Classic Rock News And Views

Shop For: Classic Rock Gear    Classic Rock Ringtones    Classic Rock Posters

With Campaign Behind Us, Jackson Browne-John McCain Battle Continues

Of all the left-leaning classic rockers that took offence to the McCain campaigns use of their material, Jackson Browne appears to be the only real pit bull in the pack, and is not giving up easily in his efforts to punish McCain for the use of his hit song “Running on Empty” as part of a television ad during the long, and often nasty campaign.

In response to Browne’s lawsuit for the “violation of his publicity rights, copyright infringement and a false endorsement,” the McCain camp is firing back with some legal action of their own.

McCain’s legal team has filed two motions including a motion to dismiss the case on grounds that the use of Browne’s material was protected by the fair use provisions that are part of federal copyright law.

McCain is also deflecting blame away from his campaign by claiming that the commercial in question was actually created by the Ohio Republican Party.

In addition to the motion to dismiss the case, McCain is also seeking seeking to recover attorney’s fees and court costs that resulted from having to defend himself in what he refers to as a "frivolous" action.

In some comments that may be reminiscent of the jabs that he and President-elect Obama exchanged during the campaign for the highest office in the land, McCain said that Browne’s motive for suing him was due to Browne being “…desperate for publicity to boost his career.” McCain also indicated that the publicity surrounding this case would probably provide a boost in popularity for the 1978 hit.

Although the McCain-Browne dust-up is the only one that seems to be outlasting the campaign itself, other notable rockers who were reportedly unhappy with the McCain campaign’s use of their music include Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart, Bon Jovi, John Mellencamp, and Foo Fighters. So far, no word of any lawsuits from other angry artists has surfaced.

Subscribe to RRN via RSS Feed or e-mail to stay up-to-date on classic rock news

Tags: Jackson Browne, John McCain, lawsuit, Running on Empty

Classic Rock Briefs For October 31, 2008

Halloween Song From Bruce Springsteen Available Online

Embracing the spirit of Halloween, and applying his songwriting talent for the benefit of his fans on this spookiest day of the year, Bruce Springsteen has written a Halloween song that has been posted on his website for visitors to download.

Being a Jersey boy, Springsteen grew up hearing the legend of the “Jersey Devil,” which inspired him to entitle this new track “A Night With The Jersey Devil.” There’s also a video available on the site which features Springsteen hamming it up a bit for the occasion.

Springsteen recently announced that he and his wife have decided to cancel their annual display of Halloween decorations at their Rumson, NJ home this year due to safety concerns for the large crowd that typically shows up to check it out. Maybe they will decide to decorate big for Christmas this year. Check out Bruce Springsteen’s website to access the Halloween song and video.

AC/DC ‘overwhelmed’ by CD’s success

It appears that the phenomenal success of their latest album, Black Ice, has taken the Australian hard rockers by surprise. Frontman Brian Johnson was quoted as saying, “It’s overwhelming, and quite hard to take in.” He then added, “Even an old dog like me has a few more surprises in life, I guess.”

Black Ice is the number two debut album of the year, just behind Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter III. With over 780,000 copies sold in the U.S. so far, and two months left to the year, I think Black Ice may have a shot at matching Lil Wayne’s 1 million copies or perhaps even beating that number. Full Story.

Aerosmith’s Joe Perry Supporting McCain for President

Since we have heard so much lately about certain well-known classic rockers getting upset by the McCain campaign’s use of their music during events and for TV commercials, I thought we’d offer up a little pro-McCain news to help balance things out a bit.

Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry says he and his band mates typically steer clear of the political scene, but this time he decided to speak up after he learned that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger had endorsed McCain.

“I’ve been a hardcore Republican my whole life. My mother and father drilled into me from the very start that if you work hard and be positive, you’ll get what you’re working for. I guess I’m living proof of that,” Perry said. Full Story.

Tags: AC/DC, Brian Johnson, Bruce Springsteen, Halloween Song, Joe Perry, John McCain

Sammy Hagar Not Bothered By McCain Camp’s Use of Van Halen Tune

Sammy Hagar was the frontman for veteran rockers Van Halen when the group’s 1991 single "Right Now" was hitting the airwaves for the first time. Since then, the song has been used more than a few times during TV commercials and various sporting events.

Most recently, however, the use of the song by Presidential Candidate John McCain during the announcement of his running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Plain is what’s making news.

The reaction from the current Van Halen line-up was not a positive one, although a publicist basically said that the group does not intend to use their celebrity status to promote either the Republican or Democratic candidate for President.

For his part, former VH member Sammy Hagar seems to have no problem at all with the use of the song by McCain’s organization. Hagar wrote the lyrics to the song, although it was a collaboration between himself and Eddie Van Halen that gave birth to the finished product.

Hagar is quoted as saying, "When I wrote the lyrics to ‘Right Now’ I intended them to inspire people to not sit around and wait for something they believed in but to go out and get it — to make a change however they needed to. Whether it was McCain who used the song or if Obama had chosen to use the song, with the current political climate, the lyrics still have the same meaning, and we all need to do something to make a difference, every action counts."

