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Tom Petty’s family files legal notice to get Trump campaign to stop playing ‘I Won’t Back Down’ at rallies

The family of the late Tom Petty has asked the Trump campaign to stop playing “I Won’t Back Down.” (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Will the Trump campaign “back down”? The family of Tom Petty says a legal notice has been filed after the rocker’s song “I Won’t Back Down” was played prominently at the Trump rally Saturday in Tulsa, Okla.

“Trump was in no way authorized to use this song to further a campaign that leaves too many Americans and common sense behind,” said a statement on Twitter signed Saturday by Petty’s daughters Adria and Annakim, his widow, Dana, and ex-wife Jane.


They continued: “We would hate for fans that are marginalized by this administration to think we were complicit in this usage. Concurrently, we have issued an official cease and desist notice to the Trump campaign.”

The Petty family is unlikely to get anywhere with the request, however, due to licensing agreements that allow campaigns to use a vast array of songs. For example, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” by the Rolling Stones was also featured Saturday, years after the band gave up trying to get the campaign to stop playing it.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.