Following the September 11 attacks in 2001, Clear Channel Communications (now iHeartMedia), the largest owner of radio stations in the United States, circulated an internal memorandum containing a list of songs that program directors felt were "lyrically questionable" to play in the aftermath of the attacks.
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." 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." The list was made public by the independent radio industry newsletter Hits Daily Double, which was not affiliated with iHeartMedia. 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. The compiled list was the subject of media attention around the time of its release.
The list names 162 songs as well as "All Rage Against The Machine songs". 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 as Bob Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" and the cover by Guns N' Roses). Slate published what it claimed was a copy of the list. In some cases, only certain covers were included on the list: for example, the cover of "Smooth Criminal" by Alien Ant Farm is on the list while the original Michael Jackson recording is not; conversely, Martha and the Vandellas' original version of "Dancing in the Street" and Van Halen's cover are included, but David Bowie and Mick Jagger's cover is not.
Reasons for inclusions 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 (including Louis 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 played Kool & 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."
List of songs
+ Artist Song titleYear 3 Doors Down "Duck and Run"2001 311 "Down"1996AC/DC "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap"1976 "Hells Bells"1980 "Highway to Hell"1979 "Safe in New York City"2000 "Shoot to Thrill"1980 "Shot Down in Flames"1980 "T.N.T."1976 The Ad Libs "The Boy from New York City"1964 Afro Celt Sound System featuring Peter Gabriel "When You're Falling"2001Alice in Chains "Down in a Hole"1992 "Rooster"1992 "Sea of Sorrow"1990 "Them Bones"1992 Alien Ant Farm "Smooth Criminal"2001 The Animals "We Gotta Get Out of This Place"1965 "What a Wonderful World"1967 The Bangles "Walk Like an Egyptian"The lead 9/11 hijacker, Mohamed Atta, was Egyptian.1986 Barenaked Ladies "Falling for the First Time"2000 "Rescue Me"1965Beastie Boys "Sabotage"1994 "Sure Shot"1994The Beatles "A Day in the Life"1967 "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"1967 "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da"1968 "Ticket to Ride"1965Pat Benatar "Hit Me with Your Best Shot"1980 "Love Is a Battlefield"1983Black Sabbath "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath"1973 "War Pigs"1970 Blood, Sweat & Tears "And When I Die"1969 Blue Öyster Cult "Burnin' for You"1981 Boston "Smokin'"1976 Los Bravos "Black Is Black"1966 "Doctor My Eyes"1972 Bush "Speed Kills"2001 The Chi-Lites "Have You Seen Her"1971 "A Sign of the Times"1966 The Clash "Rock the Casbah"1982 "In the Air Tonight"1981 "Wonderful World"1960 The Crazy World of Arthur Brown "Fire"1968 Creedence Clearwater Revival "Travelin' Band"1970 The Crickets "That'll Be the Day"1957 The Cult "Fire Woman"1989 "Mack the Knife"1959 The Dave Clark Five "Bits and Pieces"1964 "The End of the World"1962 "America"1980 Dio "Holy Diver"1983 The Doors "The End"1967 The Drifters "On Broadway"1963 Drowning Pool "Bodies"2001 "Knockin' on Heaven's Door"1973 Everclear "Santa Monica"1995 "Johnny Angel"1962 Filter "Hey Man Nice Shot"1995 Foo Fighters "Learn to Fly"1999 Fuel "Bad Day"2000 The Gap Band "You Dropped a Bomb on Me"1982 Godsmack "Bad Religion"1998 Green Day "Brain Stew"1995 "Spirit in the Sky"1970 Guns N' Roses "Knockin' on Heaven's Door"1990 The Happenings "See You in September"1966 "Hey Joe"1966 Herman's Hermits "Wonderful World"1965 The Hollies "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother"1969 Jan and Dean "Dead Man's Curve"1963 "Only the Good Die Young"1977 "Bennie and the Jets"1973 "Daniel"1973 "Rocket Man"1972 Judas Priest "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll"1984 Kansas "Dust in the Wind"1977 "I Feel the Earth Move"1971 Korn "Falling Away from Me"1999 "Fly Away"1998 Led Zeppelin "Stairway to Heaven"1971 "Imagine"1971 "Great Balls of Fire"1957 Limp Bizkit"Break Stuff"1999 Local H "Bound for the Floor"1996 Lynyrd Skynyrd "Tuesday's Gone"1973 Johnny Maestro & The Brooklyn Bridge "Worst That Could Happen"1968Martha and the Vandellas "Dancing in the Street"1964 "Nowhere to Run"1965 "Crash into Me"1996 "Live and Let Die"1972 "Eve of Destruction"1965 "American Pie"1971Megadeth "Dread and the Fugitive Mind"2001 "Sweating Bullets"1992 "Crumblin' Down"1983 "Paper in Fire"1987Metallica "Enter Sandman"1991 "Fade to Black"1984 "Harvester of Sorrow"1988 "Seek & Destroy"1983 "Jet Airliner"1977 "Ironic"1995 Mudvayne "Death Blooms"2000 "Travelin' Man"1961 Nena "99 Luftballons"/"99 Red Balloons"1983 Nine Inch Nails "Head Like a Hole"1989 Oingo Boingo "Dead Man's Party"1985 "Suicide Solution"1980 Paper Lace "The Night Chicago Died"1974 "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)"1985Peter and Gordon "I Go to Pieces"1964 "A World Without Love"1964Peter, Paul and Mary "Blowin' in the Wind"1963 "Leaving on a Jet Plane"1969Pennywise "Fuck Authority"2001 "Free Fallin'"1989Pink Floyd "Mother"1979 "Run Like Hell"1979 P.O.D. "Boom"2001 "(You're the) Devil in Disguise"1963 The Pretenders "My City Was Gone"1982Queen "Another One Bites the Dust"1980 "Killer Queen"1974 Rage Against the Machine All songs1992-2000Red Hot Chili Peppers "Aeroplane"1995 "Under the Bridge"1991 R.E.M. "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)"1987 The Rolling Stones "Ruby Tuesday"1967 Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels "Devil with a Blue Dress On"1964 Saliva "Click Click Boom"2001 Santana "Evil Ways"1969 Savage Garden "Crash and Burn"1999 Simon & Garfunkel "Bridge over Troubled Water"1970 "New York, New York"1980Slipknot "Left Behind"2001 "Wait and Bleed"1999 The Smashing Pumpkins "Bullet with Butterfly Wings"1995Soundgarden "Black Hole Sun"1994 "Blow Up the Outside World"1996 "Fell on Black Days"1994 "I'm Goin' Down"1984 "I'm on Fire"1984 "War"1986 "War"1970 Steam "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye"1969 "Morning Has Broken"1972 "Peace Train"1971Stone Temple Pilots "Big Bang Baby"1996 "Dead & Bloated"1992 Sugar Ray "Fly"1997 The Surfaris "Wipe Out"1963 System of a Down "Chop Suey!"2001 Talking Heads "Burning Down the House"1983 "Fire and Rain"1970 Temple of the Dog "Say Hello 2 Heaven"1991 Third Eye Blind "Jumper"1997 The Three Degrees "When Will I See You Again"1973 Tool "Intolerance"1993 The Trammps "Disco Inferno"1976 U2 "Sunday Bloody Sunday"1983Van Halen "Jump"1983 "Dancing in the Street"1982 "Last Kiss"1964 The Youngbloods "Get Together"1967 Zager and Evans "In the Year 2525"1969 The Zombies "She's Not There"1965
See also List of songs about the September 11 attacks List of songs banned by the BBC Music censorship
References
Further reading
External links Clear Channel memorandum playlist on YouTube (up to 202 videos available)