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When it comes to a US presidential election campaign, a candidate’s choice of music can go a long way to shaping the public’s impression of them.

From Kamala Harris leaning into the Charli XCX ‘brat summer’ viral trend to Donald Trump dancing to a playlist on stage, music has been a major talking point of the 2024 US election. But it’s certainly not the first time.

Sometimes the songs are purposefully written for a campaign, particularly in the earliest US elections. In more recent decades however, candidates have tended to use pre-existing, popular songs that they feel conveys the message, tone and general feeling that they wish to project.

91�ȱ� Bitesize presses play on the musical campaign choices of five former US presidents.

William Henry Harrison

One of the first election campaign songs to gain widespread popularity was Tippecanoe and Tyler Too, from the 1840 election. Written by Alexander Coffman Ross, it shared its title with one of William Henry Harrison's campaign slogans.

A Whig Party member, Harrison made a point of emphasising his military experience during his campaign made a point of emphasising his military experience during his campaign, including a victory over a group of Shawnee Native Americans near a river called Tippecanoe in Indiana, hence the song. John Tyler was his running mate.

When Harrison died in office in April 1841, Tyler became the tenth President of the United States. This was the first time that a Vice President succeeded to the Presidency due to the death of their predecessor.

If you’re familiar with the US sitcom Parks and Recreation, you might recognise this song. To help in her ambition to transform the local area into a national park, the character Leslie Knope tries to get the remains of Harrison’s hunting lodge listed as a Historic Landmark and uses the song in her presentation.

Tippecanoe and Taylor, Too is the title of an episode of Gilmore Girls, in which the character Jackson runs for the position of town selectman, winning with ease against the incumbent, Taylor. See what they did there?

Abraham Lincoln

At the time of the 1864 US presidential election, the American Civil War was still ongoing. President Abraham Lincoln was running for a second term, having been elected in 1860 with the support of all 18 Northern states but none in the South. Since that election, the Southern states had seceded and formed the Confederate States of America. As a result, only those states that remained part of the Union voted in the 1864 election.

Lincoln represented the Republican party and the Democrat candidate was George B. McClellan.

It was common at that time for the lyrics of popular tunes to be rewritten in support of a candidate and their agenda. The German Christmas song O Tannenbaum (O Christmas Tree in English) was used as the basis for the song Abraham! Our Abraham!. Like many songs associated with the campaign, its lyrics combined support for Lincoln with support for the Union military effort.

Interestingly, the same tune was used for the state song of Maryland, with lyrics describing Lincoln as a ‘despot’ and a 'tyrant’.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

The song most closely associated with Franklin D. Roosevelt’s successful 1932 election campaign is Happy Days Are Here Again. But it wasn’t the first choice.

At the 1932 Democratic Convention, where the party’s presidential nomination was decided, Roosevelt was introduced on stage by Judge John E. Mack. However, Mack’s speech failed to inspire. He walked off stage to the tune of Anchors Aweigh, a song which was supposed to help emphasise Roosevelt’s strong naval background. In light of Mack’s performance though, it needed to be replaced quickly.

Before Roosevelt could make his own speech, Happy Days Are Here Again was played. Taken from the 1930 musical film Chasing Rainbows, its optimistic lyrics spoke to a country still suffering from the effects of the 1929 Great Depression. Roosevelt was promising them a bright future with his New Deal policies.

The song would gain further popularity in 1963, when Barbara Streisand and Judy Garland performed it as a duet, woven together with the song Get Happy.

Ronald Reagan

When it came to choosing his 1980 election campaign song, Republican Ronald Reagan went with an old favourite: California Here I Come from the Broadway musical Bombo. He had previously used the song in his campaigns to be Governor of California. The lyrics were tweaked to make direct reference to Reagan.

Over the years, several attempts have been made to make California Here I Come the official song of the state of California, but it lost out to I Love You, California in 1988.

For the 1984 election, Reagan used country singer Lee Greenwood's God Bless The USA, sparking a trend towards using popular songs of the period. It has proved popular with Republican presidential candidates ever since, with Greenwood performing at the Republican National Conventions for both George H.W. Bush and Donald Trump.

Bill Clinton

For his first presidential election campaign in 1992, Bill Clinton chose Don’t Stop by Fleetwood Mac, going against the wishes of his advisors. The song had first been released back in 1977, raising concerns that it was too old and that a newer song would be the better choice. Clinton was undeterred however, believing in the message of the song and its focus on the future.

Fleetwood Mac had already disbanded by this time, but when Clinton won the election, the band agreed to reunite for the occassion. They performed at Clinton’s Inaugural Gala, which took place the night before the inauguration and also featured the likes of Elton John, Diana Ross and Aretha Franklin.

The band would come together again in January 2001, when Clinton left the White House following the end of his second term in office. Playing on the South Lawn, the first song of their set was Don’t Stop.

Clinton has continued to use the song at fundraisers and speeches throughout his career.

Barack Obama

In an era of online streaming, Obama switched things up a little for his 2012 re-election campaign. Rather than focus on one or two songs, he and his team published a whole playlist. It drew songs from across the decades and a wide range of genres, including R&B, soul, country and rock.

Among those featured were Bruce Springsteen, Florence + the Machine, U2, Jennifer Hudson and Earth, Wind & Fire.

One notable inclusion was Al Green’s Let’s Stay Together, the opening line of which Obama had previously sung on stage at a fundraising event. When the moment went viral, his campaign released a free ringtone of it.

This isn’t the only time Obama has busted out a tune during an election campaign. He was recently spotted quoting Eminem at a Kamala Harris rally in Detroit, Michigan. He also unveils a new playlist each summer.

This article was published in October 2024