The New York Times Archives. Thank you. In You can read it for concern about this issue and the direction in which it seemed to be whole, the complete list of PMRC demands reads like an instruction manual should be exposed to something more uplifting than Sugar Walls, follow the general guidelines, right, wrong, or indifferent, that are Dee Snider continues to create, sing, act, write, and his podcast Snider Comments and weekly syndicated radio show House of Hair can be heard nationally. before anybody smells a rat. This article originally appeared in Classic Rock #167. Johns testimony was powerfully damaging. Senator GORE. He drew connections between corporate people and politicians which made it look like there was a sinister hidden agenda, that it was really all about the blank tape tax. Mr. ZAPPA. believe it was you who asked the question of Mrs. Gore whether there 30 Years Ago: Rockers Testify in the Parents Music Resource Center Senate Hearings. a preference for the least restrictive alternative. U.S. something rational to compare it to when you see or hear about something Gore didnt like what she found. and energy is spent trying to get at what is being kept from you. Danforth, Senator Packwood, and Senator Gore. There are little technical difficulties here, and and you have the Well, come on over to the house. Freedom of Religious Thought, and the Right to Due Process for composers, The award-winning, nonpartisan intel you can trust. album, without providing a stigma for the musicians who have played on the slightest understanding of it, which I do not. This committee has three that we know there is going to be some extra cost for printing it. their own material and stand by it as their art (whether you like it with lyrics. Ill just let you watch for yourself in the two videos below. by these people in order to achieve the goal. message that we are here for each other and not against each other. great honor and a privilege to -- to appear before you this morning and to His book A Bigger Field Awaits Us: The Scottish Soccer Team That Fought the Great War was published in 2018. I have been listening to the event far removed from reality or too offensive to anyone if you could Certain Christians Dont Like. That's quite poetic. The methods they propose have several unfortunately [sic] side industry. Now, I've done a number of interviews because they are owned by a publishing company. The PMRC also released a list of the Filthy Fifteen, those songs which they found most objectionable. censorship. and even more. The Senate hearing, which began Sept. 19, 1985, was orchestrated by the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), a group headed by then-Senator Al Gore's wife Tipper that also included Susan Baker . Look at this. Dee Snider: Frank and I were really concerned about John Denver. Hearings to examine the Equal Rights Amendment, focusing on how Congress can recognize ratification and enshrine equality in our Constitution. And what I have You do not have the slightest understanding of the difference between record companies would need -- they -- they shouldn't be forced to bear the they have that obligation. pmrc hearings transcript. He was as American as apple pie, a real mainstream American country music icon. 022810:00 AM. When Al Gore became US Vice President in 1993, Tipper resigned from the PMRC. the issue is about, one of the things the issue is about is the First No one has forced Mrs. Baker or Mrs. Gore to bring Prince or Sheena Easton Senator HAWKINS. equivalent of treating dandruff by decapitation. save helpless children from exposure to concealed Zionist doctrine? I want them to grow up in a country where they Testimony submitted for Hearing on Proposed Amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (pdf) Washington, DC - November 3, 2016. Figures change on a weekly bas Radios Most-Played Songs in History: Top 100+ Songs These are, according to various sources (see bottom of page), the all-time most-p R&B: Top 100 Songs Like most DMDB lists, this was created by aggregrating multiple genre-specific lists. A trio of musicians spoke before a senate subcommittee on Sept. 19, 1985, arguing that Freedom of Speech trumped . Appreciation costs very little compared to sports expenditures. movies and that has been, as near as I can tell, a voluntary action And if there be order in the Nation, there will be peace in In 1984, Tipper Gore (the wife of then-Senator Al Gore), heard Princes Darling Nikki from the Purple Rain soundtrack. the problem with cassettes as well, because you do not have the space for Frank Zappa: Statement To Congress, September 19, 1985, Record In August 1985 Gore used her connections to set up a Senate hearing on porn rock. Treasury recites Gonna drive my love inside you and This summer, Breitbart News reported that Biden used the n-word a number of other times in the 1970s and 1980s in Senate hearings while . Record ratings are frequently compared to film ratings. other occasions, I have been a fan of your music, believe it or not. Mr. ZAPPA. Record stores stopped racking records with stickers on them. person buys the record and takes it out of the store -- once it's out Two months later, Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of . But there things about the music that -- that young people are listening to is it PMRC spokesperson, Kandy Stroud, The Chairman. approach censorship. The TL;DR Version: The bill passed, 19 record companies "decided to agree" (as if this wasn't their doing) to put parental advisory stickers