Following theSeptember 11 attacks in 2001, Clear Channel Communications (nowiHeartMedia), the largest owner ofradio stations in the United States, circulated an internal memorandum containing a list of songs[1] that program directors felt were "lyrically questionable" to play in theaftermath of the attacks.[2]
During the time immediately after the attacks, many television and radio stations altered normal programming in response to the events, and the rumor spread that Clear Channel and its subsidiaries had established a list of songs with lyrics Clear Channel deemed "questionable."[3] The list was not an explicit demand not to play the songs listed, but rather a suggestion that they "might not want to play these songs."[citation needed] The list was made public by the independent radio industry newsletterHits Daily Double, which was not affiliated with iHeartMedia.[4]Snopes.com did research on the subject and concluded that the list did exist as a suggestion for radio stations, but noted that it was not an outright ban on the songs in question.[5] The compiled list was the subject of media attention around the time of its release.[5]
The list names 162 songs as well as "AllRage Against The Machine songs".[6][5] Rage Against the Machine is the only instance on the list of an artist's entire catalog being recommended against. A few of the songs name multiple bands' versions (such asBob Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" and the cover byGuns N' Roses).[6] In some cases, only certain covers were included on the list: for example, the cover of "Smooth Criminal" byAlien Ant Farm is on the list while the originalMichael Jackson recording is not; conversely,Martha and the Vandellas' original version of "Dancing in the Street" andVan Halen's cover are included, butDavid Bowie andMick Jagger's cover is not.
The Clear Channel memorandum contains songs that, in their titles or lyrics, address topics that relate to the September 11 attacks, such as airplanes, collisions, death, violence, explosions, the month of September, Tuesday (the day of the week the attacks occurred) and New York City, as well as general concepts that could be connected to aspects of the attacks, such as conflict, the Middle East, the sky falling, and weapons. Also included under the ban were several happy and celebratory songs (includingLouis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World"), as Clear Channel believed playing joyful music in the aftermath of the attacks was inappropriate.
WASH, a Clear Channel-owned station in Washington, D.C., reportedly playedKool & the Gang's "Celebration" while the memorandum was being circulated, "which brought a polite if reproachful call from one listener, who was assured by the station the song's broadcast was a mistake."[5]
{{cite web}}:|archive-url= is malformed: timestamp (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link){{cite web}}:|archive-url= is malformed: timestamp (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) Slate published what it claimed was a copy of the list.