Rock Band Queen Speaks Out Against Trump's Use Of 'We Are The Champions' At RNC
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Both Queen and The Turtles are objecting to the use of their music at the Republican National Convention.
Donald Trump used "We Are The Champions'' as he walked out on stage briefly Monday night, and "Happy Together'' was played as the convention opened. Queen said the use of the song was against their wishes.
Their publisher, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, said it's asked repeatedly for the Trump campaign to stop using the song and its requests have been ignored.
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Meanwhile, Howard Kaylan of The Turtles tweets, "We never approved this use. Now we call the lawyers.''
However, his bandmate, Mark Volman, says they may have no legal recourse. He tells The Los Angeles Times The Turtles only own the rights to their recording of "Happy Together,'' and a house band played the song at the RNC.
Kaylan later took to Twitter acknowledging that there would likely be no action.
I was annoyed. And I did call lawyers
There is no legal recourse for covers
Not like Mrs. Trump outright theft. https://t.co/Yln1iKRdlQ— Howard Kaylan (@howardkaylan) July 19, 2016
This is not Trump's first run-in with frustrated musicians. Back in May, The Rolling Stones spoke out against the Republican nominee asking him to stop playing their songs at his events, which included the 1969 classic, "You Can't Always Get What You Want."
Neil Young also spoke out in June saying one of his songs had been used without his permission. Young, a Canadian citizen, wrote that he would not allow his music to be used for a candidate.
(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
