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August 13, 2018 10:06 am  #1


Hit Songs That Wouldn't Be Politically Correct Today

The linked articles below aren't new, but they've been brought back to consciousness after an Australian radio station got into trouble this week by broadcasting "My Boomerang Won't Come Back," a Charlie Drake song from 1961 that went Top 10 in Canada and was a huge hit around the world. 

Australian officials banned the song from its airwaves a few years ago, citing it as racist. (It's about an Aboriginal youth who complains he can't get his weapon to return to him.) It was a novelty record at the time, but I can see why, in an era when statues of Sir John A. Macdonald are being removed in Canada, it might not be well received. 

In looking at that story, I found one from 2015 - a thought provoking list from an Aussie newspaper that ponders hit records from the past that would never be allowed on the air today. It mentions tunes I've considered previously - like "Born A Woman" by Sandy Posey, about how a woman must be subservient to her man and "If You Wanna Be Happy," the Jimmy Soul classic that urges you to "make an ugly woman your wife."

It shows that you can't impose standards of yesterday to songs of today. But that won't stop the PC crowd. I wonder what other classic hits might be banned today because people don't like the lyrics. I'm aware Neil Hedly from Zoomer Radio sometimes reads these posts. I'd be curious to know if these decisions ever influence anything they will - or won't - play. 

My Boomerang Won't Come Back is banned: 2015 

The most politically incorrect lyrics in classic hit songs that you would never get away with these days: 2015




 

 

August 13, 2018 10:17 am  #2


Re: Hit Songs That Wouldn't Be Politically Correct Today

Q: What do you call a boomerang that won't come back?

A: A stick

I'm here all week -- try the veal

But seriously that song is blatantly "out-of-date. "I practiced  'til I was black in the face"??????

Sing that one today & get ready to duck.

 

 

Last edited by unclefester (August 13, 2018 10:20 am)


  
 

August 13, 2018 10:21 am  #3


Re: Hit Songs That Wouldn't Be Politically Correct Today

"Black in the face," is indeed offensive. Back in the 60s, the BBC forced Drake to re-record the song with "blue in the face" before they would play it.

Speaking of banned songs, is Gilbert O'Sullivan's huge hit "Clair" still OK? It appeared to be about a babysitter having suggestive thoughts about his neice, although it really was an innocent song in the end.


.

   

Last edited by RadioActive (August 13, 2018 10:25 am)

     Thread Starter
 

August 13, 2018 11:39 am  #4


Re: Hit Songs That Wouldn't Be Politically Correct Today

I'll Be Watching You by The Police

Stalking does not play well these days.


Every breath you take
Every move you make
Every bond you break
Every step you take
I'll be watching youEvery single day
Every word you say
Every game you play
Every night you stay
I'll be watching youOh can't you see
You belong to me
My poor heart aches
With every step you takeEvery move you make
Every vow you break
Every smile you fake
Every claim you stake
I'll be watching youSince you've gone I been lost without a trace
I dream at night I can only see your face
I look around but it's you I can't replace
I feel so cold and I long for your embrace
I keep crying baby, baby, pleaseOh can't you see
You belong to me
My poor heart aches
With every step you takeEvery move you make
Every vow you break
Every smile you fake
Every claim you stake
I'll be watching you
Every…
 

Last edited by Leslieville Bill (August 13, 2018 11:41 am)


- Not an industry person.  Just a guy with a love of Toronto radio. 
 

August 13, 2018 1:10 pm  #5


Re: Hit Songs That Wouldn't Be Politically Correct Today

Sting has often commented on Every Breath You Take, wondering why in the world a lot of people play it at weddings and think it's a romantic love song. He's been very open that it's about stalking, but for some reason, many have an entirely different take on the lyrics, interpreting them to mean I'll be devoted to you no matter what. 

Odd that it's taken on that double meaning. 

     Thread Starter
 

August 13, 2018 8:54 pm  #6


Re: Hit Songs That Wouldn't Be Politically Correct Today

https://youtu.be/Q9TXjIadhq0

I'd like to think, for the sake of mom's, wives and daughters, that this was not cool.

Last edited by Lentil (August 13, 2018 8:57 pm)

 

August 13, 2018 9:06 pm  #7


Re: Hit Songs That Wouldn't Be Politically Correct Today

Then there are songs that might not be played today because they appear to question new standards. 

For example, My Girl Bill by Jim Stafford, a song that was either a Top 10 hit or close to it in both Canada and the U.S. in 1974. The song appears to be about two gay guys but then takes a wild turn at the end to let you know what it's really about. 

Perhaps the fact that they WEREN'T gay is one of the things keeping it off the air today. Then again, novelty songs don't often get a high repeat rate. Great gimmick song, though.