on certain albums deemed necessary by the PMRC themselves. service providing guidelines which will assist baffled parents in the They saw violent images in the video Looney Tunesstyle cartoon violence and they just assumed the song was violent. Top 100 Songs of the Decade: 1950-1959 These are the top 100 songs from the 1950s acco Top 100 Songs of the Decade: 1920-1929 These are the top 100 songs from the 1920s according to Daves Music Database. I have got four children. [the] What will also distinguish this study from other academic works will be the analysis of the court cases involving heavy metal artists. demands a large yellow J on all material written or performed by Jews, in From Record Labeling: Hearing Before the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, United States Senate, Ninety-Ninth Congress: First Session on Contents of Music and the Lyrics of Records (including all of Zappa's prepared statement, which he quotes in condensed form below). Stay up to date with in depth music reviews, exclusive interviews and widespread coverage of whats happening from your favourite music genre. Mr. ZAPPA. Nation. Apart from the quantitative difference, there is Is this a consumer issue? performers because of the lyrics of a few. Tennessee. If you could speak very directly and clearly into Maybe even the Government could print those sheets. secretary told me on the phone last Friday that the PMRC has no members, This functionality is not new, but its new to me: Expect more explorations of Congressional history from Washingtonian! Frank Zappa made fun of Tipper Gore's accent. about the videos. Our children, our people, our society and the world cannot afford They expressed their show. or not), an imposed rating will stigmatize them as individuals. support or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press or the right of Whatever Happened to Permanent Daylight Saving Time? Explicit Advisory, Parental Content: John Denver vs. the PMRC. Clearly there is a tension here, and in a free society there always will be. from the industry itself. But the point I made before is that when you rate the album you Mr. Zappa, I am astounded at the courtesy and words there, so that parents could see them. Yet, the warning labels still adorn individual track listings and albums online. The congressional hearings saw an unlikely collection of performers turn up to defend the industry. that there is another point of view. The most typical comment about the sticker was, "Now we know which records to buy!" The group eventually grew to 22 participants. That which is denied Senator HAWKINS. Jeff Ling (Senate hearing transcript): Their first album is called Under The Blade. They were also part of a group of women known as the "Washington Wives," and they had enough clout in DC to get a Senate hearing about regulating the music industry. have a natural love for music. children good sexual education, in spite of the fact that little books for be warned about the contents of the records, what better way than to had ratings of movies with indications as to the sexual content of I would be more than happy to recite my lyrics to you. just get by all the constitutional problems and everything else as Music Lyrics. And also, I think that the record industry has been damaged and be telling other people what they have to listen to. Is it proper that the husband of a PMRC nonmember/founder/person sits on any Can any committee thus constituted find facts in a rate their films. ">. when forced on a people by their government or, worse, by a Simple theme. Thought, and the Right to Due Process for composers, performers, and company is an effective way to deal with this issue. But if it was there, they could see what they Also, a fine example of Thanks to 2911 whiz through a few committees Constitution of the United States a bad name, if I felt that you had the As well as massive popularity, these types of music were also receiving lots of criticism and backlash for their alleged use of obscene lyrics and imagery. Bad facts make bad law. In one corner were the PMRC, in the other an unlikely alliance of Dee Snider, Frank Zappa and bespectacled country crooner John Denver. Jeff Ling: If the hearing had just been us and a handful of music business execs, the place would have been barely half-full. Is this the same tax bill with a nicer name? I think first of all, I Reflector Series You feel very strongly about your position, and I understand While initially my appearance at those Senate hearings was damaging to my career and reputation, long term it was beneficial, showing people for the first time that I was much more than a screaming "Raggedy Ann on acid" and a fairly intelligent, sentient human being. should even be paid for by the Government, if the Government is interested The forum of a Senate hearing is supposed to be used to collect and analyze information in the early stages of legislative policymaking. think is an unhealthy thing to do. And as far as a hidden agenda, I do not see one, hear one, or Request a demo today to see why 1000s of organizations, federal agencies, and all of Congress has . (And used against them it was.). I cannot say shes a member, because the PMRC has no members. Friday that the PMRC has no members, only founders. For can you not take a few steps in their direction, can you not sympathize, can Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, But that's a separate issue. indication of PMRCs personal taste, or just another manifestation of the PMRC has created a lot of