In the ongoing battle between Donald Trump and the recording artists of the world, the ex-President has lost another round. A judge in Atlanta has granted a temporary ruling to the estate of Isaac Hayes preventing Trump from using Hold On, I’m Comin’ from being used at his campaign rallies.
Federal court judge Thomas Thrash (what a rock n’ roll name, eh?) has put in place a temporary ruling whilst a lawsuit from Hayes’s family seeking a permanent injunction is being considered.
Trump has used the song - against the express wishes of the Hayes estate – some 134 times over the last four years. The ruling does not require the Trump campaign from taking down videos of the song being played at previous rallies – these will remain online until the wider injunction is considered.
Hayes’ son Isaac Hayes III seemed pleased with the temporary ruling anyway. He told reporters that “We are very grateful and happy for the decision by Judge Thrash... I couldn’t ask for a better decision. I want this to serve as an opportunity for other artists to come forward that don’t want their music used by Donald Trump or other political entities,”
Hayes originally co-wrote the song in the mid-60s, with its most famous version becoming a hit in 1966 for Sam and Dave. His co-author David Porter is still very much alive and has also made strong objections to Trump’s use of it. After one Trump rally in 2022, Porter tweeted: “Hell to the No! I did Not and would NOT approve of them using the song for any of his purposes!”
Incidentally, one half of the Sam and Dave duo, Sam Moore, has in the past proved more amenable to Trump’s politics. In 2017 he sang America The Beautiful at one of the orange one’s inauguration concerts. That said, he also performed his other big hit, Soul Man, at the White House for President Obama in 2013.
So Trump’s search for campaign music goes on. Barely a week now goes by without a recording artist distancing themselves from him. In the past seven days both Abba and Jack White have threatened litigation against his campaign if it uses their music again. They now both join a list of musicians, young and old, living and dead that is so lengthy that it even has its own Wikipedia page.
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