Great moments in music censorship

A humorous look at how paranoia can make music people do strange things...

In 1973, the Charlie Daniels Band scored its first hit with the quite humorous novelty song "Uneasy Rider", but for some reason, AM radio stations got the willies over the line "and their asses were catching", so they bleeped it.  However, a previous line in the song "one of them long-haired hippie-type pinko fags" was apparently deemed okay, 'cause it was left unscathed! J ust you try and get away with a line in a song like that in today's politically correct world, boys and girls...

A mere six years later, the C.D.B. succumbed to pressure from censor-ly types with their 1979 classic "The Devil Went Down To Georgia".  Evidently, you can't even call the devil himself a "son-of-a-bitch" amongst certain Bible-thumping Southern Baptist circles, thus Charlie had to issue the wussy "I done told you once you son-of-a-gun" single version of the song to appease the over-zealous Jerry Falwell/"700 Club" sycophants out there.

In a similar move, The Who's Roger Daltrey had to make a special trip to the recording studio just to sing five words, "Who the hell are you?" to tidy up 1978's "Who Are You?" for AM radio, and the single version thereof.  Meantime, the original "Who the fuck are you?" lyric had been a staple on FM radio for 25 years or so until the whole 2004 Janet Jackson boob thing happened and the FCC threatened to take everyone's licenses away at the slightest utterance of the word "heck", thus "Who Are You?" has been neutered to eliminate the offending line altogether on nearly all Classic Rock stations.  A similar fate has befallen the classic Pink Floyd tune "Money" and the line "goody-goody good bullshit" which is now rendered "goody-goody good #)@*&;$!(."

Meantime, my good buddy John "Cougar" Mellencamp's "Play Guitar" aired on the radio the other day complete with the line "forget about all that macho shit and learn to play guitar!" unadulterated.  What gives?  Too bad he's never taken his own advice...