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In the mid-1980s, a "culture war" had begun over music. At the center of this battle stood three allies who came from three very different camps: Dee Snider of Twisted Sister, the avant-garde Frank Zappa, and folk singer John Denver.
These three found themselves in the halls of the U.S. Senate on September 19, 1985, to speak against the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) and the campaign to label and restrict access to music deemed offensive. Offensive by whom? Well, them. Of course.
You see, the PMRC was spearheaded by women who had husbands with powerful positions in Washington. Their crusade against modern music could have gone to parent groups, PTA groups, and other places. Instead, they decided to allow legislation to push their agenda, and that didn't sit right with artists.
The three I just mentioned weren't the only ones who pushed back. Artists made music videos, albums, and songs speaking out against censorship and restricting their artistic expression. The testimonies of Snider, Zappa, and Denver are still looked at as a defining moment for free speech in music.
At the time, rock (metal, etc.) was embroiled in a second moral panic called The Satanic Panic, and Dee Snider's speech helped shape the way metal fought back.
Why a Push for Censorship?
To know why the PMRC pushed for censorship, we need to know a bit more about the PMRC. Their aim was to regulate music that contained explicit lyrics. Most of what they were targeting was music containing lyrics about sex, drugs, violence, and the occult/satanism.
They created and distributed the "Filthy Fifteen" list. It was a list of songs that were the most problematic (according to the PMRC), and it included tracks from Judas Priest, Prince, Twisted Sister, Madonna, and Cyndi Lauper. They pushed for a warning sticker labeled with each of the types of explicit lyrics. For example, if lyrics were violent, they'd be labeled as "V"; if they were about the occult, they'd be labeled as "O," and so on.
They also pushed for potential restrictions that could limit sales and/or airplay time. This sparked a huge debate over censorship. Was this about helping parents? Or was it simply pushing their own agenda? The music industry pushed back, and the Senate held a hearing.
To Those About to...Fight - We Salute You
At the hearing, the three musicians I mentioned stepped up to defend artistic freedom, artistic expression, and their First Amendment Right. Included is the full video of each of their testimonies, and it's certainly worth watching.
Snider's testimony shocked people across the United States, and his words resonate even today. A man who appeared to be the stereotype of a rock star, garnering smirks from the committee, was articulate, intelligent, and very well-prepared. He dismantled the PMRC's arguments against his music. He also pointed out Twisted Sister's song, "We're Not Gonna Take It," was stated to be a violent song. However, the lyrics were as aggressive as a cartoon—which is what the video was based on. He exposed the PMRC and Tipper Gore for misrepresenting lyrics and merchandise, taking things out of context and out of place to fit their narrative.\
Frank Zappa took a different but equally bold approach. He called the proposal "an ill-conceived piece of nonsense" and warned that they were on a slippery slope toward government censorship. He also compared the PMRC demands to "treating dandruff by decapitation." He went on to speak with wit and maybe a little biting sarcasm, but also intelligence and a deep knowledge of the PMRC's agenda.
It was clear that many people at the hearing expected John Denver to side with them. He shocked the committee by openly and firmly opposing the PMRC, recalling that his song "Rocky Mountain High" was once misinterpreted and banned on some radio stations. He spoke out against the moral panic being caused by the PMRC and spoke in favor of artistic expression for any artist—wholesome or not. Denver's testimony can sometimes be overlooked by anyone doing a dive into this subject, but it's worth taking a much closer look at. When someone with John Denver's reputation stands up for artists who are looked at as "filthy," "violent," "overly sexual," or "recruiting kids into Satanism," you may want to pay attention.
Well, What Happened?
The PMRC did not succeed in getting the warning labels they suggested. However, the Parental Advisory sticker many of us know well still appears on albums and digital tracks today.
That's about all they accomplished for themselves. The hearing exposed the dangers of a moral panic and the hysteria it causes at a time when another moral panic had been sweeping the United States. In both of them, metal was front and center. Many artists used the controversy to rally fans or as free marketing.
The Parental Advisory sticker? I think we all know how that went. It helped album sales, sold more singles, and sold more concert tickets. Bands and artists used it as a badge of honor, and the young people loved that. Come on, we're talking about teenagers here. What did anyone expect to happen?
The PMRC hearings remain a landmark for any form of censorship and artistic freedoms. Many artists and bands took on a much more defiant tone after these hearings and joined the "fight" in their own way.
If you're curious about these two moral panics and how they affected metal today, you can check out Episode 1...kinda! of The Metal Mama Podcast, where we jump into the convoluted mess that was the moral panic(s) of the 1980s.
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