Tom Petty Takes Aim At US Politician

Petty forces Republican congresswoman to stop using American Girl on campaign

Published 29th Jun 2011

Rolling Stone reports that Minnesota congresswoman Michelle Bachmann played "American Girl" on Monday when she walked onstage at a rally but Petty's management team immediately sent the Bachmann campaign a cease and desist letter.

It is not the first time that Petty has had a run-in with a Republican politician over the use of his music. In 2000 he had to tell George W. Bush to stop using "I Won't Back Down" at rallies. "It has recently come to our attention that your presidential campaign has been using the above-referenced song in connection with your presidential bid," Wixen Music Publishing president Randall Wizen wrote to the Bush campaign. "Please be advised that this use has not been approved . . . Any use made by you or your campaign creates, either intentionally or unintentionally, the impression that you and your campaign have been endorsed by Tom Petty, which is not true."

(Rolling Stone)