Getting the Shaft: Politicians and Rock Songs

Stick with me for a minute...this one might be a stretch.

It is a year of presidential politics...god help us. While there's still plenty of time for me to get into that little can of worms, today is the anniversary of a horrible trend which still continues today. The use or rather misuse of rock songs by politicians.

In an effort to appear "hip," throughout the past twenty years or so, candidates have hijacked perfectly good rock songs and used them as their entrance music, background music, or their mantra. Now if an artist is endorsing the candidate and allows the music to be used, that is one thing. However, just grabbing a song because a line from it fits your platform...well isn't that what they always complain happens to them...taking something out of context. duh.

Well, on this day in 1996 Isaac Hayes, who co-wrote the famous Sam & Dave song "Soul Man," sent a cease and desist letter to Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole to stop using his song in the campaign. Apparently supporters of Bob Dole had changed the lyrics to, get this... "I'm a Dole Man." ugh.

And how can we forget when Ronald Reagan invoked a great patriot Bruce Springsteen and his flag-waving song "Born in the USA." Now, I would never disagree that Bruce is a patriot, but did anyone bother to actually listen to the song before old Ronnie used it in a speech. didn't think so.

Added to the list of song-swiping politicians are: John McCain using Jackson Browne's "Running on Empty," Sarah Palin with Heart's "Barracuda," George W. Bush with the Orleans song "Still the One," and most recently Newt Gingrich using Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger."

But it isn't only Republicans making the major faux pas. Sam Moore of Sam & Dave apparently wasn't thrilled with Barack Obama using the song "Hold On, I'm Coming."

So in honor of the late Isaac Hayes and his letter writing to Bob Dole, I offer you his most famous song and the one whose title defines the effect on the artists when their songs are hijacked.

"Shaft"

shut your mouth.

.