We all know that music is a powerful and empowering thing. It affects our emotions, our psyches, our very souls - and that's exactly the kind of thing that frightens certain people about music. They believe that music can be dangerous and needs to be carefully supervised, regulated and sometimes banned - all in the name of... well, something. Morality? Humanity? Some twisted political reason? Check, check and check.
In many cases, the morality police choose to blame the messenger - the music or the musician - instead of looking at why the song seems to resonate so strongly. But they know that societal and political change is often presaged by messages and movements in popular culture. They hope that by blocking the message and restricting the movement, they can stop or even reverse change.
The music morality police have been around for centuries. The word "censor" was used to describe the Roman official in charge of the census. Through a roundabout way, he also had the job of monitoring public morals. For example, if you were found singing an "evil" song - which could be, say, something unflattering about the emperor - the Code of Twelve Tables, a law passed in 450 BC, decreed that you were to be put to death by clubbing. Story continues below advertisement 4:34 Jimmy Kimmel suspension: Comedians express concerns over free speech censorship The Qin dynasty, which reigned in China some 2,200 years ago, was big into restricting art and literature. The emperor declared music to be a "wasteful" pastime and ordered all musical instruments and songbooks destroyed.
It is said that the Roman Catholic Church was big on something it called "the devil's interval," a particularly dissonant playing of three notes: diabolus in musica - the devil in music. The devil's chord. Because it sounded evil, it must be evil. That's why the use of this combination of notes was effectively banned from all western European music. The notes were suppressed so that any evil feelings were avoided. No evil feelings, no evil deeds.
Things have changed a little. The opening chords of Jimi Hendrix's Purple Haze might have gotten him burned at the stake a thousand years ago. Black Sabbath would have been branded as witches and demons. And had this by Blur been released in 1543, it would have literally been the death of them. Story continues below advertisement Actually, information has come to light that the devil's tritone was not banned by the church, though the myth still resonates.
Speaking of 1543, that's the year Henry VIII banned the printing of sheet music because it could "subtly and craftily instruct the king's people and the youth of the realm."And the Nazis had their issues with music. During the occupation of Europe, the Reich's Gauleiter for the Nazi protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia issued a 10-point decree regulating the playing of jazz.I could read them out, but instead, I turn your attention to a song by Canadian violinist Hugh Marsh. In 1987, he released an album titled Shaking the Pumpkin. It featured a song called Rules Are Made to Be Broken featuring Robert Palmer and Dalbello on vocals. Have a listen. Story continues below advertisement When rock and roll was born in the 1950s, so was a never-ending campaign to have it banned. Parents, politicians, preachers and even doctors got involved. A certain Dr. Francis Braceland, who worked as a psychiatrist at a facility in Connecticut, was quoted in the media as saying rock music was a "cannibalistic and tribalistic form of music ... a communicable disease ... appealing to adolescent insecurity and driving teenagers to do outlandish things." Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy. Pablo Casals, the famous classical cellist, called rock "poison put to sound." Mitch Miller, the head of talent development at Columbia Records in the 1950s and early '60s, hated rock music. He passed on Elvis, Buddy Holly, and some English group called "the Beatles." I quote from Miller: "Rock 'n' roll is musical baby food: it is the worship of mediocrity, brought about by a passion for conformity."Rock? Conformity? Story continues below advertisement Here's another example of a piece of music that was banned by certain radio stations. This censorship had nothing to do with its lyrics, because it's an instrumental. Stations refused to play it just because it sounded dangerous.
But here's the best censorship story of the era. In 1963, a garage band from Portland, Ore., called the Kingsmen made a record called Louie Louie. They had no money. All they could afford was a cheap studio and one overhead mic dangling about 10 feet above the band.
Everyone had to be arranged around that one mic, including singer Joe Ely. He had to sing with his head all the way back,