Tom Petty Torpedoes Michele Bachmann's Use of "American Girl"

Singer reportedly sends a cease-and-desist after his song is played following the Minnesota congresswoman's announcement that she is seeking the 2012 Republican presidential nomination

By Peter Gicas Jun 28, 2011 7:45 PMTags
Michelle Bachmann, Tom PettyEMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images; Jeffrey Geller/ZUMA Press

Hopefully, Michele Bachmann won't be heartbroken over this.

It seems Tom Petty is none too happy over the fact that the Minnesota congresswoman used his song "American Girl" at a rally in Waterloo, Iowa, on Monday announcing her candidacy for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.

As a result, the rock veteran has reportedly sent Bachmann's people a cease-and-desist order to make sure the track don't come around here to future events no more.

Of course, this isn't the first time artists have prevented politicians from turning their hits into campaign trail tunes.

During the last presidential election, for instance, Jon Bon Jovi took issue with Sarah Palin using his band's "Who Says You Can't Go Home" during stops, Survivor insisted that appearances by John McCain not include the group's Rocky theme "Eye of the Tiger" and Jackson Browne went so far as to file a copyright infringement suit against McCain and the Republican National Committee for using his biggest hit, "Running on Empty," in campaign ads.

Which brings us back to Petty, who, incidentally, actually allowed Hillary Clinton to incorporate "American Girl" into her failed 2008 attempt to nab the Democratic presidential nomination.

In other words, even the losers, get lucky some time.