Johnny Cash's record labels tell Stormfront Radio to stop using his music
Stormfront Radio has lost its long-time intro music after a cease and desist letter from Johnny Cash鈥檚 record labels. Lawyers with UMG and American threatened to sue if Don Black doesn鈥檛 stop using Cash鈥檚 2003 cover of Tom Petty鈥檚 鈥淚 Won鈥檛 Back Down鈥� on his show.
In response, the producers of Stormfront Radio changed their music track to Johnny Rebel鈥檚 鈥淭he South Shall Rise Again,鈥� and took down more than three years worth of archives that contain the Cash cover to avoid legal action.
Stormfront Radio host Patrick Slattery knew precisely who he wanted to blame, telling listeners in the opening seconds of Wednesday鈥檚 broadcast, 鈥淭hese Jews are trying to crack down on us every way they can.鈥�
Ten minutes later, the hosts were still bemoaning their situation. Black, former Klan leader and founder of Stormfront.org, said, 鈥淭hese goddamn Jews! 鈥� Anything they can do, they will do.鈥�
It鈥檚 not the first time artists, companies or copyright holders have fought back against white supremacists appropriating their intellectual property. Black鈥檚 long-time associate for trademark infringement by sportswear company No Fear, Inc., after naming his white supremacist organization the National Organization for European-American Rights, or N.O.F.E.A.R. The apparel maker , and Duke changed his organization鈥檚 name to the European-American Rights Organization.
In 2003, the FBI raided the home of racist Skinhead Bryant Cecchini, aka Byron Calvert, on suspicion of trademark violation after he printed shirts with the Nike 鈥渟woosh鈥� on them, swapping the work 鈥淣ike鈥� with 鈥淣azi.鈥�
In May 2016, Andrew Anglin complained on his website, the Daily Stormer, about receiving a cease and desist from Taylor Swift鈥檚 lawyers ordering him and his followers to stop using her likeness in their white supremacist memes.
Often, musicians may not be aware what kinds of unsavory places their music appears. For example, Spencer Borum, a member of League of the South who was filmed beating a woman in Charlottesville, gets praise from his white supremacist listeners for playing songs by bands like Lucero, Turnpike Troubadours and Town Mountain during his racist podcast 鈥淩adio Free Dixie.鈥�
Even when they don鈥檛 take legal action, artists and their associates often protest when extremists use their work. In February, Richard Spencer told a reporter, 鈥淒epeche Mode is the official band of the Alt-Right.鈥� The group, long known for their progressive politics, in a statement clarifying that it 鈥渉as no ties to Richard Spencer or the Alt-Right and does not support the Alt-Right movement.鈥�
And just last month, Cash鈥檚 children got involved on social media when an attendee of the violent Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville was photographed wearing a Johnny Cash T-shirt. In a posted to Facebook, they said they were 鈥渟ickened by the association,鈥� and that 鈥淛ohnny Cash was a man whose heart beat with the rhythm of love and social justice.鈥�
Stormfront hosts actually discussed Charlottesville on Wednesday鈥檚 show, and host Francis John Gilroy called the event, 鈥渁 great victory.鈥� Gilroy went on to describe James Alex Fields, the man who killed 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injured 19 others when he drove his car into a crowd of protesters, as 鈥渢he young man involved in the traffic accident.鈥�
Cash鈥檚 children said in the end of their statement: 鈥淭o any who claim supremacy over other human beings, to any who believe in racial or religious hierarchy: we are not you. Our father, as a person, icon, or symbol, is not you. We ask that the Cash name be kept far away from destructive and hateful ideology.鈥�
To that end, this week the Johnny Cash legacy won a meaningful victory.
Photo by聽RYAN STONE/The New York Times/Redux
