Censorship

When Sousa And His Band play in Poughkeepsie, New York State, USA, Sousa is hoping that his daughter, Jane Priscilla, who attends nearby Vassar College, will attend the show. Unfortunately, Vassar's lady principal has banned students from attending the theatre.

The Washington Post reports that "Residents of Chevy Chase are up in arms over the dances that are being practiced at an amusement park, and it comes from a well known source that a movement will be started to suppress the outrage, as it is termed, by residents of that section. The dance in question originated at a suburban resort and is officially known as the Chevy Chase Glide." The dance had been introduced at Chevy Chase Lake resort to appease customers annoyed by the resort's recent ban on "freak dancing", which included The Bunny Wiggle, The Grizzly Hug and other "animal dances" often associated with ragtime and jazz music.

A poem is published in The Tacoma Times, Washington State, USA, stating, "When you're in Walla Walla, friends, / You must not 'bunny hug' /Or 'turkey trot,' or likeas not, / They'll slam you in the jug; / And, girls, don't romp with 'Texas Tom'; / To do so's taking chances, / For the cops have put the kibosh on / Those naughty, naughty dances." The poem is a reference to legal action being taken over the popularity of 'animal' dances such as The Bunny Hug and Turkey Trot, usually performed to ragtime or jazz music.

Mr. Ed Spence of The Holland Club, Grants Pass, Oregon, USA, sees a couple dancing the Bunny Hug and becomes involved in an arguement over it, insisting it is a rule at the club that no 'animal dances' were allowed. The animated discussion becomes a fight in which Mr. Spence is knifed 11 times.

Noel Coward records his ironic song Don't Let's Be Beastly To The Germans for HMV Records in London, England, UK, Europe. The song will become a personal favourit of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill who, according to Coward, asked him to play it seven times in one evening. Nevertheless, after listeners who didn't perceive the irony wrote to the BBC complaining that the song was pro-German, it was banned from airplay. (The Germans, however, got the point, and placed Coward on a list of Britons to be assassinated in the event of an invasion). After the War, Coward will explain that he had written the song "as a satire directed against a small minority of excessive humanitarians who, in my opinion, were taking a rather too tolerant view of our enemies".

The Journey of Reconciliation, the first interracial Freedom Ride, begins through the Southern states of the USA in violation of Jim Crow laws. The freedom riders wanted enforcement of the United States Supreme Court's 1946 Irene Morgan decision which had banned racial segregation in interstate travel. The riders will compose songs to comfort and give them strength during these dark times. Also, songwriters will subsequently be inspired to write songs about incidents associated with Freedom Riders, notably He Was My Brother by Paul Simon. The 1947 Freedom Riders will also inspire subsequent Freedom Rides, most memorably in the early 1960s.

The dystopian sci-fi novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is published in the UK. The book and its sinister character, Big Brother, will inspire numerous songs, including 1984 by Spirit and Big Brother by Stevie Wonder. In September 2009, the English alternative rock band Muse will release The Resistance, which includes songs influenced by 1984.

Cashbox magazine reports that Thirteen Women And One Man by Dickie Thompson on Herald Records has been banned on WHOM Radio in New York City, USA, because its lyric is considered too provocative. (censorship)

A new entertainment programme, The Black And White Minstrel Show, begins on BBC tv in the UK. It will become hugely popular but will eventually be banned because of accusations that the concept - white entertainers in blackface makeup - is racist.

In the UK, the BBC bans airplay of The Coasters song Charlie Brown because the lyric includes the word 'spitball' which is deemed too offensive for radio broadcast. Two weeks later, once the meaning of the term has been explained, the BBC will change its mind and allow the song to be played.

Elvis Presley is in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA, re-shooting the ending of Wild In The Country, because pre-release screening audiences did not like the original ending in which Hope Lange committed suicide.

Folk group The Weavers is banned from appearing on tv's Jack Paar Show in the USA, because they have refused to sign a document asserting that they have never been members of the Communist party.

Variety magazine in the USA reports that folksinger Joan Baez has refused to appear on popular tv show Hootenanny because it has backlisted left-wing musicians including Pete Seeger and his former group The Weavers.

It is reported that civil rights activist Lena Horne's latest single, Now, is not being played by some radio stations in Philadelphia, USA, because it is deemed "too controversial". In essence, the song questions the morality of contemporary racial attitudes in the USA.

The Animals reach No1 in both the Billboard and Cash Box Singles Charts in the USA, with House Of The Rising Sun, which has been reduced in length to suit the dictates of American radio programmers, by the simple expedient of removing Alan Price's organ solo.

Ralph Locher, mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, USA, threatens to forbid rock shows at any of the city's public facilities, arguing that they cause riots.

Despite (or, arguably, because of) being banned by some radio stations, Louie Louie by The Kingsmen peaks at No2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart in the USA. It is held off the top spot by The Singing Nun with Dominique.

