n the days following the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, D.C., many television and radio stations altered normal programming in response to the events. During this period, a list of "songs with questionable lyrics" purported to be from radio conglomerate Clear Channel Communications to its subsidiaries began to circulate on the internet. The actual origin of the list within Clear Channel is not clear: some sources claim that a small list was initially generated by program directors at the Clear Channel central office, while others have described it as a "grass-roots" effort among the company's program directors who originated, shared and added to the list via e-mail exchanges. Similarly, the intent of the list is unclear: many versions of the list included text indicating that the songs had been "banned" from airplay, while Clear Channel representatives have consistently stated that the list was the result of informal communication between employees attempting to react appropriately to the situation and was never an official mandate from the corporation to its subsidiaries.
Whatever its origins, a list containing about 150 songs was soon circulating widely and became the subject of numerous news reports and commentaries. Online discussions and commentary focused on the criteria for choosing the songs, which were derided as unreasonable and inconsistent. A number of songs were apparently placed on the list just because they had specific words such as plane, fly, or falling in their titles. Many people found it particularly ludicrous that John Lennon's "Imagine" was one of the songs listed.
Many individual stations did play songs from the list; conversely many stations also refrained from playing songs not on the list, due to lyrical content or simply because the music's tone or style seemed inappropriate. As the list apparently had no official status within Clear Channel, it also had no expiration date or retraction, and stations gradually returned many songs to their playlists.
Many versions of the list were circulated; the most commonly-cited and extensive version is detailed below. The songs are listed alphabetically by artist.
0-9
* 3 Doors Down - "Duck and Run"
* 311 - "Down"
A
* AC/DC - "Dirty Deeds", "Hell's Bells", "Highway to Hell", "Safe in New York City", "Shot Down in Flames", "Shoot to Thrill", and "TNT"
* Ad Libs - "The Boy from New York City"
* Alice in Chains - "Down in a Hole", "Rooster", "Sea of Sorrow", and "Them Bones"
* Alien Ant Farm - "Smooth Criminal"
* The Animals - "We Gotta Get Out of This Place"
* Louis Armstrong - "What A Wonderful World"
B
* The Bangles - "Walk Like an Egyptian"
* Barenaked Ladies - "Falling for the First Time"
* Beastie Boys - "Sabotage" and "Sure Shot"
* The Beatles - "A Day in the Life", "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds","Let It Be", "Obla Di, Obla Da", and "Ticket To Ride"
* Pat Benatar - "Hit Me with Your Best Shot" and "Love is a Battlefield"
* Black Sabbath - "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath", "Suicide Solution", and "War Pigs"
* Blood, Sweat and Tears - "And When I Die"
* Blue Öyster Cult - "Burnin' For You"
* Boston - "Smokin"
* Brooklyn Bridge - "Worst That Could Happen"
* Arthur Brown - "Fire"
* Jackson Browne - "Doctor My Eyes"
* Buddy Holly and the Crickets - "That'll Be the Day"
* Bush - "Speed Kills" (the name of this song was changed after Sept.11 2001, to "The People That We Love")
C
* Chi-Lites - "Have You Seen Her"
* Petula Clark - "A Sign of the Times"
* The Clash - "Rock the Casbah"
* Phil Collins - "In the Air Tonight"
* Sam Cooke/Herman's Hermits - "Wonder World" (sic. - assumed a mis-representation of "(What a) Wonderful World")
