The Cease and Desist Playlist

So the idea for this blog came to me when John Fogerty asked Donald Trump to STOP playing his song, Fortunate Son, at Trump's rallies.

In October 2020, Fogerty announced he was sending a cease-and-desist letter to Trump, saying that Trump "is using my words and my voice to portray a message that I do not endorse". Fogerty noted that it was quite the opposite - the song's lyrics were meant as a critique of how wealthy people are unfairly able to avoid the draft or pay their share of taxes. Wikipedia

Some folks are born silver spoon in hand

Lord, don't they help themselves, no

But when the taxman come' to the door

Lord, the house lookin' like a rummage sale, yeah

In total Trump irony- the son of a wealthy man who avoided the draft with his 'bone spurs' military deferment story and later, his famous tag line of calling people who couldn't get out of the Vietnam war, "suckers" and "losers." 

Fogerty, as a young and inexperienced person in the music business with his band, Creedence Clearwater Revival, signed all his publishing rights away to his record company Fantasy Records. Fortunate Son has been used in commercials like Wrangler® Jeans against Fogerty's objections. Eventually, like many artists who finally attain wealth themselves, Fogerty was able to fight the long protracted legal battle and win back his publishing rights.

This got me thinking about the very nature of writing a song, it's kind of weird proposition for the artist. First, you go about the creative process individually or collaboratively of composing the music and writing the lyrics. This is all very personal, as thoughts and feelings get transformed and expressed through the medium of music. 

From there, the song takes on a life of its own. There is typically: a recording process, a distribution process, and a marketing process. How much control the artist has after the song is created depends on a million different factors that I don't need to go into here. It's safe to say, the artist almost always loses some level of control in how their song is used out in the world. The song is the artist's baby, and then it's not. That is why we have copyright law for artists (and publishers) so they can control in how their song is used.

From a pure creative perspective, there's a great new series on Netflix called Song Exploder that explores the craft of making a song that I think you would enjoy. In watching the R.E.M. episode of how they created the song, Losing My Religion, you not only get to experience the process of making a song but also the many interpretations of the song by the fans. Michael Stipe of R.E.M says the song is about love obsession and the title, 'Losing My Religion' is a southern phrase for losing one's temper. My personal interpretation of Losing My Religion is a literal translation of the song's title with my own experience of growing up in a conservative Christian upbringing and the transition to living on my own. The song has a deep meaning for me and is one of my all-time favorites.

The Alicia Keys episode of making the song, 3 Hour Drive, you experience her collaboration with Sampha in both composing the music and lyrics. Keys writes the song from her perspective of being a new mother of a baby son, and Sampha is dealing with the recent death of his mother. It's literally the circle of life, but without that background knowledge, I would have interpreted the song as an 'I'm on the road love song,' a staple theme in pop music.

So the song is the artist's expression who knows full well that their baby is often crafted as a chameleon of interpretation. Saying that, Bob Dylan quickly comes to mind. This blog is less about creative interpretation and more about the outright misuse by politicians stealing a musician's artistic work without their permission and using it for their own narrow political interpretation and manipulation.

Take Bruce Springsteen's 1984 hit Born In The U.S.A., a catchy title turned into a political speech by Ronald Reagan on the campaign trail after his operatives liked the song's hook, who didn't seem to listen to or comprehend that the lyrics are about a down and out Vietnam War veteran with verses like

Got in a little hometown jam

So they put a rifle in my hand

Sent me off to a foreign land

To go and kill the yellow man

Instead, Reagan goes out and says in a 1984 campaign speech, "America's future rests in a thousand dreams inside your hearts; it rests in the message of hope in songs so many young Americans admire: New Jersey's own Bruce Springsteen. And helping you make those dreams come true is what this job of mine is all about." 

Springsteen just shook his head, yeah like Ronnie's listening to his album Nebraska. Then in 2016, Trump steals another play from Reagan's playbook and started playing Born In The U.S.A. at his own campaign rallies. 

Rather than take legal action, he openly announced his support for Trump's opponent, Hillary Clinton, and even campaigned in support of her. As a result, the song would instead get booed every time Trump would play it at rallies from that point on. Wikipedia

Last Saturday night at Joe Biden's victory speech, Tom Petty's I Won't Back Down comes booming on  right after he finishes his speech. I just burst out laughing as you know Biden's staff is purposely playing one of Trump's cease and desist song's from his rallies. Now Joe, you're my kind of guy!

The family of Tom Petty denounced Trump's use of the song "I Won't Back Down" at political rallies in 2020. The family sent the campaign a cease and desist letter, stating that the song was written for the "underdog" and "common man", and that Trump didn't represent either. Wikipedia

So here's my mix of The Cease and Desist Playlist from the Trump rallies as I do my little part to free this music from the Trump shit show. Here's hoping some of these artists get invited to the White House Inaugural January 20, 2021 and get a chance to perform live at the various celebrations. I also look forward to the tradition of musicians being invited to perform at the White House again. In the playlist, see John Fogerty perform Fortunate Son in the Obama White House in a salute to the military on Veterans Day, and a wonderful example of how protest and institution can meld over time.

 

 References:

• Musicians who oppose Donald Trump's use of their music (Wikipedia)
• 22 artists who have spoken out against President Trump playing their music at his events (Insider)
• Tom Petty’s family ‘touched’ by Joe Biden playing ‘I Won’t Back Down’ (Report Door)