The 164 songs that were banned from American radio after 9/11

For many Americans, the September 11 attacks are the most important cultural turning point in history. The tragedy – in which radical Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda flew passenger planes into both of the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon – was the deadliest terrorist attack in world history, and sparked both rampant patriotism throughout the U.S. and jingoistic anti-Muslim sentiment across much of the world. It also had a dramatic effect on the arts, inspiring many musicians and artists to confront darker themes that fans were suddenly dealing with, whether they liked it or not.

Right after the attacks, though, many media companies began censoring art deemed insensitive or anti-American, for fear of offending or upsetting the traumatized nation. One such entity was media corporation Clear Channel Communications (now iHeartMedia), who, three days after the attack, sent a memo to its 1,100+ radio stations with a list of songs that they deemed “lyrically questionable” and insensitive to play following the 9/11 attacks.

The reasons for Clear Channel putting some of these songs on their memorandum are pretty obvious — the entire Rage Against The Machine catalog, for example, was most likely banned because their music was overly critical of America. However, some of the motives behind certain songs’ inclusion now seem ridiculous. The Bangles’ Walk Like An Egyptian, for example, was added for having references to the Middle East. It should be noted, too, that some DJs chose to play these songs, but that they were adamantly urged not to do so.

Here are all of the songs Clear Channel wanted skipped over.

