A Brief History of Political Campaign Songs

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If you want to run for President, you're going to need a song. You can use a well-known pop song or write your own, steal a melody or just insert your name into already existing lyrics — it's all been done before. Eisenhower went with something catchy; Franklin Roosevelt flew by on optimism; John Quincy Adams specialized in intimidating threats.

American music and politics have gone together ever since George Washington's supporters broke out their flutes to celebrate his unanimous nomination. Back then, politicians commissioned songs for their campaigns, such as Adams and Liberty and Jefferson and Liberty, written by the same songwriter who played both sides of the 1800 election. Until radio and television came along, campaign songs also doubled as blistering attack ads — William Henry Harrison's campaign is famous for Tippecanoe and Tyler Too, but he had a number of other songs, including one that likened Martin Van Buren to Satan.

Franklin Roosevelt was the first Presidential candidate to adopt a well-known pop song as his own. Ever since he turned the non-political Happy Days Are Here Again into the Democratic Party's unofficial theme song, candidates have looked to popular culture when searching for that special tune.

Today's campaign songs are feel-good numbers with only a vague message — what was George McGovern trying to say with Bridge Over Troubled Water, anyway? — designed to provide comfort or inspire solidarity. Sometimes the original message isn't the one the candidate intended; Ronald Reagan praised Bruce Springsteen's anthem of alienation, Born in the U.S.A., as representing American values, while and John McCain's recent Barracuda tribute to Sarah Palin includes the questionable line, "If the real thing don't do the trick, you better make up something quick."

This season's candidates used the Internet to help spread their musical message. Senator Hillary Clinton let supporters vote on her website for their favorite campaign song, but quietly dropped their choice — Celine Dion's You and I — in the face of ridicule, opting instead for Big Head Todd and the Monsters. There have been a number of unofficial songs too. They've taken the form of (ringtones), (country music anthems), and of course, the viral video, (I Got a Crush On Obama). But officially, the candidates are still going with classic, radio-friendly rock and pop.