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Pre-Existing Music in United States Presidential Campaigns, 1972–2012

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Pre-Existing Music in United States Presidential Campaigns, 1972–2012 Pre-existing Music in United States Presidential Campaigns, 1972–2012 Dana C. Gorzelany-Mostak Schulich School of Music McGill University, Montreal August 2012 A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Ph.D. in Musicology © Dana C. Gorzelany-Mostak 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... i Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iv Résumé ................................................................................................................................ v Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... vi List of Musical Examples ............................................................................................... viii List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... ix List of Figures ..................................................................................................................... x Chapter 1 ................................................................................................................................. 1 Introduction: “A little musical priming…” .................................................................... 1 Beginnings ....................................................................................................................... 1 Literature Review ........................................................................................................... 4 What Can Campaign Songs Do? ................................................................................. 8 Methodology ................................................................................................................. 19 Chapter Outline............................................................................................................ 33 Chapter 2 ............................................................................................................................... 39 Getting [Off] the Raft with Taft: The Emergence of Pre-existing Campaign Music39 Who ya gonna call? “Fritzbusters” ............................................................................ 39 A Short History of Campaign Music: From Parody to Pre-existing .................... 40 George McGovern “You’ve Got a Friend” ............................................................. 53 Ronald Reagan “Thank GOD I’m a Country Boy” ............................................... 67 Bill Clinton “Can’t Help Falling in Love” ................................................................ 84 Staying Afloat Without Taft ......................................................................................... 93 Chapter 3 ............................................................................................................................... 94 “Grits and Fritz” and a Few Good Ol’ Boys: An Untold History of Southern Rock and the 1976 Jimmy Carter Presidential Campaign .................................................... 94 Grits: The Impossible Candidate ............................................................................... 94 Selling Tickets/Selling Carter ................................................................................... 100 The South’s Gonna Do It Again ............................................................................. 111 From Peanuts to President ....................................................................................... 130 Chapter 4 ............................................................................................................................. 133 “We all know who the real Boss is, right?” John Kerry, His Friend Bruce Springsteen, and the Politics of Political Redemption Post-9/11 ........................... 133 Celebrities and Other Politicians ............................................................................. 133 The Vote for Change Tour....................................................................................... 137 Rising from 9/11 to Rising from the Bush Administration ................................. 142 ii The Symbolic Capital of Vote for Change ............................................................. 152 Who’s the Boss? ......................................................................................................... 155 Rock Out ..................................................................................................................... 161 Chapter 5 ............................................................................................................................. 165 “Beautiful Girl” or “big strong tower?” Hillary Clinton’s Sonic Identity and Feminist Destiny .............................................................................................................. 165 Campaign Songs…serious business .......................................................................... 165 Campaigns 2.0 ............................................................................................................ 168 Clinton and the Double Bind ................................................................................... 171 Will the Real Hillary Clinton Please Stand Up? ..................................................... 175 Choose Our Campaign Song ................................................................................... 212 Embracing Feminist Destiny ...................................................................................... 222 Chapter 6 ............................................................................................................................. 225 Keepin’ it Real (Respectable) in 2008: Barack Obama’s iPod as Proof of Cultural Blackness ......................................................................................................................... 225 I like hip hop and I cannot lie… ............................................................................. 225 The Hip-Hop Dalai Lama? ....................................................................................... 228 “Tell Ya Mama Vote 4 Obama” .............................................................................. 244 The Joshua Generation ............................................................................................. 253 “My President is Black” ............................................................................................ 257 Chapter 7 ............................................................................................................................. 262 Conclusion: Barack Obama and the Infinite Playlist ................................................ 262 Appendix A ......................................................................................................................... 277 “Why Not the Best” .................................................................................................. 277 “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” .......................................... 278 “Think” ....................................................................................................................... 279 “Respect” .................................................................................................................... 281 Appendix B ......................................................................................................................... 282 2004 Republican National Convention Live Performances ................................ 282 Appendix C ......................................................................................................................... 283 Vote for Change Tour: Participating Artists and Venues .................................... 283 Washington D.C. Vote for Change Finale Concert Set list ................................. 285 Appendix D ......................................................................................................................... 286 Music at Obama Rallies (2008) ................................................................................ 286 Popular Music after 1945 “24 Hours of Music” ................................................... 288 Bibliography .................................................................................................................... 289 iii Secondary Sources ..................................................................................................... 289 Music ............................................................................................................................ 308 Archival Materials ...................................................................................................... 309 Select Audio/Visual ................................................................................................... 312 Mainstream Press/Music Press ................................................................................ 316 Speeches, Reports, and Other Online Sources ...................................................... 328 Interviews .................................................................................................................... 330 iv ABSTRACT Over the past forty years, pre-existing popular music has
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