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From banned broadcasts to FBI investigations, these songs struck all the wrong chords! Join us as we count down the rock songs that stirred up serious controversy. From The Sex Pistols' monarchy-bashing anthem to Marilyn Manson's shocking political statements, these tracks pushed boundaries and buttons in equal measure!
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00:001. Something's got to give. 2. Something's got to give. 3. Something's got to give. Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
00:07Welcome to WatchMojo, and today, we're looking at 20 rock songs that caused some major controversy when they were first released.
00:15Whatever makes you happy, whatever you want.
00:24Brown Sugar, The Rolling Stones
00:27The controversy that surrounds the song Brown Sugar was a real slow burn.
00:32Though seen as one of the band's signature songs, its lyrical content has continued to age poorly.
00:45Even Mick Jagger himself admitted that there's no way he would have written that song in the modern world if he had had the same inspiration.
00:52In his own words, he was just spitballing a wide range of topics.
00:56Back you up!
00:58I told you that's my girl!
01:00But…
01:01The unmistakable references to slavery, and all of the lewd innuendos that are mentioned throughout,
01:07started to become more noticeable as attitudes changed within the world.
01:11As of 2021, the band has decided to omit the song from any future setlists.
01:17Money For Nothing, Dire Straits
01:20Money For Nothing might not strike you as a controversial song, and in general, it's not the overall picture that's the problem.
01:32But in one verse, there are three instances of a homophobic slur that ended up getting the song banned on Canadian radio.
01:43The band was eventually lifted, but the lyric remains widely unedited.
01:46In the context of the song, Mark Knopfler is singing from the perspective of a worker in a hardware store,
01:52who is insulted by the fact that rock stars on MTV make so much money.
02:04For as much as the use of the slur was intended to show the raw anger and vitriol of the store worker towards people like Knopfler himself,
02:12it still didn't sit well with many people.
02:14Janie's Got A Gun
02:16Aerosmith
02:17Aerosmith certainly didn't pull any punches when dealing with the subjects of abuse and incest in their 1989 hit, Janie's Got A Gun.
02:32The song is definitely intended to shock, but it also was intended to highlight the strife of people who had been abused in the way the titular character had.
02:41Steven Tyler explained how he had met people in rehab who inspired the song's subject matter.
02:46Even with that context, the song remains a pretty shocking piece of arena rock.
02:51There was a public outcry about whether the song was actively glamorizing vigilante justice in the pursuit of revenge.
02:57The song is just begun, now everybody is on the run.
03:04However, as time went on, it became celebrated as a track that brought some pretty morbid yet very real topics into the public consciousness.
03:13Sunday Bloody Sunday, U2.
03:16Tackling the subject of the political and religious divide in Northern Ireland is always going to be a tricky task.
03:22For U2, they decided to name what would become one of their most impactful songs after the infamous Bloody Sunday Massacre of 1972,
03:30where British soldiers gunned down 26 protesters in Derry.
03:34I can't believe the news today, I can't close my eyes and make it go away.
03:43Fourteen people died during the attack.
03:45The band maintains that the song's lyrics also refer to a horrific day in Irish history in 1920, also named Bloody Sunday,
03:54where both the Irish and English suffered immense casualties.
03:58The song was immediately criticized for its bias, but U2 made it clear that the song condemns political violence of all kinds,
04:11regardless of religion or allegiance.
04:14Suicide Solution – Ozzy Osbourne
04:17When Ozzy Osbourne wrote this song, he was grieving the death of legendary ACDC frontman Bond Scott,
04:23who had unfortunately drunk himself into an early grave.
04:26Take the fire from ground on sorrow
04:31Then he floods away tomorrow
04:35For Ozzy, it was impossible not to feel a sense of worry due to his own wild and hedonistic lifestyle.
04:41Osbourne, along with his bandmates, wrote the song to warn against the dangers of partying too hard.
04:47But when the song was released, its critics felt that it glorified self-destruction.
