Song of the Day 8/5: Curtis Mayfield, “Move On Up”

I’ve seen a lot of stories about musicians upset over candidates using their music without permission; Neil Young has filed suit against the Trump campaign over it. There’s a simple solution for politicians: If you’re not a dick, they’ll probably let you use it, which is why the offenders are almost always Republicans, whose dickish policies are anathema to a generally left-leaning music community.

Joe Biden, for example, got no pushback from the Curtis Mayfield estate over his use of this song at his speeches in the before-times.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8USz7gb2RGQ

That’s the pared-down cut that was released as a single in 1974, four years after it appeared on Mayfield’s “Curtis” LP but before he became a superstar with “Superfly.” The record company needn’t have bothered; it didn’t chart. Regardless, the song became a soul-funk classic and one of Mayfield’s signature compositions. The album track:

Just as a reminder, here’s Joe Biden’s victory speech in South Carolina, where he entered and ended with the song: