For better or worse!
Although it reached number #1 in 1973, the title of Cher's song 'Half Breed,' which detailed the experience of a half-Caucasian, half-Native American woman, would be highly problematic today.
'Don't Stand So Close to Me' (1980) is a song about a teacher asking his pupil not to stand too close to him because they are embroiled in an illicit affair. Not such a great theme for a song, catchy as it may be.
The 1962 song 'Ahab the Arab' is about as politically incorrect as you can get. Not only does Stevens mock the Arabic language, the song is littered with many stereotypes about Arabs.
See also: Favorite films of the past that would be controversial today.
The theme of 1968's 'Stand by Your Man' is troublesome to say the least. The idea that a woman should accept her partner's transgressions and bad behavior "cause after all he's just a man" would not hold up today.
'Hot Child in the City' (1978) is a catchy song, but the problem is that the "child" Nick Gilder is referring to is just that, a child. A child to whom he sings, "Come on down to my place baby, we'll make love."
'China Girl' (1983) is troubling on many levels. Not only do the song's lyrics threaten the Asian woman Bowie is singing to, he also mocks Asian eyes in the music video by pulling at his own.
'Run for Your Life' (1965) features the lyrics, "I'd rather see you dead, little girl, than to be with another man." The fact that both John Lennon and Ringo Starr later admitted to domestic violence makes such lyrics even more troubling.
The 1962 song 'He Hit Me (and It Felt Like a Kiss)' was inspired by singer Little Eva, who was in an abusive relationship. It contains troubling lyrics trivializing domestic violence like, "If he didn't care for me/I could have never made him mad/But he hit me/And I was glad."
'Dude (Looks Like a Lady)' from 1987 would be considered offensive nowadays, especially with very pertinent subjects such as transgender rights and gender identity being paid far more attention than ever before.
The 1985 song 'Money for Nothing' has now been edited to remove its offensive content, but the original release contained multiple uses of the homophobic "f" word slur.
The name of the 1978 song 'Fat Bottomed Girls' is already highly provocative. What's more, the lyrics describe an obsession that a young boy would have had with his "naughty nanny," which is disturbing to say the least.
The 1964 song 'Kissin' Cousins' contains lyrics that casually refer to intimate relations between family members. It wouldn't be celebrated, or made alongside a film of the same name, today.
Release in 1988, 'One in a Million' is a song with extremely offensive content. The song denigrates immigrants, and refers to black people as the "n" word and gay people as the "f" word.
While music lovers sympathize with Aaliyah for her tragically early death in 2001 and her underage marriage to R. Kelly, hearing her sing 'Age Ain't Nothing But a Number' (1994) is still disturbing, especially when we think of her circumstances.
'Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright)' was released in 1976. Unfortunately, its theme on potentially underage intimate relations leaves an unpleasant taste.
Singing about "turning Japanese" as The Vapors did in this 1980 song would not be viewed as particularly funny today.
As if 2008's 'I Kissed a Girl' wasn't problematic enough for its casual exploitation of bisexuality, Perry's 2007 song 'Ur So Gay' contains these lyrics: "I can't believe I fell in love with someone that wears more makeup... you're so gay and you don't even like boys."
'Indian Outlaw' is a 1994 song that includes a long list of stereotypes in its lyrics. It was actually protested by many Native Americans after its release.
The 1975 song 'Island Girl' contains the lyrics, "island girl, what you wanting with the white man's world... island girl, black boy want you in his island world." Elton John would probably be embarrassed by these lyrics today.
The 2008 song 'Picture to Burn' contains the lyrics, "so go and tell your friends that I'm obsessive and crazy... that's fine, I'll tell mine that you're gay." Using being gay as the ultimate put-down? You can't get away with that today.
Carl Douglas' 1974 hit 'Kung Fu Fighting' is problematic because of lyrics like, "funky Chinamen from funky Chinatown." Not exactly a nuanced appreciation of the culture.
The 1971 song 'Brown Sugar' contains various taboo lyrics, including “old slaver knows he's doing alright, hear him whip the women just around midnight.” Jagger himself told Rolling Stone in 1995, "I never would write that song now."
While the intentions of 1984's 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' were undoubtedly good (i.e. raising money and awareness for charity in Africa), the song is now seen as highly patronizing and culturally insensitive.
'Johnny Get Angry' is a 1962 song in which Sommers is asking her boyfriend to get mad at her, act like a caveman, and "let me know that you're the boss."
'Walk on the Wild Side' is a 1972 song that refers to transgender women. The content of the lyrics, despite protest from Reed's friends, have been perceived as transphobic as recently as 2017.
Another entry for The Rolling Stones, this time for a 1966 song called 'Under My Thumb,' which is all about the subjugation of a young woman. It contains the lyrics, "It's down to me, yes it is, the way she does just what she's told."
Today, we have thankfully evolved to the point where, for most people, deliberately causing offense to minority groups is considered off-limits. In instances where it does happen, people are rightly and swiftly called out on it. But things weren't always this way, and that's certainly true of the world of music.
Take a look through this gallery to see some of the most controversial songs ever released. You won't believe how many of them are the work of our favorite artists.
While the message of racial harmony in the 1982 song 'Ebony and Ivory' came from a place of good intentions, the content of the song may be perceived as rather crude and simplistic these days.
Favorite songs that would never be released today
The most politically incorrect lyrics out there
MUSIC Controversy
Today, we have thankfully evolved to the point where, for most people, deliberately causing offense to minority groups is considered off-limits. In instances where it does happen, people are rightly and swiftly called out on it. But things weren't always this way, and that's certainly true of the world of music.
Take a look through this gallery to see some of the most controversial songs ever released. You won't believe how many of them are the work of our favorite artists.