Presidential Campaign Songs: 1789 – 1996

Product Description

Presidential campaign songs from the last 200 years. Marches and popular tunes accompanied by banjo, guitar, and synthesizer.

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From George Washington through Bill Clinton,
Presidential Campaign Songs celebrates American barnstorm serenades in all their dubious glory. As anyone who’s witnessed a political rally can testify, pols aren’t artists–and don’t tend to have an appetite for understatement or elegance, as proved by the likes of “Get On a Raft with Taft” (rather a dicey metaphor for 27th president William H. Taft, given that he weighed more than 300 pounds) and “Keep Cool and Keep Coolidge” (for prez No. 30, Silent Cal). But no matter. Folk patriarch Oscar Brand knows his stuff and brings verve to some hoary but charming ballot anthems. Brand, who released a collection called
Election Songs of the United States in 1952, decided to update the record in 1997, adding the likes of “Buckle Down with Nixon” and Fleetwood Mac’s “Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow” (Bill Clinton’s baby-boomer stump staple) to a repertoire that includes “Huzzah for Madison, Huzzah” and “Grant, Grant, Grant.” Extensive liner notes make this package particularly appealing to history buffs.
–Steven Stolder