04:52Take me around
04:58The parents of three separate sons who took their own lives sued Ozzy due to their belief that his song had encouraged them to do so.
05:05The lawsuits all failed in the end, but the song remains a controversial one.
05:11Killing in the Name – Rage Against the Machine
05:14If you've heard the song Killing in the Name by Rage Against the Machine, you're going to know exactly why this one was controversial.
05:21Not only does the song actively celebrate any form of rebellion against authority, but it also suggests that some of those who wear police uniforms have ties to the Ku Klux Klan.
05:36And of course, it's all topped off by the infamous refrain that involves frontman Zack De La Rocha bluntly and explicitly telling the powers that be that he won't do what they tell him.
05:47It should come as absolutely no surprise that many people were offended by this one, folks.
05:54Walk on the Wild Side
05:56Lou Reed
05:57When Lou Reed left the Velvet Underground, he enlisted the help of David Bowie to try and nail the sound for his breakout album, Transformer.
06:05Holla came from Miami, Philly
06:07Hitchhiked away across the USA
06:12Bowie's production, and even his backing vocals, shined through on the record.
06:16Thematically, however, Reed also moved into the type of gender-bending glam that Bowie had perfected, writing from his own experiences hanging around at parties with Andy Warhol's gang of outsiders.
06:27Walk on the Wild Side is a celebration of that side of the world, and it's filled to the brim with subjects that were considered taboo in the 70s.
06:36It caused controversy wherever it landed, of course, but apparently it slipped by the censors in the UK, simply because they didn't understand some of the lingo.
06:55He hit me, and it felt like a kiss.
06:57Kiss
06:58The Crystals
06:59Domestic abuse is something that was rarely tackled head-on in music in the early 1960s, but you'd be hard-pressed to hear a more direct engagement with the subject than He Hit Me, and It Felt Like a Kiss by The Crystals.
07:12He hit me, and it felt like a kiss.
07:19The song was actually co-written by the legendary Carole King, but she later admitted that she regrets ever having anything to do with it.
07:26It tells the story of a woman who believes that her boyfriend's physical abuse of her is motivated by love.
07:31It's a pretty grim thing to write a song about, and the lyrics don't really offer up any form of resolution or commentary.
07:48It's just told the way it's told, and to many listeners, it felt like an outright endorsement.
07:53Louie Louie
07:55The Kingsman
07:56There is no song in rock and roll that has been recorded more than Louie Louie, but for this video, we're focusing on the version by The Kingsman.
08:04The song is intentionally sung in a very slurred manner by frontman Jack Eli, which led to widespread panic over its lyrical content.
08:20The song doesn't actually deviate from Richard Berry's original, but people were so convinced that it had hidden obscene lyrics that the FBI carried out an investigation into the track.
08:33Of course, they found nothing, making the whole thing a waste of valuable time, money, and resources.
08:43One in a Million
08:45Guns N' Roses
08:47There is no way in hell that Axl Rose didn't know that he was opening up a can of worms when he decided to write One in a Million.
08:54Sure, he says that the track is written from the perspective of someone who is angry and a bigot, but even his Guns N' Roses bandmates were uncomfortable with the song, leading them to decide to completely cut it out of their set lists.
09:12Sure, every writer has a level of poetic license when it comes to creating characters in their work, but One in a Million just left a bad taste in everyone's mouth.
09:28The Old Man Down The Road
09:30John Fogerty
09:31It's not rare for musicians to be sued for plagiarism, but it is quite rare for a musician to be sued for sounding too much like themselves.
09:49That's the weird predicament John Fogerty found himself in after releasing The Old Man Down The Road.
10:00This song was Fogerty's only top 10 single as a solo artist, but the party was stymied by Saul Zantz, owner of Fantasy Records.
10:10He sued Fogerty for copyright infringement, claiming that the song's chorus sounded similar to the Credence Clearwater Revival song, Run Through the Jungle.
