Censorship in the Music Industry

   7.5  

1951 - Radio stations ban Dean Martin's "Wham Bam, Thank You Ma'am" fearing the lyrics are suggestive.

   0  

1952 - The Weavers are blacklisted due to their leftist political beliefs and associations of several members.

   7  

1953 - The phrase "gardenia perfume linger on a pillow" is altered to "a seaplane rising from an ocean billow" in the song "These Foolish Things."

1956 - ABC Radio Network bans Billie Holiday's rendition of Cole Porter's "Love for Sale" from all of its stations because of its prostitution theme. Stations continue to play instrumental versions of the song.

   0  

1954 - Stephen Foster songs are edited for radio to remove words such as "massa" and "darky."

   0  

1954 - Webb Pierce's "There Stands the Glass" is banned from radio because the lyrics are thought to condone heavy drinking.

   8  

1954 - For radio airplay the perceived drug reference "I get no kick from cocaine," is changed to "I get perfume from Spain." in Cole Porter's classic "I Get A Kick Out of You."

   7  

1954 - The ABC network bans the Rosemary Clooney hit "Mambo Italiano," saying it did not meet the network's "standards for good taste."

   0  

1955 - Former radio deejay Pat Boone begins a career by releasing "sanitized" versions of black R&B hits. Boone's versions of these songs often contain edited lyrics: such as substituting "drinkin' Coca Cola" for "drinkin' wine" in T-Bone Walker's "Stormy Monday" and "Pretty little Susie is the girl for me" instead of "Boys, don't you know what she do to me" in Little Richard's "Tutti Fruitti."

   5  

1955 - CBS television network cancels Alan Freed's Rock 'n Roll Dance Party after a camera shows Frankie Lymon (leader of the doo wop group Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers) dancing with a white girl.

   7.5  

1955 - Officials in San Diego and Florida police warn Elvis Presley that if he moves at all during his local performances, he will be arrested on obscenity charges.

1957 - Producers of the Ed Sullivan Show instruct cameramen to show Elvis Presley only from the waist up on his third and final appearance on the program on January 7th.

   5.7  

1956 - Members of the White Citizens Council of Birmingham, Alabama, rush the stage at a Nat King Cole concert and beat the legendary performer. Seeing the reaction of Birmingham's young teen girls to Nat's crooning, the council members confuse Cole's music with newly popular R&B.

   0  

1956 - Network officials ban the novelty hit "Transfusion" by Nervous Norvus from ABC, CBS, and NBC radios in June. According to one NBC executive, "There is nothing funny about a blood transfusion."

   5  

1959 - Link Wray's instrumental classic "Rumble" is dropped from radio stations across the country in January - even though it has no lyrics. The title of the song is thought to be suggestive of teenage violence. When Wray appears on American Bandstand to perform the song, Dick Clark introduces Wray and his band, but refuses to mention the song's title.

   7.5  

1959 - Wanting to secure an appearance on the hit television program American Bandstand, singer Lloyd Price agrees to re-cut the lyrics to his song "Stagger Lee," removing all references to violence.

   0  

1960 - In October, several radio stations refuse to play Ray Peterson's "Tell Laura I Love Her," calling it the "Death Disk."

   6  

1962 - New York Bishop Burke forbids Catholic school students from dancing to "The Twist." Burke considers R&B music, and its associated dances, to be lewd and un-Christian.

   8  

1963 - The FBI begins collecting data on folk singers Phil Ochs. Ochs is one of several popular musicians to be tracked by the FBI during their careers (Bob Dylan, Jim Morrison, Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie).

   7.6  

1963 - Bob Dylan refuses to perform on the Ed Sullivan Show in February after producers tell him he cannot sing "Talking John Birch Paranoid Blues." Dylan is never invited to perform on the show again.

1968 - An El Paso, Texas, radio station bans all songs performed by Bob Dylan because they cannot understand the folk singer's lyrics. The station continues to play recordings of Dylan songs performed by other artists with clearer diction.

1971 - Radio stations across the U.S. ban Bob Dylan's single "George Jackson" over concerns about the song's political theme and the word "shit" in its lyrics.

   0  

1964 - Fear it contains obscene messages, Indiana Governor Matthew Welsh attempts to ban the Kingsmen hit "Louie, Louie." After review by the FCC, the agency determines that the song's lyrics are indecipherable.

   0  

1965 - After splitting his pants while dancing wildly at a European concert, the boisterous P. J. Proby is uninvited to perform on ABC's music variety show Shindig.

   7.3  

1965 - Cleveland Mayor Ralph Locher bans all rock concerts in the city following a Rolling Stones performance.

1965 - In June, radio stations across the country ban the Rolling Stones hit "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" because they believe the lyrics are too sexually suggestive.