  

     Thread Starter
 

August 13, 2018 9:29 pm  #8


Re: Hit Songs That Wouldn't Be Politically Correct Today

I don’t know what it says about me that “My Boomerang Won’t Come Back” was the first 45 I ever bought.  Mind you, I was about eight years old.

 

August 13, 2018 10:53 pm  #9


Re: Hit Songs That Wouldn't Be Politically Correct Today

While you could argue that it may not qualify as a "hit" the 1966 effort by Napoleon Bonaparte XIV entitled "They're Coming To Take Me Away" would never see the light of day in todays environment.

In fact Maybo may well recall the following. CHLO in St. Thomas was the big teen station in the London area back in the day. One night owner John L. Moore took to the airwaves to announce CHLO would  not play the record. He cited the fact that the city of St. Thomas was home to a large mental health/psychiatric hospital adding that the record was unkind to those suffering from mental health issues.

As a ten year old I remember listening to his on air announcement & how disappointed I was that the station wouldn't play the tune. But looking back it was pretty gutsy & the right call more than 50 years ago.


  
 

August 13, 2018 11:46 pm  #10


Re: Hit Songs That Wouldn't Be Politically Correct Today

I remember that well, Unc.
They did play it down in Windsor, and heard it often at our cottage.  But my parents forbade me from buying the record.  As I recall, the flip side was the song played backwards...

 

August 14, 2018 1:59 am  #11


Re: Hit Songs That Wouldn't Be Politically Correct Today

Getting back to "My Boomerang Won't Come Back", the audio version presented here is the original "...practiced til I was black in the face....".  Besides the BBC, the U.S. version actually had Charlie Drake superimposing the word 'blue' over the word 'black'.  You can hear it quite distinctly if you have that U.S. version.  "Boomerang" actually made it to # 1 on the CHUM chart for February 12, 1962.  And although the record label says "With Accompaniment directed by Johnny Spence", the actual producer of that 1962 hit was a pre-Beatles George Martin.  

Last edited by Doug Thompson (August 14, 2018 2:15 am)

 

August 14, 2018 2:08 am  #12


Re: Hit Songs That Wouldn't Be Politically Correct Today

...and here's the U.S. version.


 

Last edited by Peter the K (August 14, 2018 2:09 am)

 

August 14, 2018 9:22 am  #13


Re: Hit Songs That Wouldn't Be Politically Correct Today

Add to the list...Squaws Along the Yukon by Hank Thompson..and the Beatles " Run for Your Life"!
(catch you with another man that's the end, little girl!!)

 

August 15, 2018 11:13 am  #14


Re: Hit Songs That Wouldn't Be Politically Correct Today

Peter the K wrote:

...and here's the U.S. version.


 

 
What?!  No Flying Doctor?!

 

August 15, 2018 5:24 pm  #15


Re: Hit Songs That Wouldn't Be Politically Correct Today

This is a song written by Carson Parks the brother of cult rock luminary Van Dyke Parks and nothing creepy about the sentiment expressed in the song but some may find a father/daughter duet of same inappropriate now. 



 

Last edited by Fitz (August 15, 2018 7:32 pm)


Cool Airchecks and More:
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August 16, 2018 4:22 am  #16


Re: Hit Songs That Wouldn't Be Politically Correct Today

Paul Anka's "(You're) Having My Baby" seems pretty sexist these days.

I was a kid when it came out, and the song made me wince. Even then it felt like it was behind the times, with Helen Reddy singing "I am woman hear me roar." and the ongoing shift in the way women perceived themselves in the 70's.

Last edited by betaylored (August 16, 2018 5:32 am)

 

August 16, 2018 5:51 am  #17


Re: Hit Songs That Wouldn't Be Politically Correct Today

betaylored wrote:

Paul Anka's "(You're) Having My Baby" seems pretty sexist these days.

The Hallelujah Tabernacle Choir version is timeless though. 


ClassicHitsOnline.com...If you enjoy hearing the same 200 songs over and over again...listen to the other guys!
 

August 16, 2018 1:56 pm  #18


Re: Hit Songs That Wouldn't Be Politically Correct Today

unclefester wrote:

While you could argue that it may not qualify as a "hit" the 1966 effort by Napoleon Bonaparte XIV entitled "They're Coming To Take Me Away" would never see the light of day in todays environment.

In fact Maybo may well recall the following. CHLO in St. Thomas was the big teen station in the London area back in the day. One night owner John L. Moore took to the airwaves to announce CHLO would  not play the record. He cited the fact that the city of St. Thomas was home to a large mental health/psychiatric hospital adding that the record was unkind to those suffering from mental health issues.

As a ten year old I remember listening to his on air announcement & how disappointed I was that the station wouldn't play the tune. But looking back it was pretty gutsy & the right call more than 50 years ago.

