Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler is just the latest musician to ask a politician to stop using his or her music while campaigning, with his attorneys sending a cease-and-desist letter to Donald Trump's campaign committee over the weekend asking the Republican presidential candidate to stop using the song "Dream On" at campaign events. Click through for more kerfuffles between politicians and musicians.No description foundNo description foundNo description foundNo description foundNo description foundNo description foundNo description foundNo description foundRonald Reagan vs. Bruce Springsteen -- During Ronald Reagan's presidential campaign he used Bruce Springsteen's song "Born in the U.S.A."No description foundGeorge W. Bush vs. John Mellencamp -- Mellencamp lambasted President George W. Bush in his 2003 song, "To Washington," three years after Bush campaigned with Mellencamp's "R.O.C.K. in the USA."No description foundJohn McCain and Sarah Palin vs. Heart -- Nancy and Ann Wilson, from '70s rock band Heart, emailed a statement to the McCain-Palin campaign in 2008 denying permission to use their song "Barracuda.""The Republican campaign did not ask for permission to use the song, nor would they have been granted for permission," they wrote.No description foundMike Huckabee vs. Beyonc -- Former Republican Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee directed his criticism toward one of the most renowned iconic couples in the music industry -- Beyonc and Jay-Z -- in his newly published book, "God, Guns, Grits and Gravy."No description foundRand Paul vs. Rush -- Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky), used Rush's song "The Spirit of Radio" during his senatorial campaign in 2010. He even quoted the band's lyrics in his speeches.Rush's attorney Robert Farmer requested the Paul campaign to pull the music out of his campaign. Farmer told Mother Jones the campaign never responded.Charlie Crist vs. David Byrne -- Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist blared the song "Road to Nowhere" by Talking Heads without permission for his 2010 Senate campaign advertisements. Soon after, Crist found himself in trouble: David Byrne, founding member and songwriter of Talking Heads, sued the governor for $1 million.Crist later apologized for copyright infringement, and uploaded a video on YouTube acknowledging that it was wrong pledged that he would uphold the rights of artists and obtain license for any future campaigns.No description foundThis wasn't the first time Walker played one of the band's tracks during his campaign -- after discovering the misuse of their song, the Dropkick Murphys compared Walker to a "white supremacist coming out to gangsta rap."Rick Santorum vs. Black Sabbath, Venom, W.A.S.P. and Iron Maiden -- Republican Rick Santorum started a different kind a feud with musical artists. Rather than getting reprimanded for showing an unsanctioned musical appreciation when he ran for president in 2012, he called out artists whose work he found offensive, including Iron Maiden (pictured above)."If you listen to the radio today, many of these brand new, so-called heavy metal music bands like Black Sabbath, Venom, The WASP [sic] and Iron Maiden use satanic imagery to corrupt the minds of young people," Santorum said during his campaign.Ted Cruz vs. John Lennon Fans -- When Sen. Ted Cruz announced his candidacy for president in March, he inspired jokes on Twitter due to a sequence of lines he said in his speech, in which he repeatedly asked voters to "imagine" different scenarios.No description foundMichele Bachmann/George W. Bush vs. Tom Petty --Then-Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minnesota), got in hot water in 2011 for using Tom Petty's song "American Girl" to help her announce her presidential campaign.No description foundBut President George W. Bush also ran afoul of Petty. The former president also got sent a letter asking him to stop using "I Won't Back Down" during one of his presidential campaigns.New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has often spoken of his love of Bruce Springsteen, a native son of the Garden State. Springsteen, a Democrat, has not returned the affection.Things came to a head when Springsteen appeared on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" while Christie was fully embroiled in the "Bridgegate" controversy. Fallon and Springsteen performed a rendition of Springsteen's song "Born to Run" with parody lyrics lampooning Christie.No description foundNo description foundNo description foundNo description foundNo description foundNo description foundNo description found
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Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler is just the latest musician to ask a politician to stop using his or her music while campaigning, with his attorneys sending a cease-and-desist letter to Donald Trump's campaign committee over the weekend asking the Republican presidential candidate to stop using the song "Dream On" at campaign events. Click through for more kerfuffles between politicians and musicians.
