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The family of late soul and funk singer Isaac Hayes has ordered Donald Trump to stop using the song “Hold On, I’m Coming” written by Hayes at his campaign rallies.
Hayes’ son, Isaac Hayes III, shared a letter to Trump and his campaign threatening Trump with legal action if he continues to use the 1966 Sam & Dave song written by Hayes and David Porter. It alleges copyright infringement and demands $3 million in licensing fees for use of the song between 2022 and 2024.
The letter, from attorney James Walker, said the Trump campaign had “willfully and flagrantly infringed copyright” and continued to use the song “despite repeated requests by some of our clients not to engage in such unlawful use.”
Walker claimed that the song was used so often that the $3 million price tag was “substantially discounted.” The letter also stated that if a settlement is not reached and the lawsuit is filed, the Hayes family will seek $150,000 in damages for each use of the song.
On Saturday, Hayes III wrote that Trump, who had previously been photographed dancing to “Hold On, Here I Come,” used the song at a rally in Montana despite being asked not to do so. “We will now quickly address this issue… Donald Trump represents the worst of integrity and class, with his disrespect for women, sexual abuse, and racist comments.”
In 2022, the Hayes family criticized Trump for using the song at an NRA convention, less than a week after the Uvalde school shooting that killed 19 students. “We mourn the victims and families of Uvalde and the victims of mass shootings everywhere,” they wrote.
Porter, who co-wrote the song, also wrote, “I have not and will not consent to their use of the song for any purpose.” Hayes and Porter wrote the song while working as songwriters for Stax Records before Hayes began his solo career. Other hits he co-wrote include Sam & Dave’s “Soul Man.”
Trump and his campaign have not yet commented on the threats of legal action or the alleged copyright violations.
Celine Dion criticized Trump’s use of “My Heart Will Go On” at the same rally in Bozeman, Montana, on Saturday, but she stopped short of threatening legal action. “This use is in no way authorized, nor does Celine Dion endorse this or any similar use,” the statement read. “Is that really the song?” he added, as Trump was widely mocked for using a song commonly associated with shipwrecks at his campaign rallies.
Dion’s Titanic-set ballad is the latest, odd, even hilarious, musical choice by the Trump campaign in recent years. The Smiths’ “Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want,” a naked, vulnerable plea heard at a January rally, prompted band member Johnny Marr to write, “Never in a million years did I think this would happen. Consider this thing stopped right now.” In 2015, after the use of the joyous apocalyptic song “It’s the End of the World As We Know It (and I Feel Fine),” REM’s Michael Stipe said, “Don’t use our music or my voice for your Moro campaign games.”
Many other musicians have objected to Donald Trump using their music at rallies, to the point where they collectively have their own Wikipedia page. The most notable include Adele, The Rolling Stones and Aerosmith; the estates of the late Leonard Cohen, Luciano Pavarotti and George Harrison have also objected.
Trump frequently uses Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World” at his rallies, prompting the Toronto-born musician to write an open letter in 2020 in which he acknowledged he had no legal recourse to stop its use but said: “Shame on you my country… Your senseless destruction of our shared natural resources, our environment, and our relationships with friends around the world is inexcusable.”
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