The Boston Catholic Youth Organization begins a campaign of policing dances and lobbying disc jockeys to stop playing "obscene" songs at record hops and on the radio.
For radio airplay the perceived drug reference "I get no kick from cocaine," is changed to "I get perfume from Spain." in Cole Porter's classic "I Get A Kick Out of You."
The editorial, "Control the Dimwits," which appears in the September 24 issue of Billboard, condemns R&B songs that contain double entendre references to sex. In response, police in Long Beach, California, and Memphis, Tennessee, confiscate jukeboxes and fine their owners. Similar jukebox bans occur across the country.
In October, WDIA and several other large popular music radio stations ban several songs for their sexually suggestive lyrics. The station runs on-air announcements saying, "WDIA, your good-will station, in the interest of good citizenship, for the protection of morals and our American way of life does not consider this record, [name of song], fit for broadcast on WDIA. We are sure all you listeners will agree with us."
The ABC network bans the Rosemary Clooney hit "Mambo Italiano," saying it did not meet the network's "standards for good taste."
1955
Former radio deejay Pat Boone begins a career by releasing "sanitized" versions of black R&B hits. Boone's versions of these songs often contain "toned down" lyrics: such as substituting "drinkin' Coca Cola" for "drinkin' wine" in T-Bone Walker's "Stormy Monday" and "Pretty little Susie is the girl for me" instead of "Boys, don't you know what she do to me" in Little Richard's "Tutti Fruitti."
In one week's time during April, Chicago radio stations receive 15,000 complaint letters protesting their broadcast of rock music.
Variety runs a three-part series on what they term "leer-ics," or R&B songs with obscene lyrics, calling for censorship of the recording industry. The articles compare these songs to dirty postcards and chastises the music industry for selling "their leer-ic garbage by declaring that's what kids want."
The Juvenile Delinquency and Crime Commission of Houston, Texas, bans more than 30 songs it considers obscene. The Commission's list is almost entirely comprised of black artists
Officials cancel rock and roll concerts scheduled in New Haven and Bridgeport, Connecticut; Boston; Atlanta; Jersey City and Asbury Park, New Jersey; Burbank, California; and Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Observers mistake dancing at concerts for riots and fighting.
CBS television network cancels Alan Freed's Rock 'n Roll Dance Party after a camera shows Frankie Lymon (leader of the doo wop group Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers) dancing with a white girl.
Article comments
1 - Chris
There are several examples in there of real Censorship, but the rest of the list is not. Only when the Government supresses speech in some form can it be truly called censorship. The rest are examples of people/businesses exercising judgement about what they will/will not release and/or play. There is no right to a record contract, and there is no right to radio play. Ask David Allan Coe.