Heart Condemns Use Of Song On Campaign Trail
Posted on September 18, 2008
Filed Under Elections 2008, Entertainment, Politics, Women | Comments Off on Heart Condemns Use Of Song On Campaign Trail
What’s in a song? Apparently a lot, if the song happens to be Heart’s 1977 hit “Barracuda” and the people playing it happen to work for Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.
Following Governor Palin’s address to the Republican National Convention, strains of Heart’s classic “Barracuda” filtered through the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., in deference to the first female GOP vice presidential nominee.
After Palin made such a forceful and at times biting debut on the national political stage, the song seemed a dead-on choice to symbolize the GOP’s brash new political star.
Heart front women Nancy and Ann Wilson were so aghast by the GOP ticket’s use of their music to promote Palin that they publicly issued a cease-and-desist order asking the McCain campaign to stop using their song, posthaste.
In a statement to Entertainment Weekly , the Wilson sisters even went so far as to say that “Sarah Palin’s views and values in no way [their emphasis] represent us as American women.”
Heart’s website states: Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart have informed the McCain/Palin Campaign that Universal Music Publishing and Sony BMG have sent a cease-and-desist notice to not use one of Heart’s classic songs “Barracuda,” as the congratulatory theme for Sarah Palin. The Republican campaign did not ask for permission to use the song, nor would they have been granted that permission. “We have asked the Republican campaign not to use our music. We hope our wishes will be honored.”
According to CNN.com, the campaign has said that it had paid for and obtained all necessary licenses before using “Barracuda.” [Advocate]
