it in 2000. Twenty years later, President Donald J. Trump had the very same song played at a campaign rally for his reelection in Tulsa, Oklahoma — and the late musician’s family sent a cease-and-desist letter.
“Signed, Sealed, Delivered” by Stevie Wonder was regularly played during Barack Obama’s 2008 election campaign. The message to his voters was “I am yours!”
Many pop greats supported Obama, including Springsteen, Beyonce and Katy Perry. Rapper and producer will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas produced the track “Yes We Can” in his honor.
Vice President Kamala Harris launched her 2024 presidential Democratic nomination with Beyonce’s “Freedom” as an anthem. The superstar had given permission to Harris to use her iconic song, whereas she blocked Trump from doing so after a campaign video with the same hit was posted on social media.
This article was originally written in German.
Update, September 18, 2024: This article was originally written on September 11, 2024, and updated on September 18 with the news of Billie Eilish’s endorsement of Kamala Harris.