Ongoing History Daily: Musicians who have run for president

If you’re a follower of US politics, you’ll that Kanye West sucked up a lot of oxygen over his failed attempt to run for president in 2020. But he was far from the first musician to try that.

Alice Cooper has run for president in a tongue-in-cheek way every election cycle since 1972. Joe Walsh of the Eagles made a half-baked run in 1980 with a promise of cheeseburgers for all. Atlanta Waka Flocka Flame tried in 2016 when he was 28. Nice try, but the constitution says you must be at least 35. There was a 2020 campaign by Ozzy Osbourne even though he was ineligible because he was born in the UK.

And we’re already getting ready for 2024. Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong has already filed the paperwork necessary to start a campaign.

If you missed yesterday’s post, it was about the intriguing Jordan Mooney who may have invented punk rock. And don’t forget to check out my podcast The Ongoing History of New Music where you listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google, Stitcher, or wherever you get your on-demand audio.