Considering the fact that Hagar entertained some Republicans at a party associated with the Republican National Convention a few nights ago, I guess it should not come as a surprise that he was fine with the use of "Right Now" during the McCain event.

Hagar is known to be a contributor to both President Bush and Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher of California. Judging by the reaction of Hagar’s former VH band mates, it may be safe to assume they do not share his enthusiasm for the Republican Party.

Making this story even more interesting is word that the newly-chosen Republican Vice Presidential contender named one of her children in honor of the very group whose feathers seem to be ruffled a bit over the use of their music during her big time political coming out party.

Born in April, Trig Paxson Van Palin is said to have been named in the group’s honor. Now whether the Palin family intended to honor only the group that was known as Van Halen during the Hagar days, or the current line-up is not clear. Perhaps they did not intend to make a distinction at all, in which case, they may be re-thinking that decision right now. (No pun intended).

Perhaps Trig Van Hagar Palin would have been a better choice. Heck, I couldn’t figure out how the "Paxson" came into play anyway.

Tags: John McCain, Right Now, Sammy Hagar, Sarah Palin, Van Halen

Van Halen Ticked Off By Candidate McCain’s Use of Group’s Song

As the political season heats up, so do tempers among the members of Van Halen. In the kind of story we are hearing more and more these days, Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain was strutting his stuff on a stage in Dayton, Ohio with Van Halen’s 1991 song "Right Now" playing in the background.

This time the main event was the announcement of his running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, which was quite the surprise to just about everyone.

You may recall the actions of former Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee back during the early days of this campaign (does anyone remember back they far?) when Boston mastermind Tom Scholz was none too happy when he discovered that Huckabee was using the groups hit song "More Than A Feeling" at various campaign events, and asked the ex-Arkansas governor to stop using the tune.

More recently, Jackson Browne took things a little further when he reportedly filed a lawsuit against McCain for making use of his well-known hit, "Running on Empty" during a commercial that was being used to discredit something that Democratic Presidential Candidate Barrack Obama said regarding the high cost of energy.

There’s little doubt that partisan politics plays a significant role in some of these disputes. Browne is well-known as a liberal activist, and could certainly be expected to react negatively when a conservative candidate used his material. I don’t know much about Tom Scholz’s political leanings, but his statement at the time indicates that the situation may have been similar to the more recent rift between McCain and Browne.

In this case, I find the response from Van Halen in regard to McCain’s use of their material more sensible than the celebrities who wear their political hearts on their sleeves.

Although the group is not making any secret of their displeasure with McCain’s use of their material, and say they would not have agreed to it even if the McCain camp had bothered to ask their permission, a publicist for the group had this to say: "The band is not political in nature, and has not and will not be throwing their support behind either presidential candidate. "

And to that, I say Bravo, Van Halen, Bravo!

For more on this story, see MTV News.

Tags: John McCain, Right Now, Van Halen

Jackson Browne Squares Off Against John McCain

Much like the story that emerged back in February, when Boston’s Tom Scholz asked then-Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee to stop using the group’s hit song "More Than A Feeling," we are now hearing that veteran rocker Jackson Browne is not happy about Republican Presidential candidate John McCain using his hit tune, "Running on Empty."

With Browne being known as a liberal activist, it’s easy to see why he’s not happy about the McCain campaign using the song during a TV commercial that was poking fun at McCain’s Democratic opponent, Barrack Obama.

Browne is reported to have filed a lawsuit against both Senator McCain and the Republican party for making use of his material without his consent. Although copyright issues are an element of the lawsuit, it also alleges that using Browne’s song suggest that he is a McCain supporter, which, I suspect, is what really got Browne ticked off.

Being aware of copyrights and related matters, I always find myself wondering how much a particular group is being paid whenever I hear a well-known hit song being used as part of a commercial. I’m no lawyer, but I always assumed that artists are entitled to compensation under those circumstances, unless permission has been obtained from the artist beforehand.

I’m a bit surprised that a campaign being waged by a U.S. Senator for the highest office in the land would assume that they could use Browne’s song without permission. One would think that a Presidential campaign would have a task force of attorneys and fact checkers at their disposal, who could be consulted regarding the potential pitfalls of using a song that belongs to an artist who also happens to be a liberal activist.

A McCain spokesman says that the Ohio Republican party is responsible for the commercial, but for the same reasons outlined in the previous paragraph, shouldn’t they have known better?

Browne’s lawsuit seeks to cease the use of his song and is also seeking damages which were not disclosed.

After the protracted battle between Democratic hopefuls Barrack Obama and Hillary Clinton, I’m so sick of political commercials that I’d like to see them take a break at least until the 2012 election. Couldn’t McCain and Obama have waited at least until September to start bombarding us with their attacks on on another? That would still give them two full months to take turns publicly bloodying their opponent’s nose.

Come on, give us all a break, guys.

For more on this story, see PopEater.

Tags: Commercial, Jackson Brown, John McCain, lawsuit, Running on Empty