An Indianapolis record store falls victim to a private sting organized by the group Decency In Broadcasting involving the sale of 2 Live Crew's Nasty As They Wanna Be to minors.
Following the controversy surrounding 2 Live Crew's obscenity battle in Florida, six states pass legislation declaring the band's album Nasty As They Wanna Be legally obscene. The states are Florida, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.
Utah Republican Howard Nielson introduces a resolution in Congress that calls for a stricter labeling system for controversial recordings.
In May, a Hamilton, Ohio, a record storeowner is pressured by local law enforcement officials to stop carrying 2 Live Crew's Nasty As They Want To Be. The retailer voluntarily pulls the record and avoids possible criminal proceedings.
Fred Meyer Music, a 100-store retailer with outlets in six states, creates its own stickering system to warn parents of objectionable lyrics.
In San Antonio, Texas, a record storeowner is jailed for selling a copy of 2 Live Crew's Nasty As They Wanna Be to the twenty-year-old son of an anti-pornography activist.
Also in June, James Anders, county solicitor in Columbia, South Carolina, gives local record stores ten days to remove 2 Live Crew's Nasty As They Wanna Be from their shelves.
Fearing the effects of exposure to controversial songs and performers, the city of Memphis bans minors from attending concerts that feature "potentially harmful" material. The ordinance mimics several others passed in cities such as San Antonio, Texas, and Jacksonville, Florida.
In June, a Nebraska radio station leads a boycott of k.d. lang for her anti-meat beliefs. The station rarely plays lang's records, so their action is largely symbolic.
Louisiana considers a bill to criminalize the sale or distribution of stickered products to any unmarried persons under the age of 17.
After receiving multiple complaints from retailers who threaten to refuse to carry the album, Jane's Addiction releases a second cover for its album Ritual de lo Habitual. The alternative cover shows the band's and album's names, and the text of the First Amendment to the U. S. Constitution.
About two months after members of 2 Live Crew were arrested in a Florida nightclub for performing material from their controversial album Nasty As They Want To Be, members of the New York rock band Too Much Joy are arrested in the same club for performing 2 Live Crew songs.
Record World refuses to carry the debut album by Professor Griff in any of its stores, calling it "totally obscene."
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.