Right you are Unc. If memory serves, Napoleon XIV’s (aka Jerry Samuels) record was a CHUMdinger at one point, and heading for the Top 10 before it was summarily pulled from the chart.

maybo wrote:

As I recall, the flip side was the song played backwards...

And yes, because they didn’t have anything else to use at the time, they simply played the thing backwards on the B-side of the 45, with even the label getting into the act.


  
I was just a little kid when this song (can you call it a song?) came out and fell in love with it. But I wasn’t aware of it being played backwards until I actually bought the record. Which brought to an end an extreme misunderstanding that only a child could create.
 
One day, just after the single came out, I remember tuning through the dial (DXing even then) when I passed by a station I never listened to – CJBC, the CBC outlet at 860, which was all French even back then. What caught my ear was the sound of Napoleon XIV coming out of my speaker.
 
“Wow,” I remember thinking. “It’s such a big hit they recorded a version in French!”
 
I would find out later that they’d actually been playing the backwards B-side for some reason and having been exposed to no more Francais than Chez Helene, I instantly believed they translated it into a foreign language!

Actually that reverse flip side is listed on the front cover of the album (yes, there WAS an album, as you can see below) but it doesn’t actually appear there. Instead there’s an “answer song” by Josephine XV (Napoleon, Josephine – get it?) called “I’m Happy They Took You Away, Ha Ha,” in which the indignant female chanteuse explains why he deserves to be in the loony bin.
 
It really doesn’t make much sense for “her” to do that, since the tune was actually about a man going crazy when his dog runs away. (Hence the reference to “mangy mutt” at the end.)



Samuels always said he didn’t know what the fuss was about when the record was banned. He claims he’d passed it by a slew of people with mental difficulties and they all found it hilarious.
 
According to the book “The Wacky Top 40,” the record was the fastest selling single in Warner Bros. history at the time. It cost Samuels, a recording engineer, $30 for the tape and another $5 to rent the siren that comes on during the chorus. Not a bad investment for a song that’s still memorable - but seldom heard - to this day.

     Thread Starter
 

August 16, 2018 2:31 pm  #19


Re: Hit Songs That Wouldn't Be Politically Correct Today

i had an old k-tel record back in the 70s that had most of those songs... coming to take me away, the witch doctor, boomerang, hello mudda, the streak, tiptoe thru the tulips etc and so on...

i'm sure if i still have it in a box somewhere it would be scratched to hell i played it so much.

i found the original spot on youtube...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_U7Ku9jAlE
 

 

August 16, 2018 2:45 pm  #20


Re: Hit Songs That Wouldn't Be Politically Correct Today

RadioActive wrote:

    
   
 


  
 
 
 
“Wow,” I remember thinking. “It’s such a big hit they recorded a version in French!”

"I found out later they'd been playing the B-side backwards."
 
 


 
 

RA -- that comment truly made me laugh out loud.

A classic -- thanks for posting it! 












 

Last edited by unclefester (August 16, 2018 10:06 pm)


  
 

August 16, 2018 4:02 pm  #21


Re: Hit Songs That Wouldn't Be Politically Correct Today

unclefester wrote:

RA -- that comment truly made the laugh out loud.

A classic -- thanks for posting it!  

Thanks for the thanks, Unc. To this day, I sometimes wonder exactly why the main CBC French network would have played that. Perhaps after it was over, the announcer came on and said, "See! Les Anglais really ARE crazy!" But I guess we'll never know. 

Actually, I just discovered that Jerry Samuels (Napoleon XIV) actually has his own YouTube channel where he's put up the entire album, probably the only one he ever made.

Not sure how many people know that Tiny Tim (yes, THAT Tiny Tim) did a disco remake of "They're Coming To Take Me Away Ha, Ha." I've heard about this, but I never really believed it existed until the Internet proved me wrong. I've posted it below, but I urge you not to listen to it.

Because you can never unhear this.

     Thread Starter
 

August 16, 2018 4:23 pm  #22


Re: Hit Songs That Wouldn't Be Politically Correct Today

I just thought of two more banned songs, but they were declared verboten for different reasons. One was because of its racial content, The other was the first (and I'm pretty sure last) Top 40 smash about cannibalism. Yes, you read that right. 

In 1967, Janis Ian came out with a kind of protest song called "Society's Child." It would hardly get a second glance today. But back then, the story of a white girl dating a black teen was positively scandalous to some. ("They called you 'boy' instead of your name" goes one lyric.) It's sad to think this was politically incorrect in its era. A lot of stations, especially in the south, wouldn't play it.

But what a powerful tune.



The other song is one of my all-time favourites. It's called "Timothy," by a one-hit wonder called The Buoys and it was written by Rupert Holmes, later of the "Pina Colada Song" fame. He was trying to get The Buoys noticed but Scepter Records, who'd signed them, wouldn't give them any attention. So while working on an arrangement for Tennessee Ernie Ford's classic "16 Tons" (for Andy Kim, no less)  he decided he'd use those opening lyrics as inspiration for a tune about cannibalism. 

