Tom Petty was in Michele Bachmann's backyard for another concert with the Heartbreakers last summer at Xcel Energy Center. / Photo by Jerry Holt, Star Tribune (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Tom Petty won't back Michele Bachmann's use of 'American Girl'
The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer reportedly sent a cease-and-desist order to the Minnesota congresswoman's office after she used his song at her rally Monday in Iowa.
June 28, 2011 at 8:53PM
Among the many traditions for presidential candidates on the campaign trail are kissing babies and getting kiss-offs from rock musicians over unwanted use of their songs. A day into her campaign for the White House, Michele Bachmann is already facing the latter custom.
Tom Petty has sent the Minnesota congresswoman a cease-and-desist order after she used his 1977 classic "American Girl" as background music at her kickoff rally Monday in Waterloo, Iowa, a source close to the singer has confirmed.
This is not the first time Petty has sent out such an order: George W. Bush's team also received one in 2000 when the future president used "I Won't Back Down" at campaign stops. Nor is it the first time a candidate has used "American Girl:" Hillary Clinton also spun it at many of her presidential campaign rallies in 2008, without any complaint from the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer -- who is otherwise relatively apolitical in his music and public life.
Through the somewhat arcane music publishing laws, recording artists have the right to deny use of their songs if the proper license has not been obtained, or if it's used in conjunction with video. Invoking those rights has become a not-so-subtle way for rockers to show they disapprove of certain candidates. The last highly publicized case of it was when Jackson Browne sued John McCain for running with "Running on Empty" in a 2008 commercial. Probably the first big high-profile case of it came in 1984, when Bruce Springsteen denounced Ronald Reagan's use of "Born in the USA."
As was the case with "Born in the USA" -- which Springsteen wrote about America's mistreatment of Vietnam vets -- "American Girl" might not exactly be an appropriate song for Bachmann, Clinton or any woman in politics to use in the first place. The "girl" in the song is hung up on a man, and the second verse has her standing on a balcony listening to cars roll by, which has been interpreted to mean she's contemplating suicide. It ends with these lyrics:
"And for one desperate moment / There he crept back into her memory / God it's painful when something that's so close / Is still so far out of reach."
Petty might be doing Bachmann a favor, in other words.
Massive burritos, brothless ramen, cake muffin and a cup of Dayton’s nostalgia.