Show me the Money! Romney vs. McCain in the "Big Fish" Race

Elect Romney in 2008 ^ | 7/8/06 | Jeff Fuller

[rhinohunter]

(my Grandfather thought that Kennedy was going to take orders from the Pope)

LOL!!!

Most Catholics won't even listen to the Pope, let alone take orders from him.

[justiceseeker93]

Thanks for the info on Gov. Romney, but you and SDGOP (please see post # 40) seem to have your differences of opinion.

[Fiji Hill]

Oscar Brand was a "folkie," and I'm pretty sure his politics were on the left, as was the case with most "folkies." There were a few exceptions to this trend, suich as The New Breed, who sang "John Birch, American" (Impact Records, 1963). Nonetheless, Brand may have included some presidential campaign songs in his repertoire.

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

If you think Oscar Brand was a leftie, you are wrong.
He was the best folk singer ever and his Vietnam records were pro troop.

He was crude in a lot of his records.

[justiceseeker93]

Really regret that the political song as a uniquely(?) American genre of music seems to have become nearly extinct, with the prominent exception of the parodies by Paul Shanklin played on Rush Limbaugh's show.

Seems to me that with the correct promotional approach, "conservative" political songs should sell a heck of a lot better than they have both in the distant and more recent past.

Thanks for your informative capsule review of the history of political music. I was completely unaware of the Goldwater era songs, thinking (erroneously, I suppose) that the political music of the 60s was basically all left all the time.

[Fiji Hill]

Campaign songs seem to have pretty much fallen off after 1964. In 1968, Connie Francis recorded a song for the Nixon campaign, but it was a far cry from her great hits such as "Stupid Cupid" or "I Want to be Wanted," and Nixon's official campaign song--I think it was called "Nixon's the One"--was downright insipid. However, the George Wallace campaign generated some good campaign songs, incouding "The Wallace Cannonball" (to the tune of "The Wabash Cannonball") and "The Wallace Victory Wagon" (to the tune of "The New Secession Wagon," a Confederate song from the Civil War).

I also have some Wallace songs from the 1972 campaign, but I think they date from 1971, before Wallace decided to seek the Democratic Party's nomination for the presidency. That campaign also produced "We Need to be Governed by McGovern," a good soul song, as well as "Come Home, America" by Johnny Rivers--the "B" side of his hit "Rockin' Pneumonia"--which was probably inspired by McGovern's campaign slogan.

In 1976, Mike Curb composed "Our Man Is Coming to Kansas City" for Ronald Reagan, and in 1980, he penned another tune for the Gipper--I believe it was entitles "United," but these were rather slick and had the ring of advertising jingles. I don't know of any Carter, Clinton, Kerry, Gore, or Bush songs, although in 2000, Hugh Hewitt made a recording entitled "Gorelero," in which he recited Al Gore's prevarications as Maurice Ravel's 1928 opus "Bolero" played in the background.

However, I'm afraid that political songs in the tradition of "Adams and Liberty," "The Hero of Tippecanoe," "Lincoln and Liberty," "Keep Cool, and Keep Coolidge," "Hoover, Our Preesident," "The Sunshine of Your Smile" (Eisenhower), and "High Hopes" (Kennedy) are probably a thing of the past.

[Neoabolitionist]

Does anyone on this listserv know where I can get a recording and/or a copy of the lyrics for "Folk songs for Conservatives" by Noel X and His Unbleached Muslims?

[edsheppa]

Bush may not be many things, but he is a man of his word.

I see the Romney people don't like W. That tells me plenty.

[Fiji Hill]

I have Fold Songs For Conservatives on a vinyl LP, as well as a songbook with the same title. The song book, which was published in 1964, about a year after the LP, doesn't contain the words to all of the songs on the LP, but it does have others that are not on the recording.

Below is the refrain of "Cool Goldwater," a spoof of "Cool Water," The Sons of the Pioneers' 1941 hit, which is found in the song book but not the LP:

Democrats are hacks, they will always show their backs.
They're too chicken to attack,
And they'll never counteract Goldwater.
Man, can't you see, since '33, this tax and spending spree's
Been killing off both me and you.