The Band Boston Fan Site - Founder of '70s rock band tells Huckabee to quit playing his song

Founder of '70s rock band tells Huckabee to quit playing his song

For the past few months, presidential candidate and amateur bassist Mike Huckabee has been performing Boston’s “More Than a Feeling” at campaign events — sometimes even with onetime Boston guitarist Barry Goudreau. But now there’s a problem: Boston mastermind Tom Scholz, who wrote and played every guitar part on “More Than a Feeling,” is an Obama supporter, and he’s pissed off (a similar disagreement recently went down between John McCain and John Mellencamp).

Dear Gov. Huckabee:
It has come to my attention that your campaign’s use of my song More Than a Feeling and my band’s name BOSTON has resulted in a great deal of false information, which it now appears may exist permanently on the Internet.
While I’m flattered that you are fond of my song, I’m shocked that you would use it and the name BOSTON to promote yourself without my consent.
Your campaign’s use of More Than a Feeling, coupled with the representation of one of your supporters as a member “of BOSTON” clearly implies that the band BOSTON, and specifically one of its members, has endorsed your candidacy, neither of which is true.
I wrote and arranged More Than a Feeling, engineered and produced the recording, and actually played all the guitars on that BOSTON hit as well as most of BOSTON’s songs, not the person holding a guitar in your promotion who identified himself as being “of BOSTON.” Your claim that this was “the guy who originally did it” is a bit mystifying since he never played on that recording, nor has he been “of BOSTON” since he left my band over a quarter century ago, after performing with us for only three years.
BOSTON has never endorsed a political candidate, and with all due respect, would not start by endorsing a candidate who is the polar opposite of most everything BOSTON stands for. In fact, although I’m impressed you learned my bass guitar part on More Than a Feeling, I am an Obama supporter.
While this may seem like a little thing to you, BOSTON has been my life’s work. I hold the trademark to the name and my reputation is inexorably tied to it.
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. In other words, I think I’ve been ripped off, dude!
The unfortunate misconceptions caused by your campaign now live indefinitely on Internet news sites and blog archives.
As the “straight talk candidate,” I hope you will help undo the damage still being caused by this misleading use of BOSTON and More Than a Feeling.
Still evolving,
Tom Scholz for BOSTON

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Melissa Majors said:

	Tom's song, Tom's band, Tom's rules. When will people ever get it? BOSTON = Tom Scholz. EXPECT NO LESS! It's only done to antagonize. Melissa
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March 28, 2008
Votes: +1

A Boston Fan said:

I understand what your saying,and you're probably right,but I still believe that if an artist doesn't like how his/her music is being used he/she had a right to object, as Tom did;especially when is come to something people tend to have very stong feelings about like politics.When it come to politics in Boston area,EVERYONE (including me) needs a whole bottle of Xanax, probably more that one! That's what the Salem Witch Trials was actually about FYI.

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February 25, 2008
Votes: +4

Matthew Harris said:

I love Boston's music but I think Tom is wrong on this one.

In copyright law there is a doctrine known as "fair use" which permits the use of copyrighted materials without the permission or compensation of the owner.

I believe Huckabee's use of the song in this context falls within the fair use doctrine and Tom would find himself legally unable to restrain him from playing it in this fashion.

Sometimes Tom just needs to take a Xanax.

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February 24, 2008
Votes: -3

A Boston Fan said:

	BTW,have you ever notice the people who bash Tom online either don't now how to spell his last name correctly,don't know the first thing about him or Boston,and/or are completely incapable of typing(of you can call it that)in coherent sentences.Enough said.
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February 24, 2008
Votes: +4

A Boston Fan said:

Come on people this has been blown WAY out of proportion.All Tom did way ask Huckabee to stop playing a song.To quote another great guitarist,Neal Schon of Journey- GET A FRICKIN' LIFE, MAN!BTW, As A Journey fan I am always amazed at how Boston fans get their panties in a bunch when Tom writen one of his letters which are nothing more that a finger waggle.Maybe Neal should come to these sites and whip one of his many recipes for womp @$$ and see how you ladies would handle THAT!

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February 24, 2008
Votes: -2

Paul said:

If Tom doesn't want Huckabee to play his song anymore, that's his right to do so. I wouldn't want my enemy playing one of my beloved tunes.

However, I feel that Tom is getting carried away here. Huckabee isn't O.J. Simpson. He didn't get away with murder somewhere.

If I were Tom I would worry more about Obama's political views on abortion and stem cell research. If Tom is such an animal lover, why is he having a problem understanding that people are living animals too???!!!

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February 20, 2008
Votes: +2

BostonFan84 said:

Why don't people get the idea that it's Tom Scholz' song;that he legally owns it,just like it was his car or his house and that it's his legal RIGHT to decide who,what and how it is to be used.I made a post a while back in whic I said that I wondered why Tom took this crap so seriously,well it looks like I got my answer.BTW,since I used Tom's name and the word legal in the same sentence, I don't want any replies from anyone who doesn't know the difference between the plaintiff and the defendant in a lawsuit( like I said before,now I get it).

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February 18, 2008
Votes: +2

JReality said:

	Tom wrote the song, and he put in the countless hours of time and effort recording and arranging it. If Tom doesn't agree with a political campaign's usage of his song, then he certainly is doing the right thing by speaking out against it.
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February 17, 2008
Votes: +3

Conservative Boston Fan said:

I have enjoyed the band Boston since I was a teenager, and even saw them at the First Annual Day of Rock and Roll in the New Orleans Superdome in the late 70s. I have also voted for the more conservative candidate since Regan was running for re-election. You see, these are two different areas of life; therefore, music should never be about politics. I just think Tom Scholz should lighten up and be bigger than this. I refuse to pick between a musician and a politician... yuck.

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February 16, 2008
Votes: +2

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uh huh said:

Yes Yes, Huckabee should stop playing this song, because there is such a big difference between The Repuplicrats in our government, when are you rich hollywood types going to wake up and figure out there is no difference between Obama clinton mcCain, huckabee or any of the other politicians running for president? The All work for the corporations and the power of the NWO... Or maybe it's not that you are too stupid to open your eyes you just want to be a good mouth piece for the powerful that are againt the Average US citizen, and screw them right? all they are good for is buying your outdated CD's at $30 bucks a pop!

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February 15, 2008
Votes: -3

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