TOPLINE
After Trump’s July 4 event on Friday at Mount Rushmore where Neil Young’s “Rockin ‘In The Free World” was played, the legendary musician, who is no stranger to quarreling with Trump over the use of his music, responded on Twitter to say, “This is NOT okay for me,” the latest in a long line of famous musicians making the same complaint.
Neil Young acts as part of a landmark double bill with Neil Young and Bob Dylan in Hyde Park in … [+]
KEY FACTS
Trump infamously performed “Rockin ‘In The Free World” the day he announced his 2015 presidential bid, garnering a quick conviction from Young’s management company.
In another video from Friday’s event, Young’s “Like A Hurricane” can be heard.
“I stand in solidarity with the Lakota Sioux and this is NOT okay with me,” Young said again on Twitter.
The South Dakota land on which Mount Rushmore is built is a sacred area for local Native Americans; For some, the monument to the presidents of the United States is seen as a symbol of oppression.
In February, Young published an open letter to President Trump: “You are a disgrace to my country,” he wrote. “‘Keep on Rockin’ in the Free World ‘is not a song you can get out of one of your rallies.”
Tangent
“Rockin ‘In The Free World” was written while Young was on tour in 1989, Rolling Stone he notes, a month after President George HW Bush took office. The song is a bitter and sarcastic condemnation of a government that did not seem to care about the poor and vulnerable.
Key background
Young is just one on a list of more than a dozen musical artists who have criticized the president for using his music in his protests. The Rolling Stones threatened to sue Trump in June for the unauthorized use of his music after ‘You can’t always get what you want’ at a rally in Oklahoma. The family of the late Tom Petty issued a cease and desist notice for the Trump campaign after “I will not return” was played. “Trump was in no way authorized to use this song to promote a campaign that leaves too many Americans and common sense behind,” Petty’s family wrote in a statement. REM, the heritage of Prince, Nickelback, Guns N ‘Roses and Rihanna are also among the artists who have clashed with Trump over music.
Further reading
All the artists who have told Trump to stop using his songs in his protests (Forbes)
Tom Petty’s family sends Trump to cease and desist from his use of ‘I won’t back down’ at the Tulsa Rally (Forbes)
Why can’t the Queen stop Donald Trump’s use of ‘We Are The Champions’ (Forbes)?
