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Title: 6 Banned Rock and Roll Hit Songs
Source:
Entertainment Cheat Sheet
URL Source: http://www.cheatsheet.com/entertain ... -and-roll-hits.html/?a=viewall
Published: May 15, 2015
Author: Jacqueline Sahagian
Post Date: 2015-05-15 11:14:29 by Orwellian Nightmare
Keywords: None
Views: 11361
Comments: 31
The following is a list of some of the most famous examples in rock and roll history of songs that have been widely banned by radio stations and record stores for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it’s the typical offensive content or political messages, sometimes it’s for reasons less expected, but musicians throughout the relatively recent history of rock and roll music have been punished with bans for boundary-pushing music. Larry Ellis/Hulton Archive/Getty Images The Stones were never any strangers to controversy from the beginning of their career. 1967’s “Let’s Spend the Night Together” was one of their early songs to draw the most rage from the powers that be, getting banned by the BBC for encouraging promiscuity. When the Stones appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show planning to play the song, Sullivan requested that they change the lyric from “let’s spend the night together” to “let’s spend some time together.” While Mick Jagger superficially agreed, when it came time to sing it he ostentatiously rolled his eyes and mumbled the line, letting listeners mentally put in the correct lyric. Sullivan was reportedly furious and banned the group from ever returning to the program, a promise he didn’t end up keeping. The song was again banned along with four other songs in 2006 due to its “suggestive lyrics” when the group gave its first-ever performance in China. “I’m pleased that the Ministry of Culture is protecting the morals of the expat bankers and their girlfriends that are going to be coming,” Jagger sarcastically told the BBC of the Chinese government’s decision, although he added that they fully expected some censorship would be involved with the China show. Hulton Archive/Getty Images Many different Beatles songs were banned by various groups and radio stations at different times in the band’s career, particularly after John Lennon’s infamous “we’re more popular than Jesus” comments. While those comments and various aspects of the group’s image resulted in widespread bans and boycotts of the group’s music as a whole, particular songs drew ire for their supposed references to drugs. “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” and “A Day in the Life” are two Beatles songs that were banned from radio stations for their alleged references to drugs. The title of “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” was thought by some to be an acronym for the hallucinogenic drug LSD, while John Lennon says it came from a drawing his young son Julian did of a classmate named Lucy with that title. He also pointed to the Lewis Carroll book Alice in Wonderland as an inspiration for the song. Lennon and McCartney both adamantly denied that the song was about LSD. The closing track from the same album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, was also banned by the BBC for the lyrics “I’d love to turn you on” and “found my way upstairs and had a smoke,” both of which the puritanical radio station decided were references to drugs. Lennon and McCartney also denied these accusations. Hulton Archive/Getty Images The country queen might seem quite benign now, but popular contemporary country music is not the rebellious, raw music that country was when people like Lynn and Patsy Cline and Johnny Cash were in their prime. Lynn’s 1975 song “The Pill” is really an early feminist punk song, celebrating how her life would be different now that she could have access to contraception and not be relegated to being a baby-making machine. It’s considered to be one of the first songs about the birth control pill and was banned from many radio stations due to its controversial subject matter. The song reflected elements of Lynn’s personal life, as she’d been a teenage bride and already had six children by the time she wrote the song. While the ban prevented the song from becoming as big a hit as it should’ve been given the magnitude of Lynn’s popularity, it’s now considered one of her biggest contributions to music history. Graham Wood/Hulton Archive/Getty Images U.K. punks the Sex Pistols perfectly timed the release of their single “God Save the Queen” to coincide with the Queen’s Silver Jubilee celebration in May of 1977. While many mindlessly celebrated the monarchy’s milestone, the working class of England was being ignored and falling into poverty. The punks protested these social conditions with seething, riotous music that scared the establishment. When “God Save the Queen” was released, the BBC refused to play the song even though it skyrocketed to No. 1 on the Billboard charts. With lyrics like “God save the Queen / She ain’t no human being / She made you a moron,” Billboard even blanked out the name of the song and the band on the charts