The Sir Douglas Quintet is arrested for marijuana possession in Corpus Christi, Texas, USA. When the group appears in court sporting newly shortened hair and wearing suits, they will get probation. "I'm glad you cut your hair," the judge tells them. "I saw your pictures in the paper when you were arrested and I don’t go for that stuff."

Lenny Bruce, supported by The Mothers Of Invention, plays the first of two nights at the Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, California, USA.

At a meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, between record business executives and State Representative Edwin G. Mullinax, it is decided to 'tone down' a state bill which sought to require lyrics to be printed on the cover of record sleeves.

Manfred Mann re-record the lyric of their upcoming single, My Name Is Jack, following objections from American distributors that it might inflame racial tensions.

The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, a controversial tv series which had featured many underground and politically-oriented rock bands, is cancelled by the CBS-tv network in the USA.

Folk singer Judy Collins is not allowed to sing in court as part of her testimony during the trial of the Chicago Seven, in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Also refused permission to sing are Pete Seeger, Phil Ochs, Arlo Guthrie and Country Joe McDonald.

Punk band Sham 69 are banned from Tiffany’s Ballroom, Nottingham, UK.

US Interior Secretary James Watt announces that rock bands such as The Beach Boys and The Grass Roots are to be banned from playing at the annual Fourth of July celebrations in Washington, DC, USA, because they attract "the wrong element".

Following Stevie Wonder's recent declaration of support for Nelson Mandela, South African radio stations ban the playing of all his songs.

Rapper Too Short and NWA are arrested at a concert in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, for using foul language.

Rapper Too Short and concert promoter Mike Blackwell are arrested after a show at The Municipal Auditorium, Columbus, Georgia, USA, for violating the city's lewdness ordinance. Short is charged with using four-letter words. Despite the fact that other acts on the same bill, Eazy-E and NWA, used much of the same language as Too Short, they are not arrested.

Ten thousand dance music fans attend a Freedom To Party demonstration in Trafalgar Square, London, England, UK, Europe, to protest against new legislation aimed at banning raves.

Charles Freeman, owner of the E-C Records store in Florida, USA, is jailed for selling the album As Nasty As They Wanna Be by 2 Live Crew, which had recently been declared obscene.

It is reported that sales of the LP Banned In The USA by Luther Campbell, leader of 2 Live Crew, have been "brisk" across the USA despite a ban by major retail chain Sam Goody's.

Sexy MF by Prince peaks at No66 in the Billboard Singles Chart in the USA. meanwhile, however, despite being banned by all radio stations in the UK, Sexy MF/Strollin' hits No4 on the British Singles chart.

Korn announces that the band has taken legal action in the form of a 'cease and desist' order against Zeeland High School, Zeeland, Michigan, USA, which recently suspended a student, Eric VanHoven, for wearing a t-shirt bearing the band's name.

It is reported that former Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider has signed a deal with VH1 to play himself in an upcoming docudrama about the 1985 Parents Music Resource Center [PMRC] hearings. Filming is to begin in February in Texas, USA, and a summer 2002 air date is expected.

Rascal Flatts come under fire from conservative groups because their video for the song I Melt includes brief glimpses of nudity, (guitarist Joe Don Rooney's bare buttocks, and model Christina Auria taking a shower in the nude). There are calls for the video to be banned from airplay on CMT and Great American Country. Eventually, Rascal Flatts will release an edited version of the video, which aired during daytime hours on the two country music-oriented networks.

It is reported that Russia has banned the sale of music CDs, DVDs and videocassettes from street markets and kiosks, thus indicating that the Kremlin is getting serious about combating piracy.

Sia releases the music video for her solo version of the song Elastic Heart. The video, which features 12-year-old Maddie Ziegler and actor Shia LaBeouf, will cause considerable controversy and attract accusations of paedophilia.

Singer and songwriter Jackie Trent dies aged 74 in hospital in Majorca, Spain, Europe, after a long illness. As well as being a successful singer, Trent was a long-time songwriting partner with her husband Tony Hatch. However, the pair parted on bad terms, and he was banned from attending her funeral.

It is reported that Jack White has banned the use of cellphones at his upcoming live shows. On arrival at the venue, phones and other photo or video-capturing gizmos will be secured in a pouch which will be unlocked at the end of the show.

Popular Ugandan singer-turned-politician Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, known to fans as Bobi Wine, is arrested at Entebbe Airport in Uganda, Africa. He had been released on bail (while facing charges of treason), and was now attempting to leave Uganda to receive medical attention abroad.

Continuing the recent controversy in which radio stations have been banning the 1944 classic Baby, It's Cold Outside on grounds that its lyric might constitute 'sexual harassment', San Francisco radio station KOIT restores the song to its playlist. The station had removed the song a week earlier, but after asking its listeners for opinions, the result was that 77% were opposed to the ban.