"Eye of the Tiger" Guitarist Sues Huckabee Campaign Over Misuse of Iconic Song
The guitarist in the band Survivor is suing Mike Huckabee’s presidential campaign, the Associated Press reports, over the Arkansas governor’s use of the band’s 1982 hit, “Eye of the Tiger.”
Frankie Sullivan—who, according to the AP, co-wrote “Eye of the Tiger,” and whose company, Rude Music, Inc., holds the copyright—filed his lawsuit in Chicago federal court on Wednesday. The song featured prominently in Rocky III and the repertoire every bad American high-school garage band in the past 30 years.
The suit alleges that the campaign violated the song’s copyright when it was played as Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, strode onto a stage at a rally organized by Huckabee to celebrate her release from jail.
As Jezebel reported at the time, the band quickly made its displeasure known, writing on Facebook:
NO! We did not grant Kim Davis any rights to use “My Tune -The Eye Of The Tiger.”
I would not grant her the rights to use Charmin! C’mom Mike, you are not The Donald but you can do better than that -
See Ya really SoooooooonnnnnnN!!!!!!
The post was signed, “fs.”
This isn’t the first time a Huckabee campaign has gotten blowback for alleged misappropriation of a classic rock jam. In 2008, Tom Scholz, the guitarist for the band Boston, objected to Huckabee’s performance (he plays the bass) of his song “More Than a Feeling.”
“By using my song, and my band’s name BOSTON, you have taken something of mine and used it to promote ideas to which I am opposed,” Scholz wrote in a letter. “In other words, I think I’ve been ripped off, dude!”
Photo via AP Images. Contact the author of this post: brendan.oconnor@gawker.com.