for that week, making the top spot for that week technically blank; as if there were no No. 1 song. In addition to the censorship from the BBC, other radio stations also refused to play the song and many major chains refused to sell the record. The Guardian has called it “the most heavily censored record in British history.” Warner Bros./Hulton Archive/Getty Images This is one of the stranger examples on the list. While the famous Kinks song gained controversy for being about the love between a man and a transvestite, it was banned by the BBC for product placement regarding a reference in the lyrics to Coca-Cola. Kinks frontman and songwriter Ray Davies responded by recording a different version of the song that changed the line “where you drink champagne and it tastes like Coca Cola” to “cherry cola” so that the government-run station, which at the time could not be seen as endorsing any product, could play the song. Frank Micelotta/Hulton Archive/Getty Images The very title of this track from 1993’s In Utero was enough to get it pulled from the shelves of Walmart and Kmart. While Kurt Cobain was known for his strict adherence to his punk ethos, he relented to pressure by changing the title to “Waif Me” for sales at those stores that demanded it, because he recognized that some of his fans didn’t have access to other resources for buying music in the pre-Internet age. “I just feel bad for all the kids who are forced to buy their music from big chain stores and have to have the edited music,” Cobain said, according to Mental Floss. The release of In Utero wasn’t the first time the band encountered issues with the song, as they wanted to perform it at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1992, but were told “no” by MTV execs. They agreed to play “Lithium” instead, but just to give the MTV people a good scare Cobain started playing the intro to “Rape Me” before starting “Lithium.” This was also the famous performance in which Krist Novoselic accidentally dropped his bass on his head and the group taunted their sworn enemy Axl Rose a lot. I couldn’t include all the great songs from rock and roll history that have been banned in this post! If I missed one of your favorites, tweet it to me @Jacqui_WSCS
1. The Rolling Stones, “Let’s Spend the Night Together”
2. The Beatles, “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds,” “A Day in the Life”
3. Loretta Lynn, “The Pill”
4. The Sex Pistols, “God Save the Queen”
5. The Kinks, “Lola”
6. Nirvana, “Rape Me”
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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 10.
#1. To: Orwellian Nightmare (#0)
Two of my favorite Beatles songs, the bass line in "A Day In The Life" is understated brilliance. "Sgt. Pepper" was one of the first albums I ever bought. It never gets old.
It never gets old. I had bought a lot of albums before Sgt Pepper,but it's one of the ones I remember best. It had a huge impact on the music industry worldwide. I think it is hilarious that after Paul McCartney was seen doing a duet with Kanye West that the airheads that are fams of Mr Kardashian bragged about how good-hearted Kanye was to help the musical career of some unknown old man.
Is Kanyae the guy who started up the paid music subscription service which features predominantly rap and hip hop and is struggling to get paid subscribers? I doubt anyone will remember West's music (or any of the soul-less mind numbing pap which passes for music nowdays) in 50+ years.
Is Kanyae the guy who started up the paid music subscription service which features predominantly rap and hip hop and is struggling to get paid subscribers? Those tweets were mostly jokes.
#14. To: Pericles, sneakypete (#10)
Those tweets were mostly jokes. I wouldn't be so sure about that, seems to me that most folks who lisetn to the "musical stylings" of Mr. Kardashian have no sense of musical history.
Mr Kardashian is mostly a joke. Take away record company promotion and black racism and their addiction to being "cool",and he would be singing in the park for quarters.
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/LatestThe Beatles, “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds,” “A Day in the Life”
#5. To: Deckard (#1)
"Sgt. Pepper" was one of the first albums I ever bought.
#8. To: sneakypete (#5)
I think it is hilarious that after Paul McCartney was seen doing a duet with Kanye West that the airheads that are fams of Mr Kardashian bragged about how good-hearted Kanye was to help the musical career of some unknown old man.
#10. To: Deckard, sneakypete (#8)
I think it is hilarious that after Paul McCartney was seen doing a duet with Kanye West that the airheads that are fams of Mr Kardashian bragged about how good-hearted Kanye was to help the musical career of some unknown old man.
Replies to Comment # 10. the airheads that are fams of Mr Kardashian bragged about how good-hearted Kanye was to help the musical career of some unknown old man.
#16. To: Pericles (#10)
Those tweets were mostly jokes.
End Trace Mode for Comment # 10.
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