5 Famous Songs That Were Banned in Their Time—and Why They Were Controversial

Some songs deserve to be banned, while others have been censored for some pretty silly reasons. Let’s dive into five famous songs that were banned in one way or another; and why they were considered such controversial pieces of music.

1. “The Real Slim Shady” by Eminem

2000 was Eminem’s year. He won countless awards for The Marshall Mathers LP, and it’s still considered his best album by many diehard fans. The biggest hit to come out of that album was “The Real Slim Shady”, and it was effectively “banned” by the FCC.

The FCC actually fined two different radio stations thousands of dollars for playing the rap track. However, it wasn’t the dirty version; it was the clean version that got them in trouble. Even though the clean version of the song doesn’t contain banned words, the “innuendo” behind the song was banned by the FCC and not allowed to be broadcast. The fines were later dropped, and Eminem called the FCC out in the 2002 song “Without Me”.

“So the FCC won’t let me be / Or let me be me, so let me see / They try to shut me down on MTV / But it feels so empty without me.”

2. “The Pill” by Loretta Lynn

The 1970s were a very different time, and “The Pill” by Loretta Lynn was considered too vulgar to be on radio. The song is actually quite pretty, and the themes it tackles involve women taking control of their reproductive rights. The song was released just two years after Roe v. Wade, and conservative country music radio stations promptly banned the ode to birth control.

3. “Rock Around The Clock” by Bill Baley And His Comets

When it comes to famous banned songs, this is a great example of the government trying to mess around with freedom of expression. “Rock Around The Clock” by Bill Baley And His Comets is still a legendary hit today, but the Tennesse state government did not love it. 

Local officials banned the film Blackboard in 1955 for featuring the song. The track has zero obscenity in its lyrics, but officials were concerned that it would literally encourage youths to “rock around the clock” and cause delinquency.

4. “Louie Louie” by The Kingsman

This 1963 hit is still pretty addictive today, and it’s a go-to for many different films. However, then-governer of Indiana Matthew Welsh told the SBA to ban “Louie Louie” because it was “pornographic”.

Again, there are no obscene lyrics in this song; listeners like Welsh just interpreted the song to be sexual. Some radio stations banned it and the FBI even investigated it with “inconclusive” results.

5. “Street Fighting Man” by The Rolling Stones

The Mayor of Chicago, Richard J. Daley, banned “Street Fighting Man” by The Rolling Stones in the late 1960s. According to Daley, he was worried that the song would encourage “violence” during the 1968 Democratic National Convention, which marked the height of the Civil Rights and Vietnam War protest era. 

That didn’t stop bands like MC5 from performing fierce protest songs during the Lincoln Park protests, which did end up becoming violent.

Photo by Scott Gries/ImageDirect

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