3 Banned Songs From the 1970s That Went on to Chart

It’s natural for human beings to fear what they don’t understand or what threatens their livelihoods. It’s a survival instinct to distance oneself from poisonous mushrooms, stay away from lions, or shun something that one thinks might threaten their community. But sometimes that very basic, lizard brain reaction is applied to music. And in the long run, it just seems silly.

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Here below, we wanted to explore three examples of just that. Let’s look at a trio of songs that were banned in the 1970s that seem rather harmless today. Indeed, these are three banned songs from the 70s that went on to chart.

“The Pill” by Loretta Lynn from ‘Back To The Country’ (1975)

Country star Loretta Lynn was never one to keep her mouth closed when it came to an idea or belief she felt strongly about. And her 1975 song, “The Pill”, is the biggest example of that truth. On the tune, she sings about birth control and about shunning the shackles of motherhood, of the cycle of getting pregnant, having a baby, and then repeating the process. Isn’t there more to life than that? she wonders. But of course, this song was controversial, even getting banned by country stations. (Some still refuse to spin it.) But despite many stations at the time refusing to play the track, it still hit the Billboard Hot 100 at no. 70.

“Love To Love You Baby” by Donna Summer from ‘Love To Love You Baby’ (1975)

This smooth, sultry disco track was a little too sexual for some upon its release in the middle of the 1970s. With moans from vocalist Donna Summer, the track was too sexy for public consumption, said some radio stations, including the BBC, which refused to play it due to the simulated orgasm noises from the song’s singer. But that didn’t stop the erotic song from being played in clubs and home stereos en masse at the time. Who doesn’t love a little Donna Summer allure? Indeed, the tune did hit no. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

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

This now-infamous example of banned songs from the 1970s comes from the British-born punk rock band Sex Pistols. “God Save The Queen” was banned by the BBC and other radio stations in their home country upon release since the tune pokes fun at the local well-to-do matriarch, the Queen of England. Critics like Radio 2 controller Charles McLelland said the track was in “gross bad taste.” Nevertheless, the punk rock offering went on to hit no. 2 on the NME charts in the United Kingdom. That just goes to show: if you tell people not to push the big red button, they surely will push it!

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