A Short History of Crime and Banned Music
1956: ABC Radio chooses not to play “Love For Sale” by Billie Holiday because the lyrics were about prostitution.
1959: WCBS-AM, New York banned “Mack The Knife” by Bobby Darin after the local stabbing deaths of two teenagers.
1968: Chicago Mayor Daley ordered local radio stations not to play “Street Fighting Man” while the Democratic National Convention was in town in anticipation of riots.
1969: A Newark, New Jersey vice squad shuts down a retailer who was selling John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s “Two Virgins” album which featured the couple on the cover nude.
1989: Radio stations ban songs by Cat Stevens after he endorses an Iranian Fatwa (death threat) against writer Salman Rushdie.
2001: Clear Channel Radio allegedly compiles a list of songs that might be considered in "bad taste" - if played - following the awful events of 9/11. See the list here.
2003: BBC Radio 1 bans Michael Jackson’s single, “One More Chance”, after allegations surface again about child molestation
(For a complete list of banned music, see The History Of Banned Rock and Roll
