[78-L] Everything that traffic will allow

[Lloyd Davies]

Here's the post that no one asked for…

I spent today as an amateur philosopher, categorizing the censorship of songs:

The themes of censorship seem to have been consistent for the past 100 years, but the degrees to which a subject gives offense is always evolving.  100 years ago social mores loosened, allowing for discussion of alcoholic themes and, starting in wartime, acknowledgement of sexual motivation.  [What did Freud listen to on Friday nights?]  Other issues can lose their mainstream support and grow increasingly censored, even long after the fact.  Sometimes, from our comfortable perch looking backward, we wonder "What took them so long to recognize the problems associated with a song?"

Censorship is either a reflection of social consensus or a tool of political repression.  It doesn't apply evenly across all genres.  Consequently, "race" or hillbilly music might be considered more "honest" because it is less filtered.

After reading many Internet resources, I think these are the criteria by which a song's admissibility would have been judged:
1)    Is the performance private or public?
2)    If public, is the performance during family time or in the more permissive late night?  [Remember when it used to be worthwhile to stay up late?]

3a) Is it morally offensive, because of 
    i.    profanity [I can't think of any examples on 78 rpm, so I'll quote the circumlocution "Godfrey Daniels!" – W C Fields in "The fatal glass of beer" (Mack Sennett Comedies)(year:1933)]
    ii.    sex [George Formby – "With my little stick of Blackpool rock" (Regal-Zonophone 2431) (year:1937) (banned by the BBC; really?)] [any singer – "Love for sale" (instrumental versions were okay)] [Louis Prima & his orch, vocal: Lily Ann Carol & Louis – "Bell-Bottom Trousers" (Majestic 7134)(year: 1945), but not the muted Lombardo, Kyser, Pastor or Colonna versions] [Jimmy Boyd – "I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus" (Columbia 39871)(year: 1952)] [Shirley Bassey – "Burn my candle" (Philips 558) (year: 1956)]
    iii.    drug use: [Stuff Smith & his Onyx Club Boys – "You'se a viper" (Vocalion 3201)(year:1936)] [Eddie Calvert – "Theme from ‘The man with the golden arm'" (Columbia ‎3730) (year: 1956), banned; but not Billy May – "Main title theme" (Capitol 14551)]
    iv.    violent aggression [Billie Holiday – "'Ain't nobody's business if I do" (Decca 24726)(year: 1949) (This example hasn't been banned, but is due for a revisit.)]
    v.    denigration, racial: [Cab Calloway – "Chinese rhythm" (Brunswick 6992) (year:1934)] [Slim & Slam – "Chinatown, my Chinatown" (Conqueror 9056) (year: 1938)]
    vi.    denigration, gender: [Jay McShann & orch, vocal Jimmy Witherspoon – "Shipyard woman blues" (Mercury 8014) (year: 1946) (This one is similar to "Baby, it's cold outside" because the rationale is that the successful woman is hurting the man's pride.)

3b) Is it politically offensive?
    [Anything by the Weavers in the USA after 1952, or by Ewan McColl in the United Kingdom.]
    [Judy Garland – "Ding dong! The witch is dead" from "The wizard of Oz" soundtrack (MGM) (year: 1939) (This song was banned a few years ago for fear that it would tarnish the witch's reputation by association.)

3c) Is it offensive to religion?
    [Don Cornell – "Hold my hand" (Coral 61206) (year: 1954)] [Billy Fury – "My Christmas prayer" (Decca 11189) (year: 1959)
3d) Is it cheap?
    i.    Animalistic?!?
<<<
During a performance by Nat King Cole [in 1956], members of the White Citizen's Council of Birmingham, Alabama, jump on stage and assault Cole. The group claims that they are protecting young teen girls and that black musicians are part of a plot to "mongrelize" America by bringing out an animalism in people through the use of heavy beats in their music.
>>> (source: https://ncac.org/resource/music-censorship-in-america-an-interactive-timeline )

    ii. Does it cheapen high art? [There seems to be many examples of popular music using classical themes and being banned as a result : "I'm always chasing rainbows" (1918) / "Baubles, bangles and beads" (1953) / Nero & the Gladiators - "In the hall of the Mountain King" (Decca 11367) (year: 1961)]

3e) Sensitivities
    i.    Too soon? A community may be sensitive after a tragedy, so previously innocuous songs may be banned for resurrecting the hurt.  [Dick Todd – "Cecilia" (Bluebird 10677) (year: 1940) (The lyrics have parallels with a modern day tragedy in Toronto, so I would ban this happy tune if given the chance.]
    ii.    Personal sensitivities: when upsetting even one person is enough reason not to play a record, usually a mournful one.  [Billie Holiday – "Gloomy Sunday" (Okeh 6451) (year: 1941) / Ricky Nelson – same (Imperial, unreleased) (year: 1958)] [Mark Dinning – "Teen angel" (MGM K12845) (year: 1959)]
    iii.    By association: I would ban "The perfect song" because it was the main theme of the brilliant and despicable "The birth of a nation" (1916) [and, incredibly, the theme for "Amos and Andy" (c.1928-1955)]


I have not been careful, and have probably included 45 rpm instead of limiting this to 78 rpm.  I have not been clear when I am referring to an American label vs an international label.Most of the examples were actually banned, but some of them are my own bright idea.  To be clear, I'm not advocating that any this music go "down with the Titanic".
- Stephen in Calgary