As an erstwhile college DJ who once did a show called The Dirty Dozen that featured rock songs that had been banned or nearly so because of real or imagined sexually offensive lyrics I was overjoyed when I stumbled upon The History of Banned Rock and Roll, It gives a year-by-year account of banned songs, although it sseems like it's not all that complete. It is part of a larger site, Classic Bands.
But what I found especially interesting was the partial list from Clear Channel Communications that listed songs its radio stations might wish to avoid playing in the short term following 9/11. Here is the list:
Steve Miller "Jet Airliner"
Van Halen "Jump"
Queen "Another One Bites the Dust"
Queen "Killer Queen"
Pat Benatar "Hit Me with Your Best Shot"
Kansas "Dust in the Wind"
Led Zeppelin "Stairway to Heaven"
The Beatles "A Day in the Life"
The Beatles "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"
The Beatles "Ticket To Ride"
The Beatles "Obla Di, Obla Da"
Bob Dylan "Knockin' on Heaven's Door"
Arthur Brown "Fire"
Paul McCartney and Wings "Live and Let Die"
Billy Joel "Only the Good Die Young"
Barry McGuire "Eve of Destruction"
Steam "Na Na Na Na Hey Hey"
Drifters "On Broadway"
Shelly Fabares "Johnny Angel"
Los Bravos "Black is Black"
Peter and Gordon "I Go To Pieces"
Peter and Gordon "A World Without Love"
Elvis "(You're the) Devil in Disguise"
Zombies "She's Not There"
Elton John "Benny & The Jets"
Elton John "Daniel"
Elton John "Rocket Man"
Jerry Lee Lewis "Great Balls of Fire"
Santana "Evil Ways"
Louis Armstrong "What A Wonderful World"
Youngbloods "Get Together"
Ad Libs "The Boy from New York City"
Peter Paul and Mary "Blowin' in the Wind"
Peter Paul and Mary "Leavin' on a Jet Plane"
Rolling Stones "Ruby Tuesday"
Simon And Garfunkel "Bridge Over Troubled Water"
Happenings "See You in September"
Carole King "I Feel the Earth Move"
Yager and Evans "In the Year 2525"
Norman Greenbaum "Spirit in the Sky"
Brooklyn Bridge "Worst That Could Happen"
Three Degrees "When Will I See You Again"
Cat Stevens "Peace Train"
Cat Stevens "Morning Has Broken"
Jan and Dean "Dead Man's Curve"
Martha & the Vandellas "Nowhere to Run"
Martha and the Vandellas/Van Halen "Dancing in the Streets"
Hollies "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother"
San Cooke / Herman Hermits, "Wonderful World"
Petula Clark "A Sign of the Times"
Don McLean "American Pie"
J. Frank Wilson "Last Kiss"
Buddy Holly and the Crickets "That'll Be the Day"
John Lennon "Imagine"
Bobby Darin "Mack the Knife"
Surfaris "Wipeout"
Blood Sweat and Tears "And When I Die"
Dave Clark Five "Bits and Pieces"
Tramps "Disco Inferno"
Paper Lace "The Night Chicago Died"
Frank Sinatra "New York, New York"
Creedence Clearwater Revival "Travelin' Band"
Neil Diamond "America"
Tom Petty "Free Fallin'"
Bruce Springsteen "I'm On Fire"
Bruce Springsteen "Goin' Down"
Phil Collins "In the Air Tonight"
Chi-Lites "Have You Seen Her"
Animals "We Gotta Get Out of This Place"
Fontella Bass "Rescue Me"
Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels "Devil with the Blue Dress"
James Taylor "Fire and Rain"
Edwin Starr "War"
Lynyrd Skynyrd "Tuesday's Gone"
Got some great songs here. I remember hearing a haunting version of Knockin' on Heaven's Door with lyrics about 9/11. I was in DC for my sister's memorial right after 9/11 and almost went off I-66 when I heard it.
So what were some of the songs that made my Dirty Dozen (all pre-1971)?
Manfred Mann 'If You Gotta Go, Go Now'
Kingsmen 'Louie, Louie'
Rolling Stones 'Satisfaction', 'Honky Tonk Women', 'Let's Spend the Night Together'
John Fred 'Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)'
Doors 'Light My Fire'
Hank Ballard and the Midnighters 'Work With Me Annie' and its sequel, 'Annie Had a Baby'
Van Morrison 'Brown-Eyed Girl'
Ohio Express/Standells 'Try It' (also version by The Attack)
Tommy James and The Shondells 'Hanky Panky' ,, 'I Think We're Alone Now'
The Kinks 'You Really Got Me'
The Isley Brothers 'It's Your Thing'
Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels 'Sock It to Me, Baby'
My favorite: Manfred Mann's version of Dylan's If 'You Gotta Go, Go Now'. When I got to WCWM-FM in 1967 we were ordered not to play this. Guess what? Fairport Convention covered this (in French), Si Tu Dois Partir. Next favorite would be the Standells' 'Try It'. Ah, the bass and the drums....
When you listen to these you will wonder what all the fuss was about. Imagine trying to ban a song today because it had the phrase, "Cross your heart with your living bra." (Judy in Disguise).
Yeah, there were others, too - just can't remember them. I'm lucky to have recalled these.
"You know that it would be untrue
You know that I would be a liar
If I was to say to you
Girl, we couldn't get much higher
Come on baby, light my fire
Come on baby, light my fire
Try to set the night on fire"
-- The Doors, Light My Fire
Comments