Isaac Hayes’ estate responds to Donald Trump using ‘Hold On, I’m Coming’
Bad news, world: Donald Trump is running for President of the United States again in 2024. The former president, who was soundly defeated in the 2020 election before (allegedly, but not legally) instructing his followers to attack the Capitol Building, announced his intentions to once again seek the highest office in America on Tuesday.
During the announcement, Trump played Sam & Dave’s classic 1966 soul hit ‘Hold On, I’m Coming’. The high-energy track was part of the jukebox parade that ushered in another two years of existential dread that every American (and probably every global citizen) is feeling at the current moment. One group that is definitely not happy about its usage is the estate and family of legendary soul singer Isaac Hayes.
You see, Hayes originally wrote ‘Hold On, I’m Coming’ with fellow songwriter David Porter back when the two were in house songwriters for Stax Records. The pair wrote a number of songs for Sam & Dave, most notably their signature track ‘Soul Man’. But when word came out that Trump had used ‘Hold On, I’m Coming’ for his announcement, Hayes’ estate took to Twitter to clarify that they had nothing to do with its inclusion.
“Once again, The estate and family of Isaac Hayes DID NOT approve the use of ‘Hold On, I’m Coming’ by Sam and Dave by Donald Trump at his 2024 Presidential announcement tonight,” Hayes’ family wrote on his official Twitter account. “We are exploring multiple legal options to stop this unauthorized use.”
Porter had previously objected to the song’s usage when Trump used it at an NRA event earlier this year, writing on Twitter, “Someone shared with me Donald Trump used the song ‘Hold On I’m Coming’ for a speaking appearance of his. Hell to the No! I did Not and would NOT approve of them using the song for any of his purposes! I also know Isaac’s estate wouldn’t approve as well!”
Surviving Sam & Dave singer Sam Moore had previously performed ‘America the Beautiful’ at Trump’s 2016 inauguration, but Moore doesn’t seem to have primary control over the song’s usage. It seems more likely that Trump simply didn’t ask any publishers whether it was OK to use the song or not.
This isn’t the first time someone has told Trump to stop using their music at his events. In fact, there’s a whole Wikipedia page dedicated to musicians who have told Trump to shove it. Here’s a short list: Aerosmith, George Harrison’s estate, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, John Fogerty, Adele, Elton John, Leonard Cohen’s estate, Nickelback, Phil Collins, R.E.M., Rihanna, The Rolling Stones, Tom Petty’s estate, Jack White, Prince’s estate, and even The Village People. So yeah, Trump doesn’t exactly have a great track record of asking for permission, in case you hadn’t figured that out.
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