4 Pop Songs That Caused Drama With Censorship Advocates

Pop songs through the years, at least in the last half-century or so, have bordered on provocative for the sake of charting attention. Plenty of songs through the years have been raunchy or downright erotic. And some of those songs, especially around the 1980s, were the subject of pretty major censorship controversies. Let’s take a look, shall we?

“Dress You Up” by Madonna

This hit song from Madonna came out in 1985 on her groundbreaking album, Like A Virgin. And boy, did it stir up some controversy, as many pop songs from that particular album did. Music critics loved it, but the infamous Parents Music Resource Center included it on their “Filthy Fifteen” list. 

For those who don’t remember, that list included songs that the PMRC considered extremely explicit and wanted them banned from the eyes of young, impressionable children. Later, the Recording Industry Association of America labeled it as “S” for “Sex and Obscenity.”

“Sugar Walls” by Sheena Easton

This 1984 track from Sheena Easton comes from her album A Private Heaven. “Sugar Walls” was quite a big hit that year in the US, though it didn’t really chart in her native UK. And despite the song being such a success, it was met with some controversy concerning the title and lyrics. I’m going to assume you can figure out what the title is a euphemism for. 

“Sugar Walls” ended up on the “Filthy Fifteen” list. And while the music video for the song did not feature any vulgar content, some stations refused to play it. Even televangelist Jimmy Swaggart was mad about it.

“She Bop” by Cyndi Lauper

Cyndi Lauper is known for playful pop songs. Rarely does she ever deal with controversy. However, her 1984 track “She Bop” ran into some controversy when it was first released. I can see why. Apparently, this song from She’s So Unusual is all about… actually, you can just look it up yourself.

Yet again, the PMRC added this song to their naughty list. But that didn’t stop it from charting very well on the Hot 100 chart.

“Darling Nikki” by Prince

Well, we couldn’t leave this one out. “Darling Nikki” by Prince is one of the most well-known pop songs to ruffle a few feathers in terms of censorship. This dirty little ditty comes from Prince’s 1984 record Purple Rain, and Tipper Gore was the PMRC member to really give it a finger-wagging. Today, this song is known as one of the tunes that led to the Parental Advisory sticker becoming a thing.

Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images