1. 3 Doors Down – Duck and Run
2. 311 – Down
3. AC/DC – Shot Down in Flames
4. AC/DC – Shoot to Thrill
5. AC/DC – Dirty Deeds
6. AC/DC – Highway to Hell
7. AC/DC – Safe in New York City
8. AC/DC – TNT
9. AC/DC – Hell’s Bells
10. Ad Libs – The Boy from New York City
11. Alanis Morissette – Ironic
12. Alice in Chains – Rooster
13. Alice in Chains – Sea of Sorrow
14. Alice in Chains – Down in a Hole
15. Alice in Chains – Them Bones
16. Alien Ant Farm – Smooth Criminal
17. Animals – We Gotta Get Out of This Place
18. Arthur Brown – Fire
19. Bangles – Walk Like an Egyptian
20. Barenaked Ladies – Falling for the First Time
21. Barry McGuire – Eve of Destruction
22. Beastie Boys – Sure Shot
23. Beastie Boys – Sabotage
24. The Beatles – A Day in the Life
25. The Beatles – Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
26. The Beatles – Ticket To Ride
27. The Beatles – Obla Di, Obla Da
28. Billy Joel – Only the Good Die Young
29. Black Sabbath – War Pigs
30. Black Sabbath – Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
31. Blood Sweat and Tears – And When I Die
32. Blue Oyster Cult – Burnin’ For You
33. Bob Dylan / Guns N’ Roses – Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
34. Bobby Darin – Mack the Knife
35. Boston – Smokin’
36. Brooklyn Bridge – Worst That Could Happen
37. Bruce Springsteen – I’m On Fire
38. Bruce Springsteen – Goin’ Down
39. Bruce Springstein – War
40. Buddy Holly and the Crickets – That’ll Be the Day
41. Bush – Speed Kills
42. Carole King – I Feel the Earth Move
43. Cat Stevens – Peace Train
44. Cat Stevens – Morning Has Broken
45. Chi-Lites – Have You Seen Her
46. The Clash – Rock the Casbah
47. Creedence Clearwater Revival – Travelin’ Band
48. The Cult – Fire Woman
49. Dave Clark Five – Bits and Pieces
50. Dave Matthews Band – Crash Into Me
51. Dio – Holy Diver
52. Don McLean – American Pie
53. The Doors – The End
54. Drifters – On Broadway
55. Drowning Pool – Bodies
56. Edwin Starr – War
57. Elton John – Benny & The Jets
58. Elton John – Daniel
59. Elton John – Rocket Man
60. Elvis – (You’re the) Devil in Disguise
61. Everclear – Santa Monica
62. Filter – Hey Man, Nice Shot
63. Fontella Bass – Rescue Me
64. Foo Fighters – Learn to Fly
65. Jimi Hendrix – Hey Joe
66. Frank Sinatra – New York, New York
67. Fuel – Bad Day
68. The Gap Band – You Dropped a Bomb On Me
69. Godsmack – Bad Religion
70. Green Day – Brain Stew
71. Happenings – See You in September
72. Herman’s Hermits – Wonderful World
73. Hollies – He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother
74. J. Frank Wilson – Last Kiss
75. Jackson Brown – Doctor My Eyes
76. James Taylor – Fire and Rain
77. Jan and Dean – Dead Man’s Curve
78. Jerry Lee Lewis – Great Balls of Fire
79. Jimi Hendrix – Hey Joe
80. John Lennon – Imagine
81. John Mellencamp – Crumbling Down
82. John Mellencamp – I’m On Fire
83. John Parr – St. Elmo’s Fire
84. Judas Priest – Some Heads Are Gonna Roll
85. Kansas – Dust in the Wind
86. Korn – Falling Away From Me
87. Led Zeppelin – Stairway to Heaven
88. Lenny Kravitz – Fly Away
89. Limp Bizkit – Break Stuff
90. Local H – Bound for the Floor
91. Los Bravos – Black is Black
92. Louis Armstrong – What A Wonderful World
93. Lynyrd Skynyrd – Tuesday’s Gone
94. Martha & the Vandellas – Nowhere to Run
95. Martha & the Vandellas – Dancing in the Streets
96. Megadeth – Dread and the Fugitive
97. Megadeth – Sweating Bullets
98. Metallica – Seek and Destroy
99. Metallica – Harvester or Sorrow
100. Metallica – Enter Sandman
101. Metallica – Fade to Black
102. Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels – Devil with the Blue Dress
103. Mudvayne – Death Blooms
104. Neil Diamond – America
105. Nina – 99 Luft Balloons/99 Red Balloons
106. Nine Inch Nails – Head Like a Hole
107. Norman Greenbaum – Spirit in the Sky
108. Oingo Boingo – Dead Man’s Party
109. Ozzy Osbourne – Suicide Solution
110. Paper Lace – The Night Chicago Died
111. Pat Benatar – Hit Me with Your Best Shot
112. Pat Benatar – Love is a Battlefield
113. Paul McCartney and Wings – Live and Let Die
114. Peter Gabriel – When You’re Falling
115. Peter and Gordon – I Go To Pieces
116. Peter and Gordon – A World Without Love
117. Peter Paul and Mary – Blowin’ in the Wind
118. Peter Paul and Mary – Leavin’ on a Jet Plane
119. Petula Clark – A Sign of the Times
120. Phil Collins – In the Air Tonight
121. Pink Floyd – Run Like Hell
122. Pink Floyd – Mother
123. P.O.D. – Boom
124. Pretenders – My City Was Gone
125. Queen – Another One Bites the Dust
126. Queen – Killer Queen
127. All Rage Against The Machine songs
128. Red Hot Chili Peppers – Aeroplane
129. Red Hot Chili Peppers – Under the Bridge
130. R.E.M. – It’s the End of the World as We Know It
131. Rickey Nelson – Travelin’ Man
132. Rolling Stones – Ruby Tuesday
133. Saliva – Click Click Boom
134. Sam Cooke – Wonderful World
135. Santana – Evil Ways
136. Savage Garden – Crash and Burn
137. Shelly Fabares – Johnny Angel
138. Simon And Garfunkel – Bridge Over Troubled Water
139. Skeeter Davis – End of the World
140. Slipknot – Left Behind
141. Slipknot – Wait and Bleed
142. Smashing Pumpkins – Bullet With Butterfly Wings
143. Soundgarden – Blow Up the Outside World
144. Soundgarden – Fell on Black Days
145. Soundgarden – Black Hole Sun
146. Steam – Na Na Na Na Hey Hey
147. Steve Miller – Jet Airliner
148. Stone Temple Pilots – Big Bang Baby
149. Stone Temple Pilots – Dead and Bloated
150. Sugar Ray – Fly
151. Surfaris – Wipeou
152. System Of A Down – Chop Suey!
153. Talking Heads – Burning Down the House
154. Temple of the Dog – Say Hello to Heaven
155. Third Eye Blind – Jumper
156. Three Degrees – When Will I See You Again
157. Tom Petty – Free Fallin’
158. Tool – Intolerance
159. Tramps – Disco Inferno
160. U2 – Sunday Bloody Sunday
161. Van Halen – Dancing In The Street
162. Van Halen – Jump
163. Yager and Evans – In the Year 2525
164. Youngbