In a polarized country like the United States, the music popular – pop, rock, folk, jazz, country, rap – remains the last common language of Republicans and Democrats. The White House has therefore always been interested in its stars: Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Kanye West, Taylor Swift and others. Before the election of November 5thL’Express tells you, in eight episodes, the story of the unlikely couples formed by the beasts of the music scene and the presidential political animals. Very pop’n’pol duos!
EPISODE 1 – Kennedy and Sinatra: An epic bromance, a shattering breakup
EPISODE 2 – Elvis Presley and Richard Nixon: This crazy interview between the “King” and the president
EPISODE 3 – Jimmy Carter and Bob Dylan, friends for life: “Listening to his records…”
On January 19, 1993, Bill Clinton, who became the 42nd President of the United States, celebrated his election in style at the Capital Center in Washington. To celebrate the victory of the Democratic camp – deprived of the White House for twelve years – many stars made the trip: Barbra Streisand, Michael Jackson, Elton John… The stars took turns parading on stage and performing their hits. But in this high-energy atmosphere, the 18,000 guests were only waiting for one thing: the performance of Fleetwood Mac! To everyone’s surprise, the five members of this group, whose career peaked in the late 1970s, agreed to put their quarrels aside and perform one of their biggest hits on stage: Don’t Stop.
When the moment finally arrives and the musicians file through the crowd to grab their instruments, the room exults. “We must realize the exceptional nature of the moment,” explains Christophe Delbrouck, writer and author of a biography of the Anglo-American group. This is the first time in many years that these artists have played together. Guitarist Lindsey Buckingham left the group in 1987. Singer Stevie Nicks did the same in 1990 to devote herself to her solo career.” The two insult each other copiously through the media. In 1993, Fleetwood Mac, which sold millions of records in its heyday, was a shadow of its former self. Except that the “rumours five” – the name of the happy band, in reference to one of their albums – could not refuse anything to the Clintons, a fan from the very beginning, who collected everything he could on his idols.
Since a few months, Don’t Stop has even become the unofficial anthem of the governor of Arkansas. Bruce Lindsey, a former confidant of the Democratic president, tells exclusively for L’Express the genesis of the story. “Bill Clinton and I were in California for a speech before he announced his candidacy for the presidency. A young volunteer, Shawn Landres [NDLR : qui travaillera plus tard à la Maison-Blanche pour Barack Obama]was driving us; he told the future president that if he ran, Don’t Stop should be his campaign theme song. Shawn had a cassette tape with a recording and he played it on the car player.”
Bill Clinton’s revelation
Listening to the song, Bill Clinton had a revelation. The central message (“Tomorrow will be better than before”) was exactly what he wanted to convey. But it was still too early to choose a campaign anthem. The final choice was made a few weeks later, in a rush. “The day before he announced his candidacy, while we were thinking about the program, we realized that the music that the Hope High School band was going to play—military marches—was not catchy enough to mobilize the crowd. I was tasked with finding appropriate music. I remembered Shawn’s suggestion and, after calling several local record stores, found a sample of the album Rumors, released in 1977. We listened to it and decided that would do the trick,” says Bruce Lindsey.
Clinton campaign manager David Wilhelm would later say in an interview: “I had just taken office when I found a letter on my desk from Fleetwood Mac’s lawyers saying, ‘You have to stop using the song. Don’t Stop or we will sue you.’ So the first decision I made was to ignore that letter!” So Bill Clinton entered the race without the permission of his favorite group… but that would come later.
At first, his choice of music caused a stir. During the campaign, his younger colleagues urged him to opt for a more trendy group. During the much-watched Saturday Night Live, Comedians tease Bill Clinton that the 1990s have begun! It’s the time when rap music starts to take over the airwaves and the world discovers Nirvana… Suddenly, Californian pop seems old-fashioned.
The Saxophone and New Media Strategy
Christine McVie, singer of Fleetwood Mac and composer of the title, will admit during a television interview that Don’t Stop would have been more suited to an insurance company’s commercial soundtrack. However, the baby boomer generation that Clinton hopes to win over is delighted to be able to listen to it again. “There is no political dimension to Fleetwood Mac’s music. On the other hand, the song in question extols the virtues of courage, of moral strength,” says Christophe Delbrouck. Themes that resonate in an America in recession where the consumption of antidepressants has replaced that of hallucinogenic products.
“When the Clinton team picked it up and relaunched it, this song, released in 1977, was an old hit,” confirms Russell Riley, professor at the University of Virginia and author of the book Inside the Clinton White House: An Oral History. But it reflected the mood of the campaign, which heralded a generational shift in American politics. At the time, we were coming off 12 years of conservative rule under Ronald Reagan and then George H. W. Bush, both of whom were from the World War II generation. Clinton and his vice president Al Gore brought something new. And the campaign capitalized on that.”
To stand out, Bill Clinton played the music and new media card to the hilt. While George H. W. Bush refused to appear on MTV, which he described as a channel for teenagers, the Democratic candidate rushed there and answered questions live from young listeners. He also made a notable appearance on the Arsenio Hall Show, a program where he played the saxophone live, wearing sunglasses. The image would remain etched in people’s memories. Bill Wheatley, executive producer of the NBC News channel, admitted: “I’m not sure we learned much tonight, except that Bill Clinton is willing to wear sunglasses and play the saxophone…” But the seduction worked. On Election Day, November 3, 1992, 11 million voters aged 18 to 24 went to the polls, compared to 8 million in 1988. This was the highest number since the 1972 election between Richard Nixon and George McGovern.
The rest of the story is well known: Bill Clinton won the election hands down, obtaining a large majority of the electors (370 against 168) in a three-way race where the presence of independent candidate Ross Perot, a Texan billionaire, favored the Democrat against the incumbent president. The country’s poor economic situation also worked in Clinton’s favor, not to mention the errors of George HW Bush, who one day vomited and then collapsed on his chair during a state dinner in Japan! Another day, he discovered bar codes in a supermarket with amazement. Thanks to his campaign focused on youth and music, Bill Clinton achieved the status of a cool president. An image that would stick to him during his second term, even during the “Monica Lewinsky scandal” that would earn him impeachment proceedings. To get through this ordeal, he probably invoked the message that had gotten him elected a few years earlier: tomorrow will be better than today!
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