I just could not let this thread die without making a few comments of my own.

It suprises me that there could be as much discussion as I have seen in the last few weeks on this subject without anyone bringing up songs like Panama Red and Acapulco Gold. These songs were banned because of their "drug message". Acapulco Gold was played for several days before program directors realized it was about "evil weed" and jerked it from the air. In this case, as in most, the decision was made by radio station program directors around the country who feared for their jobs and safety if they allowed the song to be aired on their station.

There are other cases where "big brother" took direct action to affect the airplay of a song. A good example was the government generated rumor that Puff The Magic Dragon was in fact a song about drug use. This was done specifically to cause Americans to boycott Peter, Paul, & Mary. There was also a later disproved rumor about Paul Stookey being a convicted child molester which was apparently started by the same government organization. Our fine government employed these tactics because PP&M were popular artists who were performing anti-war/pacifist (rhymes with pinko/commie/fag) songs which were "corrupting the minds of our youth".

These "bans" were subtle in that there was no official proclaimation that the songs could not be played. There was just a release of "disinformation" which led program directors to take actions which resulted in the public from being allowed to enjoy the music they liked.

Other historical bans have been much more official. In Australia there was popular support for a highwayman named Jack Donohough which prompted the authorities to ban songs about him by law. In response, a number of songs issued forth about many other individuals who had the same initials, J.D., which were not banned, but the common people knew they were in fact about the original Jack D.

Ireland has a similar history in it's music. Songs about certain people and events were forbidden by law so people use initials to reference their heroes to get around the ban. They also used the tune of a nationalistic (Irish) song with the original words replaced by harmless words to inspire people by reminding them of the real song.

To anyone who disbelieves this, you should also know that the British government also passed laws forbidding Irish nationals from owning a horse with a value greater than 10 pounds and the real cause of the great potato famine was the exportation of the greater part of the Irish potato crop to feed England. The ability of the Irish to maintain a rich musical/lyrical culture in the face of such adversity is remarkable. In fact, it could probably be said that the musical/lyrical heritage, and the people's ability to maintain it in the face of such adversity, may be a major reason the Irish people were able to resists English occupation for centuries.

We should study the examples of the Irish and Australians and learn what the real price of censorship is; the loss of all manner of personal freedom. Each time the government, or a program director, dictates what we can listen to, we are robbed of another piece of our freedom of choice.

While some might say that a record not being played on the airwaves does not prevent us from going out and buying the record, the amount of airplay does directly impact the availability of the record in the marketplace, thereby impacting our ability to even buy the record for our own enjoyment.

Blues, jazz, "black music", civil rights songs, anti-war songs, songs about drugs, songs about sex, and songs about violence have all been targeted at one time or another in the last 50 years yet when the subject of "banned songs" is raised, the conversation seems to turn to obnoxious songs that probably got pulled from the air as the result of angry phone calls from hundreds of parents who were tired of hearing them on their children's radios.

I would like to see people take action directed at reducing the interference of government and special interest groups which impacts what information we are allowed to access. It is fine to be able to recall those unusual songs that tickled our funny bones and may have had a short history on the radio due to public outcry, but we must never forget that one of the casualties of the war between the government and the people in the 60's and 70's was volumes of heartful lyrics and excellent music which the people were robbed of by overzealous censors.

Sorry to ramble on at such length but this topic hit a nerve. Thanks for letting me vent.

Tom (no fancy handle)