Ariel King October 16th, 2020 - 8:49 PM
John Fogerty has issued a cease and desist following Trump’s use of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son” at campaign events. Trump had played the song at a campaign event in Freeland, Michigan this past September, with Fogerty shortly taking to Facebook to denounce Trump’s use of the song.
Fogerty had pointed out the irony of Trump using “Fortunate Son” last month, saying he felt Trump’s use was “confounding” because the song is about the Vietnam War, and how those without money were drafted and forced to fight. Trump infamously had five deferments for the Vietnam War, using the fact that he had been in college to avoid four drafts and citing “bone spurs” to allegedly dodge the draft a fifth time. Now, Fogerty has taken to Twitter to officially denounce Trump’s use of the song.
— John Fogerty (@John_Fogerty) October 16, 2020
“I object to the President using my song, ‘Fortunate Son’ in any way for his campaign,” Fogerty said on Twitter. “He is using my words and my voice to portray a message that I do not endorse.”
The lyrics in “Fortunate Son” depict how Fogerty had been drafted for the Vietnam War, with the song eventually becoming an anti-war classic. His lyrics highlight how the wealthy had managed to avoid fighting while the working class were forced to be in Vietnam, and were not the “fortunate sons.” The post Fogerty made on Twitter announcing his cease and desist was accompanied by a picture of him wearing his uniform during the war.
“Therefore, I am issuing a ‘cease and desist’ order,” Fogerty said in the Twitter post. “I wrote this song because, as a veteran, I was disgusted that some people were allowed to be excluded from serving our country because they had access to political and financial privilege. I also wrote about wealthy people not paying their fair share of taxes. Mr. Trump is a prime example of both of these issues. The fact that Mr. Trump also fans the flames of hatred, racism and fear while rewriting recent history, is even more reason to be troubled by his use of my song.”
Fogerty is only one of many artists to protest Trump’s use of their songs in his campaign. Tom Petty’s estate also issued a cease and desist for the use of “I Won’t Back Down” while Chester Benington’s estate issued a cease and desist after “In The End” was used in a fan-made campaign video that Trump had shared. Phil Collins had also issued a cease and desist against Trump for his use of “In the Air Tonight” just this week. Eric Burdon of The Animals, Guns N’ Roses, Panic! At The Disco, The Village People, Ozzy Osbourne, Queen, Neil Young and Eddie Grant have also denounced Trump’s use of their songs for campaign events, with many suing and filing copyright infringement lawsuits against his campaign.
