The ’70s were half a century ago, and that fact is especially apparent when you look back at the media of the time. Watch a movie or TV show from that decade or listen to a song, and you won’t just notice outdated fashion, interiors, and slang, but you’ll also come across plots, characters, and words that are offensive, especially by the standards of 2023. When it comes to music in particular, there are plenty of songs from the ’70s that are offensive to listeners now.
The list below is comprised of seven songs from the ’70s that wouldn’t fly today, either because of racist or misogynistic lyrics or because they’re about unacceptable or illegal activities, such as sex with underage girls or drinking and driving. Read on to find out more about these politically incorrect songs by artists like Elton John and the Rolling Stones. (Note that there’s questionable content in the clips below—obviously!)
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Without listening too closely, one might think that “Brown Sugar” is simply about a white man objectifying Black women—which is bad enough on its own. But the song does so by telling a story about slavery, including Black women being beaten and raped by slave owners. The opening lines are: “Gold Coast slave ship bound for cotton fields/Sold in a market down in New Orleans/Scarred old slaver, know he’s doing alright/Hear him whip the women just around midnight.”
Rolling Stones frontman and co-writer of the song Mick Jagger has said that he wouldn’t write “Brown Sugar” today.
“God knows what I’m on about in that song. It’s such a mishmash. All the nasty subjects in one go,” he told Rolling Stone in 1995 (via Far Out Magazine). “I never would write that song now.” He added, “I would probably censor myself. I’d think, ‘Oh God, I can’t. I’ve got to stop. I can’t just write raw like that.'”
In 2022, The…
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