From Céline Dion to the Smith’s Johnny Marr, these musicians have demanded that the former president stop playing their songs at events
18 August 24
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Sure, it’s not uncommon for politicians to use popular songs at events and campaign rallies — but lots of artists have drawn the line when it comes to Donald Trump. Since the former president began campaigning ahead of the 2016 election, some musicians have not been happy to hear that the Trump team has played their music, often without authorization. From Canadian singer Céline Dion to the family of soul icon Isaac Hayes, they’ve done everything from issuing public statements to sending cease-and-desist letters to Trump through lawyers.
Here’s a list of the artists who have told Trump to back off and stop using their songs.
Céline Dion (2024)
Céline Dion was not happy when Donald Trump used her Titanic classic “My Heart Will Go On” at a recent campaign rally. “And really, THAT song?” she wrote on social media when she learned he’d been playing the hit. The Canadian star’s team issued a statement on Aug. 10 slamming the former president for “unauthorized usage” of the track from the Nineties film. “Celine Dion does not endorse this or any similar use,” the statement from Dion’s team said.
The family of James Horner, the song’s composer who died in 2015, also said in a statement that “the Horner family does not endorse or support the Trump/Vance campaign or its use of the song at its events. The campaign does not reflect the beliefs and values of James Horner or his family. It is important to the family that his music not be used by those seeking to profit inappropriately from his work after his death.” —T.M.
Isaac Hayes’ Family (2024)
The family of late soul singer Isaac Hayes wants to stop Trump from playing the hit “Hold On, I’m Comin’” at rallies and events, including at an NRA convention. Hayes’ son, Isaac Hayes III, shared that they planned to file a lawsuit after learning that the Trump team has used the song about 135 times without licensing the song or asking for permission. “I was pissed,” Hayes told The Hollywood Reporter. “There’s just been a mass shooting. So why are we using it at the NRA convention? I wanted to take legal action because Trump has made statements against women, and here is a man who has been convicted of sexual abuse. I’m a brother to seven sisters, and I don’t want anybody to think of ‘Hold On’ and think of Donald Trump.” —J.L.
Sinéad O’Connor’s Estate (2024)
Sinead O’Connor’s estate quickly shut Trump down when he started using the late singer’s song “Nothing Compares 2 U” at his rallies in Maryland and North Carolina. “It is no exaggeration to say that Sinéad would have been disgusted, hurt, and insulted to have her work misrepresented in this way by someone who she herself referred to as a ‘biblical devil,’” O’Connor’s estate representatives shared in a statement to Variety. “As the guardians of her legacy, we demand that Donald Trump and his associates desist from using her music immediately.” —J.L.
Johnny Marr (2024)
While the Smiths might seem wildly out of place at a Trump rally, the camp certainly tried it. In early 2024, multiple political reporters took to Twitter to share how the hopelessly desperate “Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want” was making its rounds with MAGA folks. Founding guitarist and the song’s writer, Johnny Marr, immediately responded when he quote-tweeted a video saying, “Ahh … right … OK. I never in a million years would’ve thought this could come to pass. Consider this shit shut right down right now.” —M.G.
Village People (2023)
Trump’s love of the Village People is well-documented. For years, he played “Y.M.C.A.” and “Macho Man” at his rallies with little pushback from founding member Victor Willis. Willis finally changed his tune in June 2020 amid the uprising against racial injustice. Then, in May 2023, he sent Trump’s legal team a cease-and-desist letter after video emerged of the former president at Mar-a-Lago dancing along to “Macho Man” with a group dressed up like the Village People. Willis called the performance “unauthorized” and noted that “many fans, and the general public as well, mistakenly believe” the actual Village People delivered the performance. —J.B.
Journey’s Neal Schon (2022)
When Journey guitarist Neal Schon sent a cease-and-desist letter over a performance of “Don’t Stop Believin’,” he actually wasn’t targeting Trump so much as his bandmate Jonathan Cain. Cain had performed the 1981 hit at Mar-a-Lago in 2023, alongside backup singers that included Marjorie Taylor Greene, Kimberly Guilfoyle, and Kari Lake. In order to prevent similar moments, Schon filed the cease-and-desist, stating the use of Journey’s music at a Trump event was of “harmful use” to their brand. —J.B.
