George Harrison’s Estate Calls Republican Use of ‘Here Comes the Sun’ ‘Offensive’
George Harrison's estate has taken the Republican National Convention to task for playing one of his songs, though they did make a helpful suggestion for replacing it.
“The unauthorized use of 'Here Comes the Sun' [at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland] is offensive, and against the wishes of the George Harrison estate,” they wrote on Twitter.
About 10 minutes later, a follow-up tweet echoed the dry sense of humor that led Harrison to such a close kinship with the Monty Python comedy troupe. “If it had been 'Beware of Darkness,' then we MAY have approved it! #TrumpYourself,” the estate said, referring to a deep cut from 1970's All Things Must Pass.
"Here Comes the Sun," the opening song on side two of the Beatles' 1969 album Abbey Road, accompanied the entrance of Ivanka Trump, daughter of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. She introduced her father before his acceptance speech last night in Cleveland.
The co-producers of 1969's Woodstock Festival are also miffed about the Republican National Convention logo's similarity to their original artwork. Woodstock's featured a dove sitting on a guitar neck, while the RNC has an elephant. In a blog post, Michael Lang and Joel Rosenman urged the party to remember that the Woodstock logo "symbolized, and resonated with, those who believe in equality, community, activism and environmental protection."
Harrison and the creators of Woodstock aren't the only ones pushing back against Trump. Earth Wind and Fire, the estate of Luciano Pavarotti and the O'Jays have now joined the list of those who don't want their music employed in these political settings. Also included are Queen, Aerosmith, Paul Rodgers, Elton John and the Rolling Stones – though in the latter two cases, it appears to have done no good. The RNC reportedly used both John's "Tiny Dancer" and "You Can't Always Get What You Want," from the Stones' 1969 album Let It Bleed, during last night's closing moments, as well.
History tells us that Trump shouldn't take it too far with the Rolling Stones, though. After all, Keith Richards once pulled a knife during a long-ago disagreement with the presidential nominee.
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