[Forty
years ago this week, the musical supergroup USA (United Support of Artists) for Africa recorded
their single “We are the
World” (it would drop on March 7th). So this week I’ll
AmericanStudy that effort and other examples of musical activism!]
On three
examples and types of political endorsements from musicians.
1)
Elvis
and the Polio Vaccine: I said in that hyperlinked post much of what I’d
want to say about the role played
by Elvis Presley (among other celebrities) in helping make the new and
frustratingly (if not necessarily, here in early 2025, surprisingly) controversial
polio vaccine palatable to the American public in the 1950s. A moment that
helpfully reminds us, when we’re quick to complain about the outsized influence
of celebs in our moment or on the public, that it’s been thus for at least half
a century now.
2)
Elvis and Nixon:
As that Time article indicates, the most-requested photo from the
National Archives is the one that captures the December
1970 Oval Office meeting between the President and the King. It wasn’t an
endorsement exactly—Nixon was in between campaigns at the time, and Presley
wasn’t there to support any particular policy or the like—but it nonetheless
reflects that the intersection between musical celebrities and political figures
is likewise nothing new.
3)
Sinatra
and Multiple Campaigns: My man Bruce Springsteen might have eclipsed the
record over the last few presidential campaigns, but for a good while no
musicians had endorsed more such campaigns than did Frank Sinatra. And likely no
other has crossed party lines in the way Ol’ Blue Eyes did—campaigning with FDR in
1944 and JFK
in 1960 but later endorsing
Ronald Reagan during his 1980 campaign. Much as those shifts might have
angered particular supporters, I think they do reflect, as I believe
Springsteen’s certainly do as well, artists genuinely sharing their
perspectives (which, to be clear, was also the case with Kamala’s endorsers in
this last campaign, who despite false stories to the contrary were
not paid for their support).
January
Recap this weekend,
Ben
PS. What
do you think? Activisms you’d highlight?
