14 Iconic Songs That Were Considered Too Political Or Shocking When They Were First Released

TIL that the song Waterfall by TLC is about HIV

Chelsi

• Published in Film & TV
• June 13, 2022

Art is the wildest and most beautiful facet of freedom. Visual art, performance art, dance, and music are possibly the only forms of expression people will understand regardless of language, creed, or belief.

You can speak an entirely different language but can be moved to tears by a song sung from the soul. There is something about music that tugs at our most basic instincts.

Music and all forms of art are our most powerful weapons and tools of communication. Guess why strongmen all over the world try to control artists?

Music has a power that can awaken the weary and give hope to the masses. Musicians and singers can create awareness and highlight issues on an elevated level should they so choose.

Singers who were considered too political like Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, Marvin Gaye, and many more were given roadblocks at every opportunity if the music they created was considered too out there by the powers that be. That didn't stop them and their music is still celebrated to this day.

Their words and tunes have inspired movements that quite literally change the world. Their music is the anthem to many of the fights our society has championed.

Music like theirs paved the way for the current freedom the music industry enjoys. They refused to be censored and because of that, they contributed to the liberty we sometimes take for granted.

1. What's Going On (1971) - Marvin Gaye

This song speaks about the Vietnam War and the atrocities that happened then. Barry Gordy, the founder of Motown, initially refused to release the song because it was "too political."

Marvin Gaye protested and went on a recording strike until Gordy agreed to release What's Going On. The song became Motown's fastest-selling record during that time.

Listen to the song here:

2. 9 to 5 (1980) - Dolly Parton

Anything Dolly Parton touches, sparkles but the song 9 to 5 was especially groundbreaking at that time. It speaks about the blatant sexism experienced by women in their workplaces.

Listen to the song here:

3. Hurricane (1976) - Bob Dylan

Hurricane by Bob Dylan is an ode to the legendary boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter. The boxer was racially profiled, wrongfully accused, and arrested for murder.

Listen to the song here:

4. Strange Fruit (1939) - Billie Holiday

In this song, Billie Holiday talks about the inhumane lynchings suffered by innocent Black people in the United States. The singer bravely sang about an issue that most people chose to turn a blind eye to and refused to even acknowledge.

Listen to the song here:

5. You Don't Own Me (1963) - Lesley Gore

This certified hit was released in the 60s when women were starting to assert their independence from men in our society. It's made even more special when Bette Midler, Diane Keaton, and Goldie Hawn sang it in the film The First Wives Club.

Listen to the song here:

6. Let's Talk About Sex (1991) - Salt-N-Peppa

The catchy tune of this hit belies the important issue it tackled. The group aimed to lessen the stigma surrounding conversations about sex; the opening salvo of, "Let's talk about sex, baby," should be a hint.

Listen to the song here:

7. Under Pressure (1981) - Queen and David Bowie

Queen and David Bowie are possibly two of the biggest names in the music industry even now. Under Pressure has a catchy beat but it actually talks about the deep-seated hatred and violence embedded in American society and the feeling that results from it: pressure.

They encourage people to focus on love instead to change things little by little. The chilling lyrics sung by Bowie are: "Why can't we give love one more chance? Why can't we give love — 'cause love's such an old-fashioned word, and love dares you to care for the people on the edge of the night."

Listen to the song here:

8. Waterfalls (1994) - TLC

The bop that is Waterfalls by the girl group TLC tackles the HIV epidemic. People affected by HIV were ostracized by the rest of the society and were labeled dirty thinking they could get infected by being in close proximity.

Listen to the song here:

9. What Would You Do (2001) - City High

What Would You Do candidly spoke of the harsh realities of sex work. The song tried to eliminate the unfair label and judgment cast on sex workers; by asking what would you do they touched on people's sense of empathy.

Listen to the song here:

10. Big Yellow Taxi (1970) - Joni Mitchell

Joni Mitchell is one of the most prolific musicians of her time. In this song, released in the 70s, she was painting a picture about the dangers of destroying our environment; who can forget the line, "Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got 'till it's gone? / They paved paradise, put up a parking lot."

Listen to the song here:

11. Papa Was A Rollin' Stone (1972) - The Temptations

The song was written from the point of view of a child who has never met their deadbeat father. They were raised by their mom alone and only heard bad things about their dad from the people of the town.

Listen to the song here:

12. Eve Of Destruction (1965) - Barry McGuire

Barry McGuire spoke for the young people in the US during the 60s in this song. He put into words the anger felt by a majority of the youth about the Vietnam War and racism in the country.

Listen to the song here:

13. Shave 'Em Dry (1935) - Lucille Bogan

Quite possibly the boldest song in this list is Shave 'Em Dry by Lucille Bogan released in the 30s. It explicitly talks about a woman's sexual pleasure and taking charge of her sex life all night (and some more).

Listen to the song here:

14. Head ( 1980) - Prince

Did the Artist Formerly Known as Prince release music that wasn't at least suggestive? We'll have to go through his discography to know for sure but in his song Head, he talks about the pleasures of performing oral sex to a woman.

Listen to the song here:

These iconic artists spoke of the issues that plagued their time decades ago. They put a melody to the words our hearts were too scared to let out.

They faced harsh criticism and fought censorship to give power to our cries for equality and freedom. Their music will live long after we're all gone which is awe-inspiring and sad at the same time because it means the issues they fought for are still poisoning our society.

Chelsi