10:19The courts ultimately ruled in favor of Fogerty, claiming that an artist cannot plagiarize themselves, and Zantz was forced to pay Fogerty $1.3 million in legal fees.
10:33When it comes to Metallica deep cuts, Ronnie is about as deep as it gets.
10:54However, it saw a bit of fame in the early 2000's owing to a significant court case.
11:01Ronald Patuk from New Jersey killed his mother and an innocent bystander before surrendering himself to the police.
11:08I always said something wrong with little stranger right along.
11:14Defense attorneys claimed that he suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, and when Patuk testified, he explicitly mentioned Ronnie and how it was always in his head.
11:25The song tells the story of a troubled and lonely boy who commits a shooting and traumatizes a town.
11:32It's an interesting story that highlights complex issues around mental illness, and how individuals under psychological duress often latch on to cultural artifacts like music during a crisis.
11:45When he pulled that gun from his pocket and they all fall down.
11:52Come as you are, Nirvana.
11:54Come as you are, as you were.
11:59How do you possibly follow up Smells Like Teen Spirit?
12:04Nirvana had two choices, In Bloom or Come As You Are.
12:09Nirvana wanted In Bloom because they feared the repercussions of releasing the latter.
12:14You see, the main riff of Come As You Are shares great similarities with a song called 80s from the band Killing Joe.
12:22And the band knew it.
12:24Management won out and Come As You Are was chosen, but the band was right and Killing Joke was pissed.
12:46They were reportedly irate at Nirvana for stealing their riff and some reports state that they filed a copyright lawsuit against the band.
12:54However, other reports claim that they never actually went through with the lawsuit for whatever reason.
13:00Either way, not happy.
13:02Not happy.
13:09My Sweet Lord, George Harrison.
13:12I really wanna see you.
13:16Really wanna be with you.
13:20You know of plagiarism, but do you know of subconscious plagiarism?
13:25A gorgeous piece of folk rock, My Sweet Lord was George Harrison's first single as an ex-Beatle.
13:31It was also the center of a highly publicized lawsuit.
13:35Harrison was taken to court by Bright Tunes Music Corporation, who claimed that he copied the chiffon's He's So Fine.
13:43Hallelujah.
13:45My Sweet Lord.
13:47Hallelujah.
13:49He's so fine.
13:51Dulang, Dulang, Dulang.
13:53When she were mine.
13:55Dulang, Dulang, Dulang.
13:57Harrison admitted to knowing the song, but argued against copying it.
14:01And while the court conceded that Harrison did not intentionally plagiarize the song, they introduced the concept of subconscious plagiarism.
14:10And Harrison was found liable.
14:12He was understandably angry.
14:14And the case set a legal precedent that changed how artists thought about the blurred line between inspiration and imitation.
14:22Imitation.
14:31Stairway to Heaven.
14:33Led Zeppelin.
14:45Arguably the most popular rock song ever written,
14:48Stairway to Heaven was also the subject of a highly publicized copyright trial.
14:53Spirit bassist Mark Andes and a trust for Randy California took Led Zeppelin to court.
14:59Claiming that the opening acoustic riff of Stairway to Heaven copied their song, Taurus.
15:05What made this case so controversial wasn't necessarily the lawsuit, but that it was filed in 2014, nearly half a century after the song was released.
15:25If successful, Spirit would have been entitled to songwriter credit and half of the song's future royalties.
15:32However, Led Zeppelin won the case as there was no strong evidence of plagiarism and the similarities were based on common court progressions, which are not protected by copyright.
15:43By copyright.
15:50Get Your Gun.
15:51Marilyn Manson.
15:52One of the heaviest Marilyn Manson songs, Get Your Gun, comes off his debut album, Portrait of an American Family, and was inspired by the murder of OBGYN David Gunn by an anti-abortion extremist.
16:11And, like a good chunk of Manson's discography, it came under fire by the political right after the Columbine shooting.
16:18Critics argued that its violent and politically charged lyrics inspired the two young boys behind the massacre.