1967 - The Rolling Stones agree to alter the lyrics to "Let's Spend The Night Together" for an appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in January. Producers request that singer Mick Jagger alter the title phrase to "Let's spend some time together."

1968 - Fearing the Rolling Stones' song "Street Fightin' Man" will incite violence during the National Democratic Convention in September, Chicago radio stations refuse to play the song. During the ban, the single sets all-time sales records in the Chicago area.

1973 - Atlantic Records decides to change the title and lyrics of the Rolling Stones' "Starfucker" in order to avoid protests. It was changed to "Star Star".

1976 - A billboard advertisement for the Rolling Stones' Black and Blue LP (featuring a photo of a battered woman) triggers protests again Time-Warner by women's groups.

1985 - Columbia Records wraps the Rolling Stones' Dirty Work in dull red plastic, hiding certain words and song titles.

schafediggity's rating:

   0  

1965 - The Barry McGuire song "Eve of Destruction" is pulled from retail stores and radio stations across the country after some groups complain that it is nihilistic and could promote suicidal feelings amongst teens.

   7.6  

1965 - Many radio stations ban The Who's single "Pictures of Lily" because the song contains a reference to masturbation.

   7  

1965 - MGM Records alters the Frank Zappa song "Money" because it contains a sexual reference.

1967 - Against his wishes, Frank Zappa's record company removes eight bars of his song "Let's Make the Water Turn Black." This occurs when a well-intentioned executive from Verve Records hears the lyric, "And I still remember mama with her apron and her pad, feeding all the boys at Ed's café." The executive thinks the referred-to "pad" is a sanitary napkin.

1979 - Frank Zappa's song "Jewish Princess" sparks vocal protests to the FCC from the B'nai B'rith Anti-Defamation League.

1980 - Fearing association with its theme, Mercury Records refuses to release Frank Zappa's single "I Don't Wanna Get Drafted."

1985 - At the urging of the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation holds hearings on music lyrics and proposed systems to rate or sticker albums that contain violent or sexually-themed lyrics on Septmber 19th. Representatives from the PMRC and National PTA, Senator Paula Hawkins, and Dr. Joe Stuessy speak in support of regulating music, while three musicians - Frank Zappa, Dee Snider (of Twisted Sister), and John Denver - speak in defense of popular music.

1986 - Meyer Music Markets places an "explicit lyrics" warning sticker on Frank Zappa's Jazz from Hell - even though the album is entirely instrumental.

   10  

1966 - WLS radio commissions a local group to re-record the Them hit "Gloria" because they object to the lyrics. Station management feels that the lyric "she comes in my room" is too suggestive for broadcast. Instead, they contact a local band, the Shadows of Knight, to re-record the tune. The Shadows of Knight version becomes a national top ten hit; the original stalls at number 71 on the charts.

   0  

1966 - WLS radio commissions a local group to re-record the Them hit "Gloria" because they object to the lyrics. Station management feels that the lyric "she comes in my room" is too suggestive for broadcast. Instead, they contact a local band, the Shadows of Knight, to re-record the tune. The Shadows of Knight version becomes a national top ten hit; the original stalls at number 71 on the charts.

   8.2  

1966 - A statement by John Lennon in March, comparing the popularity of the Beatles to that of Jesus Christ, results in wide-spread Beatles record burnings and protests. Lennon's comments regarding what he perceives as a decrease in Christianity's popularity with teens are taken out of context. He says, "We're more popular than Jesus now."

1966 - In June, Capitol Records recalls all copies of the Beatles' Yesterday And Today album following complaints over the album's gory cover art. The "butcher" cover depicts the four Beatles wearing white smocks and covered with decapitated baby dolls and raw meat.

1969 - In July, one-half of the country's Top 40 stations refuse to play "The Ballad of John and Yoko" because they feel that the lyrics are blasphemous. The song's lyrics contain references to Christ and crucifixion.

1971 - In April, the Illinois Crime Commission publishes a list of popular rock songs that contain drug references, including Peter, Paul and Mary's "Puff The Magic Dragon" and the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine."

schafediggity's rating:

   0  

1966 - After radio stations refuse to air the original, The Swingin' Medallions are convinced by their record company to re-record their song "Double Shot (of My Baby's Love)" with more benign lyrics.

   7.3  

1966 - Police attempt to shut down a James Brown concert, alleging the singer's dancing is obscene.

   0  

1966 - After enduring calls for censorship over the song "Rhapsody in the Rain," Lou Christie agrees to change the song's suggestive lyrics.

   6.6  

1967 - Radio programmers pass on Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl" because the lyrics reference premarital sex and teenage pregnancy. Morrison cuts an alternative version with more acceptable lyrics.

