Eve of Destruction and Rock Censorship

For all intents and popularity, prior to the 1940s, phonograph records were not heard on the radio. All music was done live. Most 78s of the era sold to the public carried the warning, “not for licensed for broadcast”, the theory being, if you can hear it on the radio, you won’t buy it on 78.

After the musician’s union strike against the recording industry was settled in 1942, radio play began. The first known record to be banned for radio broadcast was a 1939 vocal by jazz singer Billie Holiday, “Strange Fruit” about a southern lynching, the fruit being the hanged human dangling from a tree.

Drugs

Despite the loss of two members, the Rolling Stones are the only survivors of the so-called British Invasion of 1964. In fact, the Stones got off to a rocky start. In 1964, the very first 45 by the Rolling Stones released in America, “Stoned,” an instrumental, was banned and removed from sale in the U.S. because some thought the title was about drugs. While the Beatles were selling out Shea Stadium in New York City and making a historic appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, the Stones’ first U.S. appearance was at the somewhat pedestrian Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino in July 1964.

Viet Nam Protests

The long hot summer of 1965, exactly sixty years past was an era of draft card burning and Viet Nam protests. Folkie Barry McGuire growled the lyrics of P.F. Sloan’s presumed anti-war composition, hitting true gold on the “Eve of Destruction” after the song was inadvertently released when a DJ played the demo. Reaction to the theme of the song was swift and not kind, especially to not-yet-21-year-old Sloan, who still lived with his parents in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles.

“Picture the nightmare, I was the most dangerous man in America, for 30 years. John Birch was the face of it, all these things were hidden. We were under threat. Label was under threat. It’s huge. I’m a threat to American society. I received a letter from one of those guys, apologizing to make a quick buck, they realized they were part of the hate group, and they apologized,” said Sloan, “I was under a threat. The song was banned all over the country and all over the world.”

“I think the who thing was a divine play, song gave the vote to 18-year-olds, A senator quoted my line, I was the messenger of it. First and only. How do I deal with the nuclear threat. It was like a volcano; they were trying to put a cover on top of this metaphorical record.” In August 1965, “Eve of Destruction” was an easy #1 in L.A. and nationally.

Sex and Love Making

Seventy years ago, in 1955, major female blues and rock belter, Etta James debuted on Johnny Otis R&B record spinning show on Long Beach’s KFOX with “Roll With Me Henry,” a title Otis cribbed from Hank Ballard & the Midnighters’ 1954 hit “Work With Me Annie,” which KFVD DJ Hunter Hancock refused to air more than just the first few notes, thus hyping sales for those that had to know what the controversy was all about. On subsequent pressings, the “Roll” part of the title was removed, changed to “The Wallflower.” Then Georgia Gibbs covered it as “Dance With Me Henry,” thus completing the cleansing process.

In August 1957, Louis Conley of Conley’s Record Rack on PCH was fined $100 and put on probation for selling Redd Foxx’s ribald LP, “Laff of the Party.” At the same time, the Everly Brothers #1 hit, “Wake Up Little Susie” was banned in Boston, literally, for suggesting overnight hanky-panky. As a consequence, teen singers Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel debuted as Tom & Jerry with a response, “Hey Schoolgirl” and the message, “let’s wait.”

In 1964, the Drifters who hit with “Under the Boardwalk” had to change “we’ll be making some love” to the more acceptable “we’ll be falling in love.”

Back to the Stones. In 1967, Mick Jagger’s lyrics on “Let’s Spend the Night Together” were cleansed to “let’s spend some time together” in order to appease Sullivan’s Sunday show. His “Brown Sugar” lyrics had racial implications and was suppressed on some media.

Violence and Street Fighting

In 1958, Link Wray’s instrumental, “Rumble” was banned by the BBC. Censors were busy in 1959 as two #1 hits were taken to task. “Mack the Knife” by Bobby Darin was removed from WCBS, New York playlist and the violent ending of “Stagger Lee” by Lloyd Price was re-recorded to make it more gentle for play on “American Bandstand.”

Back to the Stones. On the eve of the Chicago Riots of 1968, Chicago Mayor Daley ordered local top 40 radio not to play the Rolling Stones’ “Street Fighting Man.” It worked; the song was a mild hit in the U.S., but never made the radio charts in Chicago. Almost immediately, rock and soul faced censorship during a period of urban upheaval, draft card burning, drug usage and the like.