They Banned These Songs for WHAT?!

By Sharon Oliver

Over the past decades, several artists have come under scrutiny and received censorship largely due to illicit lyrics. Some chose to change those lyrics while others stood their ground. Meanwhile, various radio stations opted to not play controversial songs over the airways altogether.

Given today’s society, the reasons for banning the following songs (and there are more) may come as a surprise to some. On the other hand, maybe not so much when considering the climate back then. Still, this is a reminder of how lyrics can remain relevant for ages.

Loretta Lynn, “The Pill” (1975)

The reason may not be as surprising as the title and content itself, especially coming from the socially conservative Christian country singer. Lynn once said in an interview that rural physicians even thanked her for highlighting the availability of birth control. The song initially received pushback from some radio stations. One preacher in Kentucky even took to the pulpit to decry Lynn and her song, but it backfired, and “The Pill” reached No. 5 on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart and also became Lynn’s biggest pop hit.

Van Morrison, “Brown Eyed Girl” (1967)

Originally titled “Brown Skinned Girl,” Morrison changed the title to this classic rock about an interracial relationship to make it more radio-friendly. A few stations banned it anyway because of the line, “making love in the green grass.” Happy with its edited version, “laughin’ and a-runnin’, hey, hey,” rock stations play the song consistently.

The Shirelles, “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” (1960)

A song about having spent an intimate moment with a man was a bit much for some and banned by radio stations for its mild sexual content. It still did not stop it from becoming the first number-one hit song by a black female group.

The Who, “My Generation” (1965)

What a difference words can make, or at least the perception in this case. The BBC prohibited the song from receiving airplay after fearing Daltrey’s struggle with rapid-fire vocals (“f-f-f-fade away,” for example) might offend those who stuttered.

The Beach Boys, “God Only Knows” (1966)

At the time, using the name of God in a song was deemed as blasphemous. Airplay was forbidden in some parts of the country despite this mellow ballad having nothing sacrilegious to say. Band members even considered changing the title to “Fred Only Knows” to appease a mainstream audience. They did not change it and fans love the song to this day.

Phil Collins, “In the Air Tonight” (1981)

It’s hard to believe that this classic with probably the most famous drum fill in music history was not only banned once, but twice. First in 1991 when the BBC banned 67 songs due to perceived connection to the Persian Gulf War and again in 2001 when Clear Channel Communications prohibited 162 songs from playing after the 9/11 attacks.

The Kinks, “Lola” (1970)

The original studio recording contained the word “Coca-Cola” in the lyrics. Since this was a violation of BBC radio’s policy against product placement, Ray Davies was forced to interrupt the Kinks’ American tour in order to change it to “cherry cola” for the single’s release.

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This post was previously published on CultureSonar.

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