A Brief History of Campaign Songs

In one of the strangest music-and-politics pairings of the past decade, John McCain surprised everyone when he selected ABBA's Take a Chance on Me as his primary season theme song. His official campaign blog called McCain "a huge ABBA fan," a fact the Arizona Senator reiterated when he professed his love for Dancing Queen and wondered aloud why it was considered uncool to like the Swedish pop group. Despite McCain's support, ABBA didn't make the Republican National Convention playlist; instead, Heart's Barracuda became the song of the moment. But the selection, a tribute to Sarah Palin's high school nickname (Sarah Barracuda), irked the artists, and Heart asked the campaign to stop using it. McCain's iPod can't seem to catch a break — John Mellencamp, Boston, Van Halen and Jackson Browne have all issued similar requests throughout the season. (Browne actually sued the Ohio Republican Party for using Running on Empty during an attack ad on Obama). McCain will probably start looking for a new campaign song pretty soon; Sarah Palin might want to consider the theme from Northern Exposure.

—By Claire Suddath