Ronald Reagan in music Ronald Reagan in music The appearance of Ronald Reagan in music includes mentions and depictions of the actor-turned-politician in songs, albums, music videos, and band names, particularly during his two terms as President of the United States. Reagan first appeared on a few album covers during his time as a Hollywood actor, well before his political career. During the 1960s, folk, rock and satirical musicians critiqued Reagan in his early years as Governor of California for his red-baiting and attacks on Berkeley's Free Speech Movement. In the 1980s songs critiquing Reagan became more widespread and numerous once he ascended to
Ronald Reagan in music America toward a fascist theocracy. And everything that's happened during the Reagan administration is steering us right down that pipe." Several songs on Zappa's 1988 album "Broadway the Hard Way" ridicule Reagan, notably "Promiscuous," which jabs at the Reagans' attempts to reduce sex education in public schools and replace it with abstinence-only propaganda as well as his slow response to the AIDS pandemic. On his 1989 album, "Big Daddy", John Mellencamp's song "Country Gentleman" is "a scathing indictment on Ronald Reagan". Written and recorded during Reagan's final year in office, the song's last line thanks God that "he went back