The 1968 Rolling Stones song that radio stations were too scared to play: “Too subversive”
The Rolling Stones earned their reputation as hell-raising, troublemakers for good reason, even if certain exploits were exaggerated in the tabloid press.
Their shows were constantly carnage with riots never too far away during their peak years of wreaking chaos, and The Rolling Stones were more than happy to play up to public perception, even if they were rather pleasant people behind closed doors.
Their close association with all things danger was an advantage in a number of ways, giving them an appeal to younger audiences that money couldn’t buy. That being said, notoriety also had its negatives, too, such as their lyrics being dissected to the ninth degree, which came back to bite them in 1968.
At this time, The Rolling Stones, who aren’t a political band by nature, used their platform to air their grievances about the world on ‘Street Fighting Man’ in 1968. Yet, despite now being viewed as one of the definitive tracks of that era, radio stations didn’t want them to embrace this side of themselves.
Instead, the US radio stations, which were essentially the power brokers for the charts back then, would have much preferred the Stones just to make another ‘Satisfaction’ for their airwaves. They didn’t want them to be delivering a political message, especially one which may not align with their advertisers, who ultimately fund the network.
With that in mind, their protest anthem, which asked its listeners to take stock of the establishment and to take to the streets to riot, was unsurprisingly snubbed by stations. With ‘Street Fighting Man’, Mick Jagger was playing a dangerous game, and its anti-war message led to it being ignored. Even though The Stones weren’t lacking in star power, bosses were fearful that it would cause mass hysteria or at least plant the seeds.
‘Street Fighting Man’ tackles the civil unrest which unravelled in Europe and America in 1968 due to the Vietnam War. Student riots broke out across Europe in London and Paris simultaneously, and similar protests were held across America over the continuation of the controversial conflict.
Jagger was inspired to write ‘Street Fighting Man’ after attending a demonstration at London’s Grosvenor Square on March 17th, 1968, alongside 25,000 other disgruntled voices. The timing of the song’s release was also provocative. ‘Street Fighting Man’ arrived on August 31st, 1968, only a few days after the Democratic National Convention, which was tainted by violence as Chicago police brutally clashed with protesters.
Due to this violence, when the song was officially released, almost every radio station in the US refused to play it. Despite the song not receiving an official ban, stations played it safe in case more violence was on the way, and they could be deemed liable.
Reflecting on the situation, Jagger later said: “The radio stations that banned the song told me that ‘Street Fighting Man’ was subversive. ‘Of course, it’s subversive,’ we said. It’s stupid to think you can start a revolution with a record. I wish you could!”
In the US, the original sleeve for the single also featured an image of police beating protestors in Los Angeles. However, their label quickly removed it from sale and replaced the photo with a safer option to stop further controversy.
Years later, in 1995, Jagger backtracked on ‘Street Fighting Man‘, claiming that it was a product of its times that was no longer relevant, sharing, “I’m not sure if it really has any resonance for the present day. I don’t really like it that much. I thought it was a very good thing at the time. There was all this violence going on.”
It may have felt less relevant in 1995 than in 1968, but in the current climate, for better or worse, there’s still a place for ‘Street Fighting Man’ in the societal conversation.
The Stones also likely knew that ‘Street Fighting Man’ had little to no chance of becoming a radio hit when they released it. However, there would have been nothing revolutionary about diluting the message in search of airtime.
After all, songs like ‘Street Fighting Man’ are supposed to put a fire in your belly to carve out a brighter future for the world, rather than act as background listening for the masses on national radio. Nevertheless, while radio succeeded in stopping it from charting high, silencing its message only made it reverberate louder.
