Music has long been used as a powerful vehicle on campaign trails to hype up crowds and get them excited to vote in elections. Regardless of which side of the aisle they’re on, a number of politicians who have held the highest offices in the country possess a deep connection to music, whether collecting records or playing instruments.
American presidents and vice presidents have won and been nominated for golden gramophones in the Spoken Word Album category, and a few of the honorees are or were also musicians themselves. (These musical politicians are not to be confused with the actual bands Vice President and the Presidents of the United States of America, of course.)
As the 2024 presidential election comes ever closer, we press pause to enjoy a few fun, nonpartisan facts about how presidents and vice presidents have shown their affection for music.
Read more: GRAMMY-Winning U.S. Presidents & Politicians: The Obamas, Jimmy Carter & More
Kamala Harris
Between a live appearance with Megan Thee Stallion and official campaign posts rendered in the same shade of neon green that Charli XCX is rocking right now, Vice President Kamala Harris has been having a Hot Brat Girl Summer in music. But Harris' love of music extends far beyond the campaign trail.
The current Democratic nominee for president has been endlessly memed for the vinyl albums she was caught buying at a DC record store in 2023. While many images have manipulated the covers to pretend she purchased different releases, she actually bought albums by Charles Mingus and Roy Ayers as well as Porgy & Bess by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. Last year she celebrated the 50th anniversary of hip hop with a star-studded concert at the Vice President’s residence, co-hosted by the Recording Academy. At the 2024 Democratic National Convention, Harris was nominated in a music-themed role call that saw each of the 50 states present with a representative song.
Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff is also a serious jazz fan.
Donald Trump
Although former President Donald Trump is not a known record collector, songwriter or musician, he has culled the favor and interest of a variety of artists. The current Republican nominee for president has been mentioned in many songs over the course of his professional and political career.
In 2018, Trump brought Kid Rock, John Rich, Kanye West (who, years later, would announce his own bid for president) and others to the White House on the day he signed the Music Modernization Act into law. At the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, country band Sixwire, Chris Jansen, and Kid Rock performed.
Barack Obama
Former President Barack Obama put music in the spotlight during his two terms in office. He tapped Beyoncé and Janelle Monáe to perform at his inaugurations, awarded Diana Ross the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016, invited countless artists to the White House, and even was known to sing on occasion.
Obama won two GRAMMYs in the Best Spoken Word Album Category for audio adaptations of his memoir Dreams from My Father (2005) and The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream (2007); he was nominated for a third in 2022. Most recently, he collaborated with Bruce Springsteen on the book and podcast called Renegades.
Obama's role as a tastemaker really took off in 2015, when he started making and sharing playlists of his favorite songs on Spotify. His wide-ranging picks are still highly anticipated each year, and artists who land on the lists have coveted spots that all but guarantee new plays.
His Summer 2024 Playlist features classics by Tupac, Jill Scott and the Rolling Stones as well as new tunes by artists such as Shaboozey, Tommy Richman, H.E.R. and Tems. Charli XCX even makes an appearance, so Obama also appears to have gone Brat for the season as well.
Bill Clinton
When former Arkansas governor Bill Clinton ran for president in 1992, he stopped by the then-popular night time program "The Arsenio Hall Show" and charmed America with his surprise sax playing in sunglasses, unleashing Elvis Presley’s "Heartbreak Hotel" and "God Bless the Child" by Billie Holiday.
Once elected, the horn would later come out in the White House for parties. The L.A. Sax Company even presented him with a flag-bedecked Presidential Model tenor saxophone in 1995, and it has been on display at The Met in New York City.
At the 47th GRAMMY Awards, Clinton took home the golden gramophone for Best Spoken Word Album for his memoir, My Life. He was also nominated in the same Category in both 2007 and in 2012.
George H.W. Bush
When the elder George Bush, who was president from 1989-1993, played the air guitar at his inauguration, it was unseen lore to the general public for years. The moment was edited out of the official DVD release, but video from the event was restored in 2018, confirming for the public that he had actually done it.
Richard Nixon
Former President Richard Nixon, who served from 1969 to 1974, had a real thing for tickling the ivories. He shared his penchant for the piano with the public when he was a senator, after Duke Ellington asked Nixon to play for him. His talent went wide during a 1961 appearance on the TV show "The Jack Paar Program" and later inspired the title of a 1995 book called Nixon’s Piano: Presidents and Racial Politics from Washington to Clinton. And, as president, the image of him shaking hands with Elvis Presley in the Oval Office remains one of the most iconic pictures in White House history.
In 1978, Nixon was nominated for a GRAMMY in the Best Spoken Word Recording Category for the album made from his televised interviews with David Frost called The Nixon Interviews With David Frost.
Harry S. Truman
Another Best Spoken World Recording nominee was Harry S. Truman, who served as President from 1945 to 1953, and was recognized for The Truman Tapes, a recording made of his interview "speaking frankly" with Ben Gradus. Truman grew up playing the piano and made the choice to focus instead on politics.
"My choice early in life was either to be a piano-player in a whorehouse, or a politician," he reportedly said. "And to tell the truth, there’s hardly any difference."
Classic rockers Chicago later released a song called "Harry Truman" in 1975, singing, "Harry, could you please come home?/Things are looking bad/I know you would be mad/To see what kind of men/Prevail upon the land you love."
Charles Dawes
When former President Calvin Coolidge served for six years in the Roaring Twenties (1923-1929), he was flanked by a hitmaking VP. Charles Dawes didn’t know when he wrote "Melody in A Major" in 1912 that it would later become the basis of a top 40 hit.
Singer Tommy Edwards later landed on the pop charts in 1951 with the melody of "Melody," now called "It’s All in The Game." The song became a highly covered standard, with popular versions recorded by Elton John, Barry Manilow and Van Morrison. No subsequent president or vice president could match that high bar.
Warren G. Harding
Coolidge’s presidential predecessor Warren G. Harding (1921-1923) was said to be a multi-instrumentalist who loved to blow the tuba. He played the hulking brass beast at the 1920 Democratic National Convention. While we haven’t seen that kind of lung power on display at the DNC or RNC this year, let this serve as a reminder that music unites and brings joy.