16:31It was a heavy load for the musician to bear, but many other people came to his defense, claiming that the association was ridiculous.
16:40Regardless, Get Your Gun inspired an intense public discourse around Marilyn Manson's role in shaping the American youth.
16:49The president was shooting bombs overseas, yet I'm a bad guy because I've sang some rock and roll songs.
16:58And who's a bigger influence, the president or Marilyn Manson?
17:01I'd like to think mean, but I'm gonna go with the president.
17:04Bodies.
17:05Drowning Pool.
17:06With a chorus that consists of the lyric, Let the bodies hit the floor, it's easy to see how this song could be misinterpreted.
17:20Drowning Pool frontman Dave Williams claimed that there was no ill intent behind the song and that the lyrics were simply about mosh pits.
17:28However, bodies has long been associated with crimes and tragedies, sparking a good degree of backlash.
17:35It was briefly pulled from the radio in the aftermath of 9-11, and it has been linked to numerous shootings, including that of Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords.
17:54It was also famously used as an interrogation technique at Guantanamo Bay, often played loudly and on a continuous loop as a form of psychological torment.
18:10Creep.
18:11Radiohead.
18:12Perhaps the most famous copyright infringement case is that of Radiohead's Creep.
18:24Many people have found similarities between Creep and the Hollies' The Air That I Breathe, which was written by Albert Hammond and Michael Hazelwood.
18:33All I need is the air that I breathe and to love you.
18:40Rondor Music took legal action against Radiohead, claiming copyright infringement.
18:46But unlike other artists who vehemently deny plagiarism, Radiohead openly admitted to the similarities.
18:53So, no, I will not accept that you stand there and tell me that you never heard the air that I breathe by the Hollies when I know that you have heard Creep by Radiohead.
19:05Hammond and Hazelwood were awarded both songwriting credits and royalties, but as they admired the band's honesty, they only took a small percentage.
19:14Funnily enough, Radiohead later targeted Lana Del Rey, seeking credit and royalties after she used the melody for her song, Get Free.
19:23We wonder, who's going to do it next?
19:26How old are you, 19 or 20? Something like that.
19:28Okay, so maybe you know Lana Del Rey, who remarkably was sued by Radiohead for plagiarizing Creep in her 2017 song, Get Free.
19:37Iterations, over time, diluting the message, obscuring the original.
19:47Helter Skelter, The Beatles
19:56Arthur Doyle Green has said that The Beatles and Charles Manson are permanently connected in pop culture consciousness, and that's not really an association you want to have.
20:06Manson was a huge fan of the song, thinking that it bore prophetic messages about an apocalyptic race war.
20:13He saw their music as instructions or validation for his twisted worldview, leading to the infamous killings of 1969.
20:22The evidence will show Manson's fanatical obsession with Helter Skelter, a term he got from the English musical group The Beatles.
20:31To Manson, Helter Skelter meant the black man rising up and destroying the entire white race.
20:38At one murder scene, the words Helter Skelter were even written in blood on a refrigerator, further strengthening the connection between the song and the murders.
20:49Following the crime, Helter Skelter became tainted in the public eye, leading to a moral panic, public discomfort with the White Album, and increased scrutiny of rock music and its cultural influence.
21:02God Save the Queen Sex Pistols
21:27It was 1977 and it had been 25 years since Queen Elizabeth took the throne.
21:40As such, Britain was throwing a massive party called the Silver Jubilee.
21:45The Sex Pistols even wrote a nice song for her called God Save the Queen, with politically charged lyrics that called out the Queen and her fascist regime.
21:55The song was widely regarded as an attack on the British monarchy, and many saw its release as disrespectful and provocative, intended to spoil the Jubilee.
22:06The Sex Pistols also represented punk rock rebellion at its most pure, which was a huge shock to the traditional and conservative British sensibilities of the time.
22:24As such, the song was banned by the BBC and many other major broadcasters.
22:38But what controversial rock songs come to mind first, for you?
22:43Be sure to let us know in the comments below.
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