Banned Records - (Not what you think)

WOLF ANGEL

WOLF ANGEL

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Now before everyone goes for the Panic button, over time the way that Society;s view on Musical renditions of subjects were taken were a lot different

The decision to 'Ban' songs are -in today's terms quite ridiculous though depict a yesteryear of very different values.
Let the Musical Time Machine (Be it a T.A.R.D.I.S. DeLoreon or Hot tub) take us back ....to

1956
ABC radio decides not to play Billie Holiday's "Love For Sale" because the lyrics are about prostitution.

 

1962:

They were also successful in getting Cole Porter to change the lyric of "I Get A Kick Out Of You", a hit for Frank Sinatra. Porter's original words were "I'd get no kick from cocaine".
Frank Sinatra recorded both pre-Code and post-Code versions (with and without the cocaine reference): the first in 1953 and the second in 1962 (not released until 1994), Sinatra sings the altered version with the first line as "Some like the perfume from Spain".
(In 1975 - however, Thanks to Gary Shearston) things changed.

 
1957
Radio stations in Boston refused to play The Everly Brothers "Wake Up Little Susie" because of its supposedly suggestive lyrics which tell the tale of two teenagers who fall asleep at a drive-in movie.


- Stations in other parts of the country feel differently and the song rises to #1 on the Billboard Pop and Country charts as well as the Cash Box Best Selling Record chart.
 

The Kingsmen's "Louie Louie" was investigated by the FBI for its incomprehensible lyrics. The Rolling Stones' "Let's Spend the Night Together" was censored for its provocative title and lyrics, and Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl" had a lyric changed from "making love in the green grass" to "laughin' and a-runnin'."
 
Lloyd Price recorded the song as "Stagger Lee" in 1958, and it rose to the top of both the R&B and US pop charts in early 1959.[
There are two versions of this song. The first had Stagger Lee and Billy gambling (Stagger Lee shot Billy at the end).

"Raunchy" Lyrics:
The original 1958 recording of "Stagger Lee" by Lloyd Price contained lyrics that were considered "raunchy" for the time.

Radio Censorship:
Because of these lyrics, a cleaned-up version of the song was released later to allow for radio play.

The Ballad's History
Folklore:
"Stagger Lee" is a murder ballad that has been around for decades, with many different versions by numerous artists, including Ma Rainey and Woody Guthrie.

The Crime:
The original story involves a man named Stagger Lee (or Stack-o-Lee), who shot and killed Billy Lyons after a dispute, often over a gambling debt or a hat.

Price's Version:
Lloyd Price's version, while incorporating the narrative, adds a new melody and focuses on a different aspect of the story, particularly a gambling dispute in an alley.
ABC-Paramount after hearing complaints from radio listeners, had Stagger Lee and Billy arguing over a girlfriend, who goes back to Stagger at the end, thus avoiding the mention of both gambling and murder in this version of the song.

His version was ranked number 456 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list, and also reached number 7 on the UK singles chart

 
Happiness Is a Warm Gun (1968)

Another instance of the BBC’s gift for misinterpretation. The Beatles’ track was not censored for referencing firearms, or for its phallic implications, but, John Lennon claimed, for being “about shooting up drugs”. Given that the phrase came from Charlie Brown, it would have been an endearingly innocent heroin reference.

 
WOLF ANGEL said:
Lloyd Price recorded the song as "Stagger Lee" in 1958, and it rose to the top of both the R&B and US pop charts in early 1959.[
There are two versions of this song. The first had Stagger Lee and Billy gambling (Stagger Lee shot Billy at the end).

"Raunchy" Lyrics:
The original 1958 recording of "Stagger Lee" by Lloyd Price contained lyrics that were considered "raunchy" for the time.
Click to expand...
That was the very first record I ever bought. A 78. I believe it was the raunchy lyrics though I can’t swear to that and probably didn’t know what they meant.
 
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