This idealistic ode to peace has the audacity to imagine all people living peacefully in a borderless world. It’s been banned several times. In a strongly Christian nation in which God and country delineate patriotic nationalism, a song that imagines “no countries,” “no religion,” and “no heaven” is deemed blasphemous and anti-American. The idealistic hymn, much to the religious right’s chagrin, is also one of the most popular songs ever written.
“Imagine” was banned during the buildup to the first Gulf War, and it was banned after the 9/11 attacks. It’s been considered too controversial for graduation ceremonies and funerals on both sides of the Atlantic. Song fact: Yoko Ono inspired the tune and wrote most of the lyrics. Based on the principle that peace needs to be imagined before it’s realized, it was recorded in 1971 as part of an artistic marketing campaign for peace.
"Strange Fruit" by Billie Holiday
This song was to be Billie Holiday’s best-selling single, but radio stations refused to play it, and promoters ordered her not to sing it. “Strange Fruit” was based on a poem protesting prejudice, especially lynching, which was a lingering tragedy of the deep South when the song was released in 1939. It’s hard to imagine anyone dissing a song that calls out lynching, but it happened right here in the ‘land of the free.’
Considered too graphic and gory, the haunting ballad was banned in South Africa during apartheid and landed Billie Holiday on the F.B.I.’s “watch list.” Holiday’s label, Columbia Records, refused to record her act of dissent. Luckily, her contract permitted the admired singer to hook up with another, smaller left-leaning label, Commodore Records, to record it. Time magazine eventually named “Strange Fruit” the “song of the century,” but not until 1999.
"Take the Power Back" by Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine’s unique punk/rap/metal/hip-hop sound led by Zack de la Rocha’s anti-establishment lyrics has met all kinds of censorship. Besides the total ban by Clear Channel after 9/11, in 1996, SNL banned the group permanently for draping upside-down flags on their amps while rocking “Bulls on Parade” live. In 2009, BBC Radio 5 Live censored the final refrain of “Killing in the Name” by fading it out. They asked de la Rocha not to sing, “F*** you, I won’t do what you tell me!” live, but he did it anyway. The publicly-funded BBC apologized.
The 1992 song “Take the Power Back” faced censorship in 2015 by the Tucson Unified School District in Arizona. Teachers at a local high school met a noncompliance notice for using the tune to teach a Mexican-American history class. The infraction? Arizona State law forbids advocating “ethnic solidarity.”
"Like a Prayer" by Madonna
The savviest of provocateurs, a.k.a. The Queen of Pop, struck a high note with “Like a Prayer.” When the music video premiered on MTV in 1989, the controversy over some of the lyrics took a backseat to the widespread indignation over the presentation of religious and inappropriate themes. Madonna offended Catholics so deeply with the video that Pope John Paul II and PepsiCo denounced it.
The Vatican called it blasphemous and ordered a boycott of a new Pepsi TV commercial featuring Madonna singing with a church choir. Pepsi panicked and pulled the ad, but not before shelling out $5 million to the publicity-shrewd diva. It was the perfect concoction of controversy and attention. “Like a Prayer” remains one of the material girl’s most successful songs.
"God Only Knows" by The Beach Boys
If there are any doubts concerning the roots of conservatism in the United States of America, please lay them down. Paul McCartney legendarily gushed over the Beach Boys’ 1966 love ballad while radio stations in America’s southern states boycotted it. The love song didn’t use the Lord’s name in vain, but a pop song with “God” in its title seemed blasphemous enough.
Partly because some stations refused to play it, “God Only Knows” only made it to No. 39 on the U.S. charts. However, in the U.K., it shot to No.2. Another factor is that it was overlooked, having been issued as a B-side to the band’s wildly popular “Wouldn’t It Be Nice.”