A Brief History of Campaign Songs

Bill Clinton took a 1977 hit song that peaked at number three on the Billboard charts and repurposed it as his own, going so far as to convince the long-disbanded Fleetwood Mac to reunite for a special performance at his 1993 inaugural ball. Fleetwood Mac wasn't the hippest musical choice, though, and at the time, Clinton's aids tried to get their candidate to switch to something cooler. He wouldn't have it, and the song stuck. Don't Stop proved to be such a malleable theme song that Clinton still uses it regulary; he plays it at fundraisers and speeches, he name-checked it at the 2000 Democratic National Convention and this year in Denver, he walked on stage to it.

—By Claire Suddath