The late soul and funk musician Isaac Hayes’ family has asked Donald Trump to cease playing one of Hayes’ songs, “Hold On, I’m Comin’,” during his political rallies.
A letter from Isaac Hayes III, the son of Hayes, threatened legal action against Trump and his campaign staff if they kept using the 1966 Sam & Dave song. In addition to demanding $3 million in license costs for the song’s use between 2022 and 2024, the letter accuses the campaign of violating copyright.
James Walker, an attorney, writes a letter alleging that Trump’s campaign team “willfully and brazenly engaged in copyright infringement” and that they used the song “despite repeated requests from our client to cease all illegal use.” Walker went on, “The music was utilized so often that the $3 million demand is “heavily discounted.” The letter further claims that the Hayes family will demand $150,000 in damages for each usage of the song if a lawsuit is filed and no settlement is reached.
Trump, who was previously spotted dancing to “Hold On, I’m Comin’,” reportedly played the song at a rally in Montana on Saturday despite being instructed not to, according to Hayes III. “We’re going to wrap this up real quickly now. With his contempt, sexual assault of women, and divisive remarks, Donald Trump has completely transcended both class and morality.”
A week after the Uvalde school shooting, which claimed the lives of nineteen students, the Hayes family denounced Trump in 2022 for playing the song before a National Rifle Association meeting. “We express our condolences to the families of the Uvalde victims and all mass shooting victims,” the authors said.
According to David Porter, who co-wrote the song, “I did not and would not approve of them using the song for any of his purposes.” The song was written by Hayes and Porter while they were staff writers for Stax Records before Hayes went solo. Some of their previous hits together are Sam & Dave’s “Soul Man.”
Regarding the legal danger or the purported copyright infringement, neither Trump nor his campaign staff have responded.
Though Céline Dion chose not to file a lawsuit, she criticized Trump on Saturday for using “My Heart Will Go On” at the Bozeman, Montana rally. Christine Dion was very clear in her statement that “Céline Dion does not endorse this or any similar use,” and she referred to it as “unauthorized.” Furthermore, the statement questioned, “And really, THAT song?” and emphasized how ridiculous it would be to play a song associated with a sinking ship at a political event.
Other odd and even ridiculous musical selections have been made by Trump’s campaign in recent years. After the Smiths’ song “Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want,” which makes an incredibly emotional and impassioned plea, was played at a rally in January, Johnny Marr of the band wrote, “I never in a million years thought this could happen.” Now put an end to this foolishness.” REM’s Michael Stipe also declared, “Do not use our music or my voice for your moronic charade of a campaign,” following the use of the cheery apocalyptic song “It’s the End of the World As We Know It (and I Feel Fine)” in 2017.
Since so many other musicians have voiced their opposition to Donald Trump at his rallies with their music, they have their own Wikipedia page. Among the most well-known names are Adele, Aerosmith, and the Rolling Stones; the estates of George Harrison, Luciano Pavarotti, and Leonard Cohen have also expressed objection.
Neil Young, a singer from Toronto, wrote an open letter in 2020 accusing Trump of being a disgrace to his country and citing his song “Rockin’ in the Free World” regularly at rallies. We cannot forgive your heedless devastation of our environment, our common natural resources, and our friendships with friends around the globe.”
