Pick a Day

Music History Events: Controversies

December 12, 2013 Someone forgot to invite Jesus to his own birthday party. The fifth-grade choir at Ralph J. Osgood Intermediate School in Long Island, New York receives a round of applause after performing "Silent Night" at a holiday concert, but not all crowdgoers are pleased with the secular rendition, which removes references to Jesus and his mother.More

September 26, 2012 Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro gets into hot water for his slurs against Lady Gaga. The extensive rant consists, in part, of "There's Gaga. Here's this, this, I would call her a slut. This slut is influencing many, many children."

February 28, 2012 The Malaysian Government cancels a concert by Erykah Badu scheduled for the following day due to her tattoos, including one with the word "Allah" in Arabic.

March 21, 2009 The movie Northern Lights, starring LeAnn Rimes and Eddie Cibrian, debuts on Lifetime as rumors of the stars' extramarital affair are swirling in the press. They end up divorcing their spouses and marrying each other.

May 7, 2008 A number of British tabloids, including The Sun and The Daily Mail, blame the "emo suicide cult" for the death of 13-year-old Hannah Bond. My Chemical Romance take the brunt of their ire for allegedly glamorizing death on albums like The Black Parade, which was a #2 hit in both the US and UK. MCR, who insist they never encourage self-harm, respond by leading their fans in chants of "F--k the Daily Mail!"

April 12, 2007 Akon, who has a tendency to bring girls on stage and dance with them very suggestively, does so with a 15-year-old girl at a concert in Trinidad and Tobago. When video surfaces, outrage ensues and Verizon drops their sponsorship of the Sweet Escape tour, which Akon is supporting for Gwen Stefani.

May 15, 2003 t.A.T.u.'s manager Ivan Shapovalov is arrested for disturbing the peace after staging a video shoot in Moscow's Red Square for the duo's song "Show Me Love." Playing up the act's image as teenage lesbian lovers, Shapovalov had arranged for about 200 young girls to dress like t.A.T.u. and kiss each other, which causes a disturbance. By the end of the year, t.A.T.u. will abandon the ruse and admit that they only acted like lovers for the sake of scandalous publicity.

October 10, 2001 Under pressure to change their name because of letter attacks using anthrax germs, the metal band Anthrax issues a press release explaining they will not. "In light of current events, we are changing the name of the band to something more friendly, 'Basket Full Of Puppies,'" they state. "Actually, just the fact that we are making jokes about our name sucks."More

August 31, 1985 The serial killer Richard Ramirez is captured in Los Angeles and later convicted for 13 murders. At one of the crime scenes, he left behind an AC/DC hat. The media dubbed him the "Night Stalker," and speculated that the band's song "Night Prowler" compelled him to kill, an assertion that is never substantiated, but unfairly links the killer to AC/DC, which is horrified by the association.

December 27, 1978 The BBC comes under fire when it plays part of the Sex Pistols' "God Save The Queen," which has been banned on the network, on a show called "Listen To The Banned." The educator Dr. Rhodes Boyson calls it "another sign of the declining public morality which so rightly worries the general public."

December 21, 1978 The Cure release their debut single, "Killing An Arab," an existential song about a man who contemplates the meaning of life after murdering an Arab on a beach. Based on the controversial title, the band faces accusations of provoking anti-Arab sentiment.More

August 5, 1978 "Substitute," a cover of a Righteous Brothers song recorded by an all-girl South African group called Clout, becomes a surprise hit, reaching #2 in the UK. Just one problem: they didn't play on the song, a male group called Circus did.

December 2, 1976 The British press is in an uproar the day after The Sex Pistols appeared on the Today programme on London regional TV and swore repeatedly. The front page headline of the Daily Mirror reads "THE FILTH AND THE FURY!"

August 26, 1974 As part of As part of Women's Equality Day, the National Organization of Women give Paul Anka their "Keep Her In Her Place" award for his song "(You're) Having My Baby."