   7.5  

1967 - Producers of the Ed Sullivan Show request that Jim Morrison change the lyrics to "Light My Fire" for The Doors' September appearance on the program. Morrison initially agrees to alter the lyric "Girl we couldn't get much higher" to a more innocuous phrase. During the live performance, Morrison sings the original lyric. The band is not invited back on the program.

1968 - The Doors' single "Unknown Soldier" is banned from airplay at many radio stations because of its anti-war theme.

1968 - Jim Morrison is arrested on stage in New Haven, Connecticut, for making lewd gestures and profane remarks during a concert. The arrest is one of several that occur during Doors concerts after Morrison is marked by the FBI and several police organizations as a troublemaker.

   9  

1968 - Sponsors go into an uproar and threaten to pull support after a television program shows interracial "touching." During the taping of a duet between Petula Clark and Harry Belafonte, Clark lays her hand on Belafonte's arm.

   0  

1968 - Sponsors go into an uproar and threaten to pull support after a television program shows interracial "touching." During the taping of a duet between Petula Clark and Harry Belafonte, Clark lays her hand on Belafonte's arm.

   7.5  

1968 - After being invited by the Smothers Brothers to perform his anti-Vietnam anthem "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy" on their TV show, Pete Seeger is edited out of the program by the censors at CBS television.

   7.9  

1969 - In January, New York police seize 30,000 copies of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Two Virgins album.

1971 - Several radio stations alter the John Lennon song "Working Class Hero" without the consent of Lennon or his record label.

1972 - In January, the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee issues a report on John Lennon and Yoko Ono, advocating the termination of Lennon's visa to live in the U.S. The report calls the couple "strong advocates of the program to 'dump Nixon'."

1972 - John Lennon's song "Woman is the Nigger of the World" is banned by radio stations across the country.

   0  

1969 - Controversy over the cover of Blind Faith's debut album prompts their label to issue the record with two different covers. The original cover, released in February, features a photograph of a naked 11-year old girl, holding a metallic, rather phallic-looking model airplane. The airplane points toward her lower abdomen. Atco Records eventually drops the benign second cover because it doesn't sell as well as the original.

   7.1  

1969 - Record company officials delay the release of Volunteers by Jefferson Airplane over concerns with the album's lyrical themes.

1998 - The high school band at Fort Zumbald North High School in St. Louis is forbidden from playing the Jefferson Airplane hit "White Rabbit" because of drug references in the song's lyrics, even though the band's version of the song is entirely instrumental.

   5.5  

1969 - After Hudson's, a large department store chain, refuses to carry the debut record from MC5 when it is released in April, the group agrees to delete the expletive "motherfucker" from "Kick Out The Jams."

   5.4  

1970 - Claiming that he fears the song "Ohio" will incite further violence on college campuses following the killing of four students at Kent State University, Governor James Rhodes attempts to order Ohio radio stations to ban the song.

   0  

1970 - Country Joe McDonald is fined $500 for uttering an obscenity during a concert performance of his song "I Feel Like I'm Fixin' To Die Rag."

   7.1  

1970 - Janis Joplin is fined $200 for violating local profanity and obscenity laws for her performance after a concert in Tampa, Florida.

   1  

1971 - In April, the Illinois Crime Commission publishes a list of popular rock songs that contain drug references, including Peter, Paul and Mary's "Puff The Magic Dragon" and the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine."

   7.1  

1971 - Chrysalis Records changes the lyrics to Jethro Tull's "Locomotive Breath" without the band's knowledge or consent. Label executives fear radio stations will not play the original, which contains the lyric "got him by the balls."

   6.7  

1972 - Radio stations across the country ban John Denver's hit song "Rocky Mountain High," fearing that the song's "high" refers to drugs.

1985 - At the urging of the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation holds hearings on music lyrics and proposed systems to rate or sticker albums that contain violent or sexually-themed lyrics on Septmber 19th. Representatives from the PMRC and National PTA, Senator Paula Hawkins, and Dr. Joe Stuessy speak in support of regulating music, while three musicians - Frank Zappa, Dee Snider (of Twisted Sister), and John Denver - speak in defense of popular music.

   6.5  

1973 - Curtis Mayfield's "Pusherman" is edited without his knowledge for a live appearance on American Bandstand.

   0  

1973 - Record company execs alter the cover of Mama Lion’s Preserve Wildlife after concerns over the album’s original cover photograph. The original image showed group singer Lynn Carey nursing a lion cub.

   6.7  

1974 - Richfield, Ohio, zoning commissioner Richard Crofoot attempts to ban all concerts at the Richfield Coliseum after witnessing marijuana use at an Elton John concert.

   5.5  

1975 - Radio stations across the country refuse to play Loretta Lynn's "The Pill" because of its references to birth control.

   5.6  

1976 - The RKO radio chain refuses to play Rod Stewart's hit "Tonight's The Night" until the lyric "spread your wings and let me come inside" is edited from the song.