Neil Young (2020)
Neil Young’s spat with Trump dates back all the way to 2015, when Trump played “Rockin’ in the Free World” immediately after announcing his plan to run for president. Young, unsurprisingly, was not happy and repeatedly expressed his discontent when the song played at Trump rallies over the coming years. Eventually, in 2020, Young tried suing Trump, claiming he did not have a proper license to play his music at his rallies. But a few months later, the musician ultimately chose to voluntarily dismiss the complaint. —J.B.
The Rolling Stones (2020)
The Rolling Stones made a pun out of one of their own song titles in 2020 when they told the Trump campaign to stop using their songs: “This could be the last time Trump uses any Jagger-Richards songs on his campaigns,” the band’s rep said at the time. Trump had been using “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” at rallies. Apparently, he wanted threats of legal action. —K.G.
John Fogerty (2020)
Unsurprisingly, Trump — the son of a multimillionaire who got out of Vietnam due to supposed bone spurs — saw nothing ironic about playing John Fogerty’s “Fortunate Son” (“I ain’t no millionaire’s son, no”) at his campaign rallies in 2020. Fogerty and his lawyers immediately told him to stop via a cease-and-desist letter. “I wrote this song because, as a veteran, I was disgusted that some people were allowed to be excluded from serving our country because they had access to political and financial privilege,” Fogerty said. “I also wrote about wealthy people not paying their fair share of taxes. Mr. Trump is a prime example of both of these issues.” —A.G.
Tom Petty’s Estate (2020)
The Florida rocker had a history of sending cease-and-desist letters to politicians using his music, including George W. Bush in 2000 (“I Won’t Back Down”) and Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachmann in 2011 (“American Girl”). Three years after his death, his family spoke out about a certain Florida Man’s use of “I Won’t Back Down,” writing that Trump “was in no way authorized to use this song to further a campaign that leaves too many Americans and common sense behind.” His family continued, “Tom wrote this song for the underdog, for the common man and for EVERYONE.… We believe in America and we believe in democracy. But Donald Trump is not representing the noble ideals of either.” Amen to that. —A.M.
Phil Collins (2020)
MAGA energy was not in the air when Phil Collins made “In the Air Tonight.” The musician issued a cease-and-desist to Trump for usage of his 1981 single during the 2020 election. In the letter sent to Trump, Collins slammed the candidate for using the song “as a satirical reference to Covid-19” when Iowa was going through a spike in cases. “Mr. Collins does not condone the apparent trivialization of Covid-19,” the letter stated, adding that the musician had “serious concerns” that Trump’s usage would “damage” Collins’ reputation. —T.M.
Steven Tyler (2018)
Donald Trump was living on the edge of a lawsuit in 2018 when Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler felt it was necessary to send a cease-and-desist letter to the then-president’s campaign for using the song “Livin’ on the Edge.” This came three years after the band already told Trump to knock it off with playing “Dream On” at rallies. —K.G.
Rihanna (2018)
Just after Trump played Rihanna’s 2007 hit “Don’t Stop the Music” at a rally in Chattanooga, Tennessee, her team sent him a cease-and-desist letter threatening legal action. “It has come to our attention that President Trump has utilized [Rihanna‘s] musical compositions and master recordings, including her hit track ‘Don’t Stop the Music,’ in connection with a number of political events held across the United States,” Rihanna’s legal team wrote in the letter. “As you are or should be aware, Ms. Fenty has not provided her consent to Mr. Trump to use her music. Such use is therefore improper.” —J.L.
R.E.M. (2015)
Maybe if R.E.M.’s “It’s the End of the World as We Know It” didn’t come with the parenthetical “(And I Feel Fine),” they wouldn’t have complained about Trump using the song on the campaign trail in 2015. Regardless, all was not fine and Michael Stipe issued a stern rebuke to the Trump campaign for using the song: “Go fuck yourselves, the lot of you — you sad, attention-grabbing, power-hungry little men. Do not use our music or my voice for your moronic charade of a campaign.” —K.G.
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