The Time Rock & Roll Saved Free Speech

Remember this? In the 1980s, a group of well-connected “Washington Wives” attacked artists like Prince, AC/DC, Madonna, and Def Leppard for their “corrupting” content. They demanded that the record companies start putting parental advisory warnings on music. But things didn’t pan out as they might have hoped… The enemies of free speech may sometimes win the upperhand, but censorship cannot survive for long.

The Washington Wives took on the music industry. And maybe, when you compare the filth we have now, you can see that the slippery slope was a concern. Regulating speech? It’s always a mistake. Using your husband’s power to manipulate an sideline issue? Reprehensible.

And it didn’t work out as they hoped!

Check out John Denver! There’s a surprise.