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How it all started -

The story goes that Tipper Gore, the wife of then-senator Al Gore, was shocked to hear her 7-year-old daughter quote the lyrics of Madonna’s song ‘Like a Virgin.' The little girl asked her mom what a virgin was.

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How it all started -

“I was shocked. I knew that you had to be concerned about movies and TV, but I didn't have a clue that my 7-year-old would be exposed to inappropriate songs,” said Tipper Gore.

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The PMRC is born -

The Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) was formed in 1984 by Tipper Gore. She was joined by three other concerned women, namely Susan Baker (wife of Treasury Secretary James Baker), Pam Howar (wife of Conservative realtor Raymond Howar) and Sally Nevius (wife of Washington City Council Chairman John Nevius).

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The goal of PMRC -

The PMRC wrote to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and over 50 record labels proposing a new rating system for albums, as well as calling for them to stop producing certain types of music...

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Labeling -

The goal was to label albums with explicit lyrics according to the type of content (e.g. profane, violent, sexually explicit, etc.). For example, violent lyrics would be marked with a “V,” occult lyrics would be labeled with an “O,” and references to drugs and alcohol with “D/A,” etc.

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The list -

To make their case, the PMRC compiled a list of 15 songs dubbed the “filthy fifteen.”

Now, let’s get to know the songs that were found the most objectionable by the PMRC!

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‘Darling Nikki’ by Prince -

Proposed PMRC Rating: Profane or sexually explicit

This song was included in Prince’s multi-platinum 1984 album ‘Purple Rain.’ The song, which was written from the perspective of the ‘Purple Rain’ movie character “The Kid,” makes reference to female masturbation.

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‘Eat Me Alive’ by Judas Priest -

Proposed PMRC Rating: Profane or sexually explicit

Heavy metal was at its peak in the mid-80s, and this song by the British band Judas Priest ticked all the PMRC dirty boxes. According to their interpretation, the song was a reference to oral sex.

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‘Dress You Up’ by Madonna -

Proposed PMRC Rating: Profane or sexually explicit

"Gonna dress you up in my love/All over your body" were the lyrics the PMRC found objectionable. "I couldn’t be a success without also being a sex symbol. I'm sexy. How can I avoid it? That's the essence of me." said Madonna in 1985.

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‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ by Twisted Sister -

Proposed PMRC Rating: Violent

The PMRC found that the lyrics "We'll fight the powers that be … /We're not gonna take it" were too violent for kids to listen to. The band’s front man, Dee Snider, disagreed and testified before the Senate, saying "You will note from the lyrics before you that there is absolutely no violence of any type either sung about or implied anywhere in the song.”

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‘High ‘n’ Dry (Saturday Night)’ by Def Leppard -

Proposed PMRC Rating: Drugs and alcohol

The lyrics to the song go "Saturday, I feel right/I've been drinking all day … /I got my whiskey/I got my wine/I got my woman/And this time, the lights are going out." Front man Joe Elliott said back then that "[Party songs were] part of the entertainment. The kids like us to do that.”

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‘She Bop’ by Cyndi Lauper -

Proposed PMRC Rating: Profane or sexually explicit

Tipper Gore et al found ‘She Bop’ hinted at masturbation and the following lyrics were offensive: "I want to go south and get me some more … / They say I better stop or I'll go blind."

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‘Let Me Put My Love Into You’ by AC/DC -

Proposed PMRC Rating: Profane or sexually explicit

The Aussie rockers were included in the list for this sexually-charged song. "People who want to strangle other people's rights are possessed by one of the worst devils around — the Satan in their souls which is called intolerance," said the band’s guitarist Angus Young in 1985. "Rock & roll is about one simple thing: freedom. When someone tries to murder that freedom, we're against it," he added.

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‘B*****d’ by Mötley Crüe -

Proposed PMRC Rating: Violent

The lyrics in question went "Out go the lights, in goes my knife / Pull out his life, consider that b*****d dead."

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‘Into the Coven’ by Mercyful Fate -

Proposed PMRC Rating: Occult

The lyrics go: "Come, come into my coven / And become Lucifer's child." Amid the 'Satanic panic' years, it’s easy to understand how King Diamond’s lyrics sounded terrifying.

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‘Trashed’ by Black Sabbath -

Proposed PMRC Rating: Drugs and alcohol

"I drank a bottle of tequila and I feel real good … / I knew I wouldn't make it the car / Just wouldn't make it," It may seem like a seemingly normal reference to booze, but the PMRC was not having it.