* Creedence Clearwater Revival - "Travelin' Band"
* The Cult - "Fire Woman"
D
* Bobby Darin - "Mack the Knife"
* Dave Clark Five - "Bits and Pieces"
* Dave Matthews Band - "Crash Into Me"
* Skeeter Davis - "End of the World"
* Neil Diamond - "America"
* Dio - "Holy Diver"
* The Doors - "The End"
* The Drifters - "On Broadway"
* Drowning Pool - "Bodies"
* Bob Dylan/Guns n' Roses - "Knockin' on Heaven's Door"
E
* Everclear - "Santa Monica"
F
* Shelly Fabares - "Johnny Angel"
* Filter - "Hey Man, Nice Shot"
* Fontella Bass - "Rescue Me"
* Foo Fighters - "Learn to Fly"
* Fuel - "Bad Day"
G
* Peter Gabriel - "When You're Falling"
* The Gap Band - "You Dropped a Bomb On Me"
* Godsmack - "Bad Religion"
* Norman Greenbaum - "Spirit in the Sky"
* Green Day - "Brain Stew"
H
* Happenings - "See You in September"
* Jimi Hendrix - "Hey Joe"
* The Hollies - "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother"
J
* Jan and Dean - "Dead Man's Curve"
* Billy Joel - "Only the Good Die Young"
* Elton John - "Benny & The Jets", "Daniel", and "Rocket Man"
* Judas Priest - "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll"
K
* Kansas - "Dust in the Wind"
* Carole King - "I Feel the Earth Move"
* Korn - "Falling Away From Me"
* Lenny Kravitz - "Fly Away"
L
* Led Zeppelin - "Stairway to Heaven"
* John Lennon - "Imagine"
* Jerry Lee Lewis - "Great Balls of Fire"
* Limp Bizkit - "Break Stuff"
* Local H - "Bound for the Floor"
* Los Bravos - "Black is Black"
* Lynyrd Skynyrd - "Tuesday's Gone"
M
* Martha & the Vandellas - "Nowhere to Run"
* Martha and the Vandellas/Van Halen - "Dancing in the Streets"
* Paul McCartney and Wings -- "Live and Let Die"
* Maureen McGovern- "We May Never Love Like This Again" from the movie The Towering Inferno
* Don McLean - "American Pie"
* Barry McGuire - "Eve of Destruction"
* Megadeth - "Dread and the Fugitive Mind" and "Sweating Bullets"
* John Mellencamp - "Crumbling Down" and "I'm On Fire"
* Metallica - "Enter Sandman", "Fade to Black", "Harvester of Sorrow", and "Seek and Destroy"
* Steve Miller Band - "Jet Airliner"
* Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels - "Devil with the Blue Dress"
* Alanis Morissette - "Ironic"
* Mudvayne - "Death Blooms"
N
* Ricky Nelson - "Travelin' Man"
* Nena - "99 Luftballons/99 Red Balloons"
* Nine Inch Nails - "Head Like a Hole"
O
* Oingo Boingo - "Dead Man's Party"
P
* Paper Lace - "The Night Chicago Died"
* John Parr - "St. Elmo's Fire"
* Peter and Gordon - "I Go To Pieces" and "A World Without Love"
* Peter, Paul and Mary - "Blowin' in the Wind" and "Leavin' on a Jet Plane"
* Tom Petty - "Free Fallin'"
* Pink Floyd - "Mother" and "Run Like Hell"
* P.O.D. - "Boom"
* Elvis Presley - "(You're the) Devil in Disguise"
* The Pretenders - "My City Was Gone"
Q
All songs by artists beginning with the letter Q are banned!
R
* Rage Against The Machine - all songs
* Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Aeroplane" and "Under the Bridge"
* R.E.M. - "It's the End of the World as We Know It"
* Rolling Stones - "Ruby Tuesday"
S
* Saliva - "Click Click Boom"
* Santana - "Evil Ways"
* Savage Garden - "Crash and Burn"
* Simon And Garfunkel - "Bridge Over Troubled Water"
* Frank Sinatra - "New York, New York"
* Slipknot - "Left Behind" and "Wait and Bleed"
* The Smashing Pumpkins - "Bullet With Butterfly Wings"
* Soundgarden - "Black Hole Sun", "Blow Up the Outside World", and "Fell on Black Days"
* Bruce Springsteen - "Goin' Down" and "I'm On Fire"
* Edwin Starr/Bruce Springsteen - "War"
* Steam - "Na Na Na Na Hey Hey"
* Cat Stevens - "Morning Has Broken" and "Peace Train"
* Stone Temple Pilots - "Big Bang Baby" and "Dead and Bloated"
* The Surfaris - "Wipeout"
* Sugar Ray - "Fly" and "When It's Over"
* System of a Down - "Chop Suey!"
