REUTERS - Canadian rocker Neil Young strikes sour note on Donald Trump's use of his song "Rockin' In The Free World"

The Toronto Sun - Reuters 

Canadian rocker Neil Young has lashed out at real estate mogul and TV personality Donald Trump for using his song "Rockin' In The Free World" when the Republican launched a U.S. presidential campaign on Tuesday in New York.

"Donald Trump was not authorized to use 'Rockin' In The Free World' in his presidential candidacy announcement," Young, who has long lived on a ranch in California, said in a statement.

The statement from Young said the Canadian citizen supports Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent and one of the most outspoken liberals in Congress, in his campaign for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination.

A Trump campaign spokeswoman said in a statement that the billionaire' s team through a license agreement with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers paid for the legal right to play the recording during the launch of his campaign to seek the GOP presidential nomination in 2016.

"Nevertheless, we won't be using it again - there are plenty of songs to choose from," the statement said. "Despite Neil's differing political views, Mr. Trump likes Neil very much."