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‘Sugar Walls’ by Sheena Easton -

Proposed PMRC Rating: Profane or sexually explicit

Sheena Easton’s song hints at sex with the lyrics "Blood races to your private spots / Lets me know there's a fire … / Come spend the night inside my sugar walls."

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‘Animal (F*** Like a Beast)’ by W.A.S.P. -

Proposed PMRC Rating: Profane or sexually explicit

Blackie Lawless’s band was all about shock, gore, and sexual references. This song in particular made reference to dirty magazines and masturbation. The band hasn’t played the song live ever since front man Lawless became a born-again Christian.

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‘Strap On ‘Robbie Baby'’ by Vanity -

Proposed PMRC Rating: Profane or sexually explicit

"I put the sexual image of me in my music. My music is very sexual, so you could say I'm just putting all of me out there," Vanity said in 1985. However, she went on to become an evangelist in the 1990s. “I sing to Jesus for Jesus now. This gives me pure joy … worship! I apologize profusely to those I have offended deeply a million times over," Vanity told Rolling Stone.

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‘Possessed’ by Venom -

Proposed PMRC Rating: Occult

Venum made numerous references to Satan in their music. They were one of the first black metal bands, and the occult is a common theme in this genre. Front man Cronos said back then that it was all in the name of entertainment. "I don't preach Satanism, occultism, witchcraft, or anything. Rock & roll is basically entertainment and that's as far as it goes."

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‘In My House’ by Mary Jane Girls -

Proposed PMRC Rating: Profane or sexually explicit

The PMRC found the following lyrics raunchy enough to make it to the list "When it comes down to makin' love / I'll satisfy your every need / And every fantasy you think up."

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What happened next -

On September 19, 1985, the Senate’s Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation held a hearing on the matter. Three musicians testified: Frank Zappa, John Denver, and Dee Snider of Twisted Sister.

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Testimonies: Frank Zappa -

Among those who argued against the censorship was musician Frank Zappa, who described the PMRC's proposal as "an ill-conceived piece of nonsense which fails to deliver any real benefits to children, infringes the civil liberties of people who are not children, and promises to keep the courts busy for years."

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Testimonies: Frank Zappa -

Zappa also said that: “If it looks like censorship and it smells like censorship, it is censorship, no matter whose wife is talking about it.”

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Testimonies: Dee Snider -

“The beauty of literature, poetry, and music is that they leave room for the audience to put its own imagination, experiences, and dreams into the words [...] There is no authority who has the right or the necessary insight to make these judgments, not myself, not the Federal Government, not some recording industry committee, not the PTA, not the RIAA, and certainly not the PMRC,” said Dee Snider.

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Testimonies: Dee Snider -

The front man of Twisted Sister also argued that their video for ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ “was simply meant to be a cartoon with human actors playing variations on the Road Runner–Wile E. Coyote theme. Each stunt was selected from my extensive personal collection of cartoons." Adding “Now, it strikes me that the PMRC may have confused our video presentation for this song … with the lyrics, with the meaning of the lyrics. It is no secret that the videos often depict story lines completely unrelated to the lyrics of the song they accompany.

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Testimonies: John Denver -

Denver’s testimony was particularly important because he was expected to be on the side of the censorship. “May I be very clear that I am strongly opposed to censorship of any kind in our society, or anywhere else in the world,” he testified.

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Testimonies: John Denver -

John Denver went as far as telling the Senate that he likened the censorship to the Nazi book burnings. “The suppression of the people of a society begins, in my mind, with the censorship of the written or spoken word. It was so in Nazi Germany. It is so in many places today where those in power are afraid of the consequences of an informed and educated people,” he said.

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Warning stickers -

While the PRMC didn’t manage to get their ratings approved, their lobbying worked, and the Record Industry Association of America convinced record labels that potentially offensive albums should be labeled with the "Parental Advisory" sticker.

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Impact -

Many of the music artists on the list went on to become hugely successful. It goes without saying that the "Parental Advisory" sticker had the opposite effect and drove sales up among young listeners. After all, the forbidden fruit is always the sweetest, right?

Sources: (Rolling Stone) (Newsweek) (UDiscoverMusic) (American Rhetoric) 

See also: Banned and censored: the most controversial songs ever recorded

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