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 criticized Reagan in his early years as Governor of California for his red-baiting and attacking of the Berkeley-based Free Speech Movement. In the 1980s, songs critiquing Reagan became more widespread and numerous once he ascended to national office and involved himself in the renewal of the Cold War, the nuclear arms race, social conservatism, right-wing evangelicalism, and his economic policies in relation to low-income people. While references to Reagan during his presidency appear in pop music, his presence in song lyrics and on album covers is often associated with the hardcore punk counter-culture of the 1980s.
Singer Ella Fitzgerald with Ronald Reagan after her performance at the White House, October 1981
The band Reagan Youth from New York City, 1980s
Country singer Lee Greenwood with the Reagans at the 1988 Republican National Convention
The Beach Boys with Ronald and Nancy Reagan, 1983.
"California, Here I Come" is a song interpolated in the Broadway musical Bombo, starring Al Jolson. The song was written by Bud DeSylva, Joseph Meyer, and Jolson. Jolson recorded the song on January 17, 1924, with Isham Jones' Orchestra, in Brunswick Records' Chicago studio. It is often called the unofficial state song of California. In 2020, it entered the public domain.
1924 advertisement of recording