3 Rock Songs From the 1970s That Parents Were Actually Scared Of

In many ways, parents feared the rock music of the 1970s. The era offered a number of new sub-genres and, for many parents, it was almost too much to fathom. But despite their efforts, their kids still fell in love with the music.

And that’s just what we wanted to highlight below. We wanted to explore three tracks from back in the day that had parents clutching expensive pearls. Indeed, these are three rock songs from the 1970s that parents were actually scared of.

“God Save The Queen” by Sex Pistols from ‘Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols’ (1977)

When punk rock music hit the scene in the 1970s, parents didn’t know what to do. All of a sudden, their kids were staying out late and acting mad. Their clothes were ripped, their hair went uncombed. As society was crumbling in the 1970s, much of it was reflected in the music. And no band reflected the dire mood of the day quite as well as the British-born punk rock group the Sex Pistols. The outfit released only one album, but the 1977 offering was perfect. And the LP’s song “God Save The Queen” gave an especially big scare to parents. They wanted the band to leave the poor queen alone!

“Black Sabbath” by Black Sabbath from ‘Black Sabbath’ (1970)

Black Sabbath—who wouldn’t be scared of this looming band of doom seekers? Listening to the group’s 1970 debut LP makes you feel like you’re in a church for the damned. Salvation is not near. Joy and comfort are nowhere to be found. Instead, you just have the depraved voice of Ozzy Osbourne and all the dark carnage he wants to bring to the world. In other words, it’s great rock music. Teens loved it, parents hated it! It’s a story as old as vinyl records!

“I Wanna Be Sedated” by Ramones from ‘Road To Ruin’ (1978)

Punk rock music was enough to put a scare in the minds of many parents back in the day. But with songs like “I Wanna Be Sedated” by Ramones, it got worse. Not only did parents not want their kids listening to punk rock if they could help it, but they didn’t want them listening to tunes that glorified doing drugs at the same time. Well, “I Wanna Be Sedated” is the Venn Diagram of both—punk rock and substances. No wonder parents feared the song—heck, they still do!

Photo by Chris Walter/WireImage