T
* Talking Heads - "Burning Down the House"
* James Taylor - "Fire and Rain"
* Temple of the Dog - "Say Hello to Heaven"
* Third Eye Blind - "Jumper"
* Three Degrees - "When Will I See You Again"
* Tool - "Intolerance"
* The Trammps - "Disco Inferno"
U
* U2 - "Sunday Bloody Sunday"
V
* Van Halen - "Jump"
W
* J. Frank Wilson - "Last Kiss"
Y
* The Youngbloods - "Get Together"
Z
* Zager and Evans - "In the Year 2525"
* The Zombies - "She's Not There"
Whatever its origins, a list containing about 150 songs was soon circulating widely and became the subject of numerous news reports and commentaries. Online discussions and commentary focused on the criteria for choosing the songs, which were derided as unreasonable and inconsistent. A number of songs were apparently placed on the list just because they had specific words such as plane, fly, or falling in their titles. Many people found it particularly ludicrous that John Lennon's "Imagine" was one of the songs listed.
Many individual stations did play songs from the list; conversely many stations also refrained from playing songs not on the list, due to lyrical content or simply because the music's tone or style seemed inappropriate. As the list apparently had no official status within Clear Channel, it also had no expiration date or retraction, and stations gradually returned many songs to their playlists.
Many versions of the list were circulated; the most commonly-cited and extensive version is detailed below. The songs are listed alphabetically by artist.
0-9
* 3 Doors Down - "Duck and Run"
* 311 - "Down"
A
* AC/DC - "Dirty Deeds", "Hell's Bells", "Highway to Hell", "Safe in New York City", "Shot Down in Flames", "Shoot to Thrill", and "TNT"
* Ad Libs - "The Boy from New York City"
* Alice in Chains - "Down in a Hole", "Rooster", "Sea of Sorrow", and "Them Bones"
* Alien Ant Farm - "Smooth Criminal"
* The Animals - "We Gotta Get Out of This Place"
* Louis Armstrong - "What A Wonderful World"
B
* The Bangles - "Walk Like an Egyptian"
* Barenaked Ladies - "Falling for the First Time"
* Beastie Boys - "Sabotage" and "Sure Shot"
* The Beatles - "A Day in the Life", "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds","Let It Be", "Obla Di, Obla Da", and "Ticket To Ride"
* Pat Benatar - "Hit Me with Your Best Shot" and "Love is a Battlefield"
* Black Sabbath - "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath", "Suicide Solution", and "War Pigs"
* Blood, Sweat and Tears - "And When I Die"
* Blue Öyster Cult - "Burnin' For You"
* Boston - "Smokin"
* Brooklyn Bridge - "Worst That Could Happen"
* Arthur Brown - "Fire"
* Jackson Browne - "Doctor My Eyes"
* Buddy Holly and the Crickets - "That'll Be the Day"
* Bush - "Speed Kills" (the name of this song was changed after Sept.11 2001, to "The People That We Love")
C
* Chi-Lites - "Have You Seen Her"
* Petula Clark - "A Sign of the Times"
* The Clash - "Rock the Casbah"
* Phil Collins - "In the Air Tonight"
* Sam Cooke/Herman's Hermits - "Wonder World" (sic. - assumed a mis-representation of "(What a) Wonderful World")
* Creedence Clearwater Revival - "Travelin' Band"
* The Cult - "Fire Woman"
D
* Bobby Darin - "Mack the Knife"
* Dave Clark Five - "Bits and Pieces"
* Dave Matthews Band - "Crash Into Me"
* Skeeter Davis - "End of the World"
* Neil Diamond - "America"
* Dio - "Holy Diver"
* The Doors - "The End"
* The Drifters - "On Broadway"
* Drowning Pool - "Bodies"
* Bob Dylan/Guns n' Roses - "Knockin' on Heaven's Door"
E
* Everclear - "Santa Monica"
F
* Shelly Fabares - "Johnny Angel"
* Filter - "Hey Man, Nice Shot"
* Fontella Bass - "Rescue Me"
* Foo Fighters - "Learn to Fly"
