Sex, Drugs and Banned Rock ’n’ Roll
Why popular songs were banned in the ‘50s and ‘60s
One of the bedrock principles of democratic societies is freedom of speech. Yet in the 1950s and 1960s, popular songs in the United States were banned because of references to sexual contact, drug use, perceived obscenity, and political reasons.
America had just exited World War II and veterans were returning to their families to begin a life during peacetime. Unfortunately, the world was still a precarious place — the Cold War started in 1947 and the Korean War followed in 1950.
Moreover, distrust in institutions was growing because of the unsatisfactory end of World War II. Instead of peace, the world got the Cold War. The Korean War added to the distrust and popular hysteria.
There was strong anti-Communist sentiment in the country symbolized by “McCarthyism,” named for US Senator Joseph McCarthy (R-Wisconsin). His vicious attacks accusing sometimes ordinary citizens of being Communists were made without solid evidence.
At the same time, not everyone was happy about America’s growing post-war materialism. Some influential writers, artists and musicians, known as “Beatniks,” became counterculture, anti-materialistic iconoclasts. Mainstream society saw them as tearing apart the fabric of the…
