If someone put a gun to my head and told me to rattle off the four bands Trump would want to play his inauguration, I’d walk away scot-free.
Not because the musician’s Trump wanted to play his inauguration are linked to his politics in any way. But because I imagine they’re the four artists that come up first if you google “music.”
If you hark back to 2017, you may recall the Trump inauguration was ushered in with an embarrassing lineup of performances by 3 Doors Down, Toby Keith, and DJ Ravidrums. Surprisingly, this stellar lineup wasn’t his first pick.
New York Magazine has shared an excerpt from the new book Melania and Me by Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, friend and former Senior Advisor to First Lady Melania Trump.
It’s a bit of a tell-all expose that delves into Melania’s feelings towards her husband and his ego, her distaste towards Ivanka (who she calls “Princess”) and other delicious morsels of White House gossip. The excerpt has also spilled the beans on the artists that Trump had in mind to play his dismal inauguration.
The excerpt revealed that Clive Davis’ son, Mitch, was “trying to book some famous talent (we were hoping to book two or three acts from a list we’d drawn up featuring Aerosmith, Carrie Underwood, Celine Dion, Kelly Clarkson, Kiss, the Killers, Meat Loaf, Mavis Staples, Pat Benatar, and Lynyrd Skynyrd).”
Wolkoff recalled telling Melania, “‘We don’t have any A-list performers locked in, or B-list for that matter… We don’t even have an office to work in!’”
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The music world has been consistently vocal about their disdain for Donald Trump, and the way the president continues to use music without permission during his campaign rallies. Artist’s like Queen and Neil Young have both gone so far as to take legal action against the president.
Earlier this week, Queen’s management revealed that their fight to stop Donald Trump using their music in promotional material and on social media has been an “uphill battle.”
The latest statement from the band follows the use of their song ‘We Will Rock You’ by the President in a video on social media app Triller. Speaking with the BBC, Queen’s management said the band are “frustrated” by the frequent use of their music and has “repeatedly taken issue with the Trump campaign.”
Other artists that have requested Trump not use their music at campaign rallies include Village People, the Prince Estate, Rihanna, Neil Young, R.E.M. and Aerosmith.
