5 Beatles Songs That Were Banned in the United States When Radio Stations Refused to Play Them
Several Beatles songs are part of the fabric of modern music. It’s difficult to tell the story of classic rock and pop music without the Fab Four. Still, some Beatles songs were banned in the United States. Before they wrote tunes that foreshadowed the end of the band, the Fab Four penned tunes that U.S. radio wouldn’t touch.
1. ‘Cold Turkey’
OK, so it’s not a Beatles song, but John Lennon wrote it during his Fab Four days before releasing it on his solo debut, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, in 1970. So we’ll call “Cold Turkey” a song by one of the Beatles that was banned in the United States. And it’s easy to see why. The lyrics describe heroin withdrawal in plainly harrowing detail, and it featured some of John’s freaky singing (read: screaming) over a heavy, distorted guitar riff near the end. It’s not an easy listen, but some fans didn’t have to worry about stumbling across it on their radio since most stations refused to play it.
2. ‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’
National radio station operator Clear Channel (later IHeartRadio) more or less banned several Beatles songs after the September 11 attacks. They encouraged DJs and programmers not to play them, writes Kerrang. Paul McCartney’s “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” was one of them. The tune fully displayed Paul’s songwriting genius, but it wasn’t ideal for a nation in mourning. We doubt the joyfully repeated chorus of “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da / Life goes on, brah / La la how the life goes on” would have sat well with listeners.
3. ‘Ticket to Ride’
“Ticket to Ride” off the Help! soundtrack was another Beatles tune placed on the do not play list after the 9/11 tragedy. We can see why from a couple of vantage points. First, the people who perpetrated the attacks were ticketed passengers, so the song title ticks the box of being offensive. Then there are the lyrics. The song starts with the lines, “I think I’m gonna be sad / I think it’s today.” Later, lines such as “I don’t know why she’s riding so high / She ought to think twice” and the repeated refrain of “She’s got a ticket to ride / And she don’t care” surely didn’t sit well with radio station decision-makers who banned the song.
4. ‘A Day in the Life’
The song title. The references to suicide. John singing about laughing at a photo of said suicide. We can see why Clear Channel would have banned this Beatles song. The Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band closer is a classic, but the callous reaction to a tragic death early in the song was surely tough to stomach after September 11. Juxtapose the first section of the song with the second, where the narrator goes about his morning routine without a care in the world, and it’s not hard to see why radio stations refrained from playing it.
U.S. radio wasn’t the only entity to ban “A Day in the Life.” Years earlier, the BBC banned the song over one line: “I’d love to turn you on.” The broadcaster felt it promoted drug use.
5. ‘Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds’
Sgt. Pepper strikes again. The song title is probably the main reason the tune was a post-9/11 ban, per Kerrang. Just try to imagine a DJ rattling off their playlist and including “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” among the songs. It would be uncomfortable and insensitive. Yet the repeated references to large flowers (akin to funeral flower displays) in the lyrics probably didn’t help the cause.
Most of The Beatles’ songs banned in the United States came immediately after the September 11 attacks. The song titles and lyrics didn’t fit the tenor of the times. There’s something to be said for finding comfort in the familiar — and the millions of records sold prove many music fans are familiar with the Fab Four — but we understand why radio stations refused to play some of their songs over the years.
For more on the entertainment world and exclusive interviews, subscribe to Showbiz Cheat Sheet’s YouTube channel.
