‘Eye of the Tiger’ coauthor ‘gobsmacked’ at song’s use for Kim Davis

Kentucky clerk Kim Davis’ release from jail Tuesday was a spectacle, no doubt.

TV cameras beamed images of the moment around the nation. The crowd in Grayson, Ky., roared and waved crosses outside the detention center as their champion — jailed for refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses because of her religious beliefs — emerged after five nights behind bars.

“Would you please help me welcome to the stage — Kim Davis!” said the event’s emcee, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, as the Rowan County clerk thrust her fists into air. Then a familiar anthem blasted: the opening to Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger.”

Risin’ up, back on the street,

Did my time, took my chances....

But this was one fight that Survivor did not approve.

The writers of the rock band’s 1982 song are mad that it was featured at a rally without their permission.

“NO! We did not grant Kim Davis any rights to use ‘My Tune -The Eye Of The Tiger,’” Survivor guitarist and song coauthor Frankie Sullivan wrote in a Facebook post. “I would not grant her the rights to use Charmin!”

The massively popular and durable song was, at least textually speaking, an apropos choice by Huckabee’s staff, who helped coordinate the event. “Eye of the Tiger” was featured in “Rocky III,” in which Sylvester Stallone plays a world champion boxer who loses his title and must fight to regain it.

Davis’ one-woman battle against the federal judiciary over legal same-sex marriage was certainly an extreme case.

After the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage in all 50 states in June, Davis, a 49-year-old Apostolic Christian, stopped issuing marriage licenses to all couples who came to her Rowan County office.

The courts sided with two gay couples and two straight couples who sued Davis, and the U.S. Supreme Court upheld those rulings. District Judge David L. Bunning jailed Davis for contempt of court last week after she refused to comply with court orders to issue the licenses. Bunning lifted his contempt finding Tuesday and released Davis from jail after her deputy clerks agreed to issue same-sex marriage licenses in her stead.

Davis is expected to return to work by Monday, and Bunning has threatened to sanction her again if she interferes with her staff’s issuance of marriage licenses.

The attachment of “Eye of the Tiger” to the ordeal was problematic for the rock band.

“I was gobsmacked,” coauthor Jim Peterik told CNN on Wednesday morning, explaining that groups usually contact the band’s publisher for permission to play the song at sporting events.

“This really isn’t a song that was meant to be a political statement — probably the No. 1 motivational song ever written,” Peterik said.

Peterik declined to give his position on same-sex marriage, calling it a personal opinion. “This is not about politics; this song goes so much deeper,” Peterik told CNN, adding, “It’s not whether you’re for gay rights or not for gay rights — it’s not about that.”

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers says political campaigns need to contact publishers and sometimes an artist’s record label to secure the right to play a song, or they risk getting sued.

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Liberal rockers squaring off against conservative political groups and candidates is practically a genre all its own.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s use of a Dropkick Murphys song drew a swift Twitter riposte from the band to the Republican presidential candidate in January: “please stop using our music in any way...we literally hate you !!! Love, Dropkick Murphys.”

In 2011, then-Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) got a cease-and-desist letter over the use of Tom Petty’s “American Girl” at a presidential campaign announcement.

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FOR THE RECORD

5:50 p.m.: An earlier version of this post said “Eye of the Tiger” was featured in the movie “Rocky.” It was written for “Rocky III,” a sequel.

6:12 p.m.: An earlier version of this post said Bachmann received the cease-and-desist letter in 2001. It was 2011.

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And David Byrne sued then-independent Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida in 2010 over Talking Heads’ “Road to Nowhere,” forcing Crist to make a humbling apology on YouTube.

Follow @MattDPearce for national news.

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