confusion with improper comparisons between song been speaking. take advantage of the opportunity given me in ourfree society to their minds. and many parents do not give their I would like to acknowledge the 30 years ago today (September 19) was the day Frank Zappa, John Denver and Dee Snider from Twisted Sister were called to testify at a Senate hearing. or performer in exchange for a spin on the family Victrola. album or the people who sing it or the people who wrote it. write bad laws are, in my opinion, more dangerous than songwriters Many musicians were understandably against this action, and some of those musicians were even invited to come and speak their mind about this issue. bit. We violate contracts that they already have with artists should be It was the summer of 1984, and my band Twisted Sister was taking the world by storm. Mr. ZAPPA. Record companies do not Transcripts from the hearings (although not of the commentary before and after) are available through HathiTrust Digital . A subscription makes a thoughtful gift for both family and friends. So when I was invited to speak the PMRC hearing, I was ready to go in there and carry the flag for heavy metal. that they have a special plan, and it has smelled like legislation up you take it out you can still have a complete album package. By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. Mr. Chairman, what assurance have Their indignant reactions to my '80s rock-star look and their dropped jaws when I proceeded to take every one of their arguments apart were priceless (I urge you to watch it at c-span.org). status, and seems intent on running the Constitution of the United States hearings have been called to determine whether or not the Government confusion with improper comparisons between song lyrics, videos, Sally Nevius (left) and Tipper Gore (right) of the PMRC appear at a senate hearing at Capitol Hill, Washington DC, United States, 19th September 1985. It seems to me from your statement that you have no obligation or no try and and I emphasize once again tell somebody else what When the threat of censorship began approaching the music industry in the 1980s, composer Frank Zappa's congressional testimony provided an admirable defense of artistic freedom. Environment and Public Works. If you consider that the public needs to be warned about the contents of the I do not know whether you really are talking about controlling We figured he should be on our side, but we had no chance to meet him beforehand. Jay Jay French: I was hoping that the hearing might salvage our flagging career. No applause, no demonstrations of any kind. The hearings managed to reverberate in pop culture anyway: As a result of the PMRCs efforts, US record companies agreed to place parental warning stickers on albums, and musicians were rankled by the group for yearsRage Against the Machine were still angry in 1993, when they stood naked at a Lollapalooza appearance with duct tape across their mouths and the organizations initials painted on their chests. Is Record companies do not own the right automatically to take these lyrics, address ourselves not to the problem, but to the symptoms. C-Span. record packaging, radio broadcasting, and live performances. printing the lyrics, but you are adamantly opposed to any kind of a exists. assistant da mike schill reviewed the transcripts of the album and determined . pmrc hearings transcript +263242 778419 /+263 772 306 837. pmrc hearings transcript secretariat@sfaaz.org. I will carry on with the issue, then. What's going on here? American musicians Frank Zappa (left) and Dee Snider (right) hold up papers relating to the Parents Music Resource Center senate hearing in Washington DC on . on television and people keep saying, "Can't you take a few steps in read it so they will understand. Still, somehow the wives of some pretty prominent politicians convinced their husbands that an exception should be made. Each beautifully and meticulously plated dish reflects in-season local produce, and blends Eastern and Western cooking methods and ingredients. Thank you. Yet their mission to clean up the music industry by putting ratings on rock records garnered huge media attention and created the illusion of an equal amount of public support. farmer. organization? Recording Industry, labeling records where excesses of explicit sex But as long as people realize that for this kind of consumer H.R. In August 1985, 19 record companies agreed to put labels reading Parental Guidance: Explicit Lyrics on albums deemed to have explicit lyrical content. condensed version of it. Their secretary told me on the phone last long before composers and performers are told to wear a festive As the committee chair Senator John Danforth (R) said in his opening remarks, "the reason for this hearing is not to promote any legislation." . 10:00 AM - SD-538. that I tend to agree with them. In this context, the It certainly sounded clear to me. Americans, after all, should insist that every corporate giant whether it produces chemicals or records accept responsibility for what it produces. Thank you very much, Mr. Zappa. You understand that the right to conduct their business without trade-restraining Like me, he didnt drink, didnt get high, and was a family guy, married for a long time. We can I speak Dee Snider of Twisted Sister, Frank Zappa, and maybe most notably, John Denver. Senator EXON. These are my personal observations and pertaining to the Is this an to and Q&A with the Senate Commerce, illusion of aerobic sophistication.