The Most Controversial Song the Year You Were Born
Music has been freaking people out for one reason or another since the first time a caveman pounded two rocks together and said, “Yo, this is my jam!” (???)
Loudwire.com put together a list of the Most Controversial Song from the Year You Were Born. And it goes all the way back to 1930, when people were clutching their pearls over a song called “Prohibition is a Failure” by Lowe Stokes.
Here are some highlights from the ’60s on . . .
1962: “He Hit Me (And It Felt Like a Kiss)”, The Crystals
1964: “A Change Is Gonna Come”, Sam Cooke
1969: “Give Peace a Chance”, Plastic Ono Band
1971: “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”, Gil Scott-Heron
1975: “The Pill”, Loretta Lynn
1977: “God Save the Queen”, Sex Pistols
1982: “The Message”, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
1983: “Relax”, Frankie Goes to Hollywood
1986: “Dear God”, XTC
1988: “[Eff] tha Police”, N.W.A.
1990: “Justify My Love”, Madonna
1992: “Killing in the Name”, Rage Against the Machine
1994: “Closer”, Nine Inch Nails
1999: “Goodbye Earl”, The (Dixie) Chicks
2000: “Stan”, Eminem
2002: “Dirrty”, Christina Aguilera
2004: “American idiot”, Green Day
2008: “I Kissed a Girl”, Katy Perry
2010: “Pumped Up Kicks”, Foster the People
2018: “This Is America”, Childish Gambino
And, for all you babies born THIS YEAR, your most controversial song is Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town”. Unless something better comes along in the next two and a half months.
(Check out the whole list here.)