What was the first Rolling Stones song to be banned?
By the time The Rolling Stones came onto the scene, most were surprised by the sudden audacity. For an era heavily defined by the dominance of The Beatles, audiences had grown accustomed to the cleanliness of their polished image, making The Stones’ rougher disposition feel almost unwarranted. However, with an edge so confident it was charming, the band proved the power of defiance with the kind of unapologetic attitude rock had been long missing.
In many ways, Keith Richards and Mick Jagger epitomised the stereotypical rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle, though in an effortless way that made their entire image and reputation believable. In interviews, they didn’t care much for coming across a certain way and spoke their mind, which extended into their music, creating a raw authenticity that covered any taboo topics imaginable under the “sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll” mantra.
Of course, looking back at some of these songs feels much more unsettling now than it did then, but The Stones were by and large defined by their unwavering commitment to doing whatever it was that they pleased, no matter the nuances of their shortcomings. At the time, the more obvious controversy surrounded their play on sinister themes, like ‘Sympathy For The Devil’, which was accused of corrupting innocent minds by promoting Satanism.
Others, like ‘Brown Sugar’, ‘Under My Thumb’, ‘Cocksucker Blues’, and ‘Let’s Spend The Night Together’, were shunned for their provocative content or problematic themes of racism and sexism, causing longstanding debates about the kinds of content the band were promoting, and whether it serves to dismantle their broader legacy or if it was merely a “sign of the times.” After all, the band thrived on pushing boundaries, but whether they can be wholly excused for every scenario remains uncertain.
So, what was the first song to be banned?
Despite the seemingly countless examples of controversial Stones songs, 1967’s ‘Let’s Spend The Night Together’ was the first and earliest to attract such divisive attention. This restriction was first presented to the band by The Ed Sullivan Show when they were asked to refrain from singing the song due to its promotion of casual sexual relationships. In true fashion, they acted out in defiance, not only performing the song but changing its lyrics to “let’s spend some time together”.
To make matters worse, they also came out dressed as Nazis, likely in an attempt to protest against the militant nature of censorship on live television. However, this move eventually got The Stones banned from the show completely, leading to another ban of the song by the BBC and another blacklisting for playing the song during their run in China for their A Bigger Bang tour.
The response to the song makes sense, considering its lyrics, despite not being anywhere near as potentially offensive as some of their other songs. Moreover, any attempts by Jagger to explain that the song was harmless seemed to have an adverse effect, especially on one occasion when he admitted it paralleled his own approach when meeting a woman he wants to spend the night with: “I always say ‘let’s spend the night together’ to any young lady I’m taking out,” Jagger told Melody Maker in 1967.
Concluding: “What it means is: shall we spend the evening together? If people have warped, twisted, dirty minds, I supposed it could have sexual overtones. The song isn’t really very rude. When you hear it, you’ll realise this.”
