Is This Your 'Fight Song'? Thank This Deerfield High School Grad for It

Even if you haven't listened to the radio in a decade, you've probably heard a song written by Deerfield High School graduate Dave Bassett. The tunes he's helped penned are so infectious and so anthemic that they've popped up in commercials, TV soundtracks and even the Democratic National Convention.

That last stage is probably where you heard the latest hit co-written by Bassett, "Fight Song" by Rachel Platten. The Billboard Hot 100 single had already become ubiquitous after being featured on TV series like Supergirl and Pretty Little Liars and in a Ford ad campaign.

Last month, it took on a second life when actress Elizabeth Banks created a celebrity jam rendition of the song for the DNC, making "Fight Song" the unofficial theme music for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's campaign.

The Deerfield Review's Steve Sadin spoke with Bassett, a 1983 DHS grad, about the process of taking "Fight Song" from a musical exercise in personal empowerment for Platten to chart-topping hit to political rallying cry.

Bassett—who co-wrote last summer's Grammy-nominated earworm "Ex's & Oh's" for Elle King—also talks about how almost getting booted from a U2 concert in the late 1980s at the Rosemont Horizon changed his professional life forever.

"As we were getting kicked out, Bono motioned to me and pulled me onto the stage," Bassett told Sadin. "I was playing with my idol. This was a sign. I quit my job and got my high school band back together."

More via the Deerfield Review

PHOTO: A video of a celebrity jam version of "Fight Song" was broadcast during July's Democratic National Convention. The song was written by Deerfield High School graduate Dave Bassett (left). ("Fight Song": Democratic National Convention | Bassett: Maxman732; Wikimedia Commons)

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