* Fuel - "Bad Day"
G
* Peter Gabriel - "When You're Falling"
* The Gap Band - "You Dropped a Bomb On Me"
* Godsmack - "Bad Religion"
* Norman Greenbaum - "Spirit in the Sky"
* Green Day - "Brain Stew"
H
* Happenings - "See You in September"
* Jimi Hendrix - "Hey Joe"
* The Hollies - "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother"
J
* Jan and Dean - "Dead Man's Curve"
* Billy Joel - "Only the Good Die Young"
* Elton John - "Benny & The Jets", "Daniel", and "Rocket Man"
* Judas Priest - "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll"
K
* Kansas - "Dust in the Wind"
* Carole King - "I Feel the Earth Move"
* Korn - "Falling Away From Me"
* Lenny Kravitz - "Fly Away"
L
* Led Zeppelin - "Stairway to Heaven"
* John Lennon - "Imagine"
* Jerry Lee Lewis - "Great Balls of Fire"
* Limp Bizkit - "Break Stuff"
* Local H - "Bound for the Floor"
* Los Bravos - "Black is Black"
* Lynyrd Skynyrd - "Tuesday's Gone"
M
* Martha & the Vandellas - "Nowhere to Run"
* Martha and the Vandellas/Van Halen - "Dancing in the Streets"
* Paul McCartney and Wings -- "Live and Let Die"
* Maureen McGovern- "We May Never Love Like This Again" from the movie The Towering Inferno
* Don McLean - "American Pie"
* Barry McGuire - "Eve of Destruction"
* Megadeth - "Dread and the Fugitive Mind" and "Sweating Bullets"
* John Mellencamp - "Crumbling Down" and "I'm On Fire"
* Metallica - "Enter Sandman", "Fade to Black", "Harvester of Sorrow", and "Seek and Destroy"
* Steve Miller Band - "Jet Airliner"
* Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels - "Devil with the Blue Dress"
* Alanis Morissette - "Ironic"
* Mudvayne - "Death Blooms"
N
* Ricky Nelson - "Travelin' Man"
* Nena - "99 Luftballons/99 Red Balloons"
* Nine Inch Nails - "Head Like a Hole"
O
* Oingo Boingo - "Dead Man's Party"
P
* Paper Lace - "The Night Chicago Died"
* John Parr - "St. Elmo's Fire"
* Peter and Gordon - "I Go To Pieces" and "A World Without Love"
* Peter, Paul and Mary - "Blowin' in the Wind" and "Leavin' on a Jet Plane"
* Tom Petty - "Free Fallin'"
* Pink Floyd - "Mother" and "Run Like Hell"
* P.O.D. - "Boom"
* Elvis Presley - "(You're the) Devil in Disguise"
* The Pretenders - "My City Was Gone"
Q
All songs by artists beginning with the letter Q are banned!
R
* Rage Against The Machine - all songs
* Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Aeroplane" and "Under the Bridge"
* R.E.M. - "It's the End of the World as We Know It"
* Rolling Stones - "Ruby Tuesday"
S
* Saliva - "Click Click Boom"
* Santana - "Evil Ways"
* Savage Garden - "Crash and Burn"
* Simon And Garfunkel - "Bridge Over Troubled Water"
* Frank Sinatra - "New York, New York"
* Slipknot - "Left Behind" and "Wait and Bleed"
* The Smashing Pumpkins - "Bullet With Butterfly Wings"
* Soundgarden - "Black Hole Sun", "Blow Up the Outside World", and "Fell on Black Days"
* Bruce Springsteen - "Goin' Down" and "I'm On Fire"
* Edwin Starr/Bruce Springsteen - "War"
* Steam - "Na Na Na Na Hey Hey"
* Cat Stevens - "Morning Has Broken" and "Peace Train"
* Stone Temple Pilots - "Big Bang Baby" and "Dead and Bloated"
* The Surfaris - "Wipeout"
* Sugar Ray - "Fly" and "When It's Over"
* System of a Down - "Chop Suey!"
T
* Talking Heads - "Burning Down the House"
* James Taylor - "Fire and Rain"
* Temple of the Dog - "Say Hello to Heaven"
* Third Eye Blind - "Jumper"
* Three Degrees - "When Will I See You Again"
* Tool - "Intolerance"
* The Trammps - "Disco Inferno"
U
* U2 - "Sunday Bloody Sunday"
V
* Van Halen - "Jump"
W
* J. Frank Wilson - "Last Kiss"
Y
* The Youngbloods - "Get Together"
Z
* Zager and Evans - "In the Year 2525"
* The Zombies - "She's Not There"