The kids knew right away what it was about, but most stations put it on the air without listening to it very closely. When they found out the theme - three guys trapped in a mine for days with no food, so they ate one of them named Timothy - many pulled it off the air. Despite that censorship, it was still a hit and the only one the group ever had. 

It's such a bouncy upbeat song that it's easy to forget what the lyrics are saying. I think it's a great disc as is, even though the record company tried to save it by claiming Timothy was a mule. Holmes is adamant he wrote it about another miner - and that was what, or in this case who, they consumed.



     Thread Starter
 

August 16, 2018 8:44 pm  #23


Re: Hit Songs That Wouldn't Be Politically Correct Today

Paul Jeffries wrote:

betaylored wrote:

Paul Anka's "(You're) Having My Baby" seems pretty sexist these days.

The Hallelujah Tabernacle Choir version is timeless though. 

 
I am debating going to YouTube, to see if you're joshing me Jeffries ;)

I know the band Caravan once had a song titled "If I could do it all over, I'd do it all over you." Funny the things you remember that you read in the 'Harmony Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock' for show prep decades ago.

And, let us not forget that beloved Monty Python ditty "Sit On My Face".

We'd try to sneak it on-air every now and then late at night, praying that the PD wasn't listening.

Last edited by betaylored (August 16, 2018 8:50 pm)

 

August 16, 2018 8:59 pm  #24


Re: Hit Songs That Wouldn't Be Politically Correct Today

splunge wrote:

i had an old k-tel record back in the 70s that had most of those songs... coming to take me away, the witch doctor, boomerang, hello mudda, the streak, tiptoe thru the tulips etc and so on...

i'm sure if i still have it in a box somewhere it would be scratched to hell i played it so much.

i found the original spot on youtube...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_U7Ku9jAlE
 

Looney Tunes?
 


Cheers,
Jody Thornton
 
 

August 16, 2018 9:14 pm  #25


Re: Hit Songs That Wouldn't Be Politically Correct Today

@betaylored, leave it to you to bring up python!  don't forget "i like chinese" or even "finland"

@Jody, yes looney tunes was the album.  one of my favourites.

 

August 16, 2018 9:34 pm  #26


Re: Hit Songs That Wouldn't Be Politically Correct Today

betaylored wrote:

Paul Jeffries wrote:

betaylored wrote:

Paul Anka's "(You're) Having My Baby" seems pretty sexist these days.

The Hallelujah Tabernacle Choir version is timeless though.

 
I am debating going to YouTube, to see if you're joshing me Jeffries ;)

I know the band Caravan once had a song titled "If I could do it all over, I'd do it all over you." Funny the things you remember that you read in the 'Harmony Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock' for show prep decades ago.

And, let us not forget that beloved Monty Python ditty "Sit On My Face".

We'd try to sneak it on-air every now and then late at night, praying that the PD wasn't listening.

Caravan was a great band. Started as part of the Canterbury art rock movement and were regularly featured on the first gen progressive stations such as CHUM FM but the track that got the most air play in Toronto was Land of Grey and Pink via CFNY even though it was from an earlier time,

They had a rather playfully titled album called Cunning Stunts. Invert the first letters of each word and play with a few other letters to arrive at.



 

Last edited by Fitz (August 16, 2018 9:37 pm)


Cool Airchecks and More:
http://www.lettheuniverseanswer.com/
 

August 16, 2018 10:19 pm  #27


Re: Hit Songs That Wouldn't Be Politically Correct Today

betaylored wrote:

Paul Jeffries wrote:

betaylored wrote:

Paul Anka's "(You're) Having My Baby" seems pretty sexist these days.

The Hallelujah Tabernacle Choir version is timeless though.

 
I am debating going to YouTube, to see if you're joshing me Jeffries ;)
   

 

   

And while visiting Youtube check out a fine Canadian band from the 70s and 80s who went by the handle Bolt Upright & the Erections.


  
 

August 16, 2018 11:49 pm  #28


Re: Hit Songs That Wouldn't Be Politically Correct Today

And then there's this one ... I remember the original version getting played and it did sound like it contained the f-word, but I figured it had to be something else. Eventually it got replaced with a version with that part edited out.
https://soulfuldetroit.com/archives/1019-APR%20MAY%2004/3344.html?1084600875

 

August 17, 2018 10:55 am  #29


Re: Hit Songs That Wouldn't Be Politically Correct Today

Then there are two songs with the same name: Indian Giver.
One by Canada's Bobby Curtola and the other by The 1910 Fruit Gum Company...
How about "For the Love of Him" by Bobbi Martin and along the same subject "Wives and Lovers" by Jack Jones.