The Who’s 1966 hit “Substitute” contains the line “I look all white, but my dad was black.” This was apparently just fine in the UK and Europe, but for US, Canadian, and (unsurprisingly) South African release the line had to be changed to the rather silly “I try going forward but my feet walk back”. Luckily the original version of the song is the one included on most later compilations. The censored singles are today something of a collector’s item.
1990 - 2 Live Crew’s Nasty as they Wanna Be was deemed legally obscene in Miami. Surprised nobody’s mentioned this yet as it was a big deal on the news at the time.
A good listing of censorship incidents.
Runnin’ Around This World was removed from the Jefferson Airplane’s first album in 1966 because it said “high”
In 1967 *A Day in the Life by The Beatles was banned by the BBC for promoting drugs. So was I am the Walrus.
We’re Only in it for the Money by Frank Zappa had several songs censored for saying “fuck” and “don’t come in me”. That was 1968.
Most of the songs from Sometime in New York bu John and Yoko were banned from most radio stations.
Roger Waters (formerly of Pink Floyd) released a solo album called “The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking.” It featured on the cover of the album the back view of a nude woman wearing a backpack. The album was to be reissued with a black bar across the woman’s backside since there was an outcry over the nudity. I had the original, but heck if I know where it is now.
More censored cover art:
The Tool album Undertow contained cover art that was thought to be offensive by some retailers and the band responed by making a version of the album with a giant bar code and this amusing note on the inside. You can see the “offensive” artwork here at the top of the page.
And, let us not forget the Nirvana album In Utero being refused by certain large retailers because of the song “Rape Me” which the band subsequently changed to the ever-popular “Waif Me.”
Novus
When The Jesus and Mary Chain were first breaking back in 85-86, American TV shows wouldn’t let them play unless they were called something else (“The J&M Chain”, “The Mary Chain”) which they wouldn’t do. FOX’s brief foray into late-night programming, The Wilton North Report, actually ‘dared’ to let them play on the show with their actual band name. (The irony here being that the band utterly sucks live.)
Wasn’t just Thurmond, it was the big wigs in the government.
They feared he would cause another Chicago at teh 72 convention.
There have been a few Scorpions albums that have been changed. Virgin Killer was one in the late 70s, it showed a naked little girl with what looked like broken glass over the naughty parts, now it’s just a woman on a guitar. Lovedrive had a guy and girl in a car and the guy is pulling on the woman’s breast and it looks like gum. It was changed in the states to a black cover with just the name of the album.
Golden Earring’s 73 album Moontan had a nude woman on the front but in the US that was changed to an ear with an earring.
Last but not least we must remember Spinal Tap’s Smell the glove! 
It was because it scans well - this page quotes him as saying he thought it “sounded better or something”. Nobody made him change it
“Kodachrome” by Paul Simon. On AM radio, the line “The crap I knew in high school” was either bleeped out or replaced by “The girls I knew” from the second verse.
One that has nothing to do with obscenity: When Pink Floyd’s “Ummagumma” was released in America, the cover was censored. The British cover showed a picture of the record album “Gigi,” but evidently they couldn’t get permission to use it in the states, so Gigi was airbrushed out, leaving a blank white square. On the CD version, Gigi is back.
Hmmm…interesting MrDibble. This site says that it was changed “so as not to offend any racial sensibilities”.
Guess I would take Van’s word over a third party source though.
“Brown Eyed” had been used as a euphemism for “Brown Skinned” before “Brown Eyed Girl”-- in Chuck Berry’s “Brown Eyed Handsome Man” from 1956.
I think the Byrds’ “Eight Miles High” was banned back in the '60’s for obvious reasons. I’ve also heard that “Louie Louie” was banned by some radio stations.
Jomo: I could be wrong, but I thought Morrison was busted in Miami for simulating oral sex on another band member or having another band member simulate blowing him off (ala Prince in “Purple Rain.”).
Nonsense. What is or is not interpreted as sexual is heavily influenced by culture, and one culture’s connotations are as good as another’s. Neither can be dismissed as a “hangup”. You seem to be suggesting that we should ignore the connotations of an act in the culture of the intended audience, in favor of those in some other culture. No rhyme or reason in that.
(In addition, even if you were right, this would not support your first post, which seemed to imply that the objection was to the very fact of its being “like a Negro”.)
Jim Morrison’s being arrested in 1969 for exposing himself onstage in Miami.
GG Allen, though you have to ask about the limits of censorship. When does the burden shift to the performer and when does censorship become public indecency?
Vague recall of outcry about the cover pic from Goo Goo Dolls ‘Boy Named Goo’. The little fellow has been playing in pie or some dark colored fruit compote, and there were people who thought this promoted or glorified child abuse. Obviously from people who never had little kids in the kitchen around sticky fruit sweets.
Queen fan here. I don’t recall the poster from ‘Jazz’ being pulled. I certainly picked it up with no trouble.
The person ‘Death on Two Legs’ is about is the owner of Trident Studios. When Queen first started the studio signed them and then sold the rights to their work to Elektra. So the band produced LPs like ‘Sheer Heart Attack’ and Trident got most of the royalties. By the time ‘A Night at the Opera’ came out the relationship had deteriorated. Heh.
I’m a Queen geek, aren’t I?
Here’s some:
Chuck Berry having to change ‘colored’ to ‘country’ when referring to Johnny B Goode. Screw it. We all knew it was Chuck.
Roger Waters ‘Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking’ LP had a rear view shot of a naked girl on the cover. After it came out the label started putting stickers over her butt on the shrink wrap.
As far as the Blind Faith album, I thought I saw it in the music store with a sticker over the picture.
And what about the topless law in Ontario? Would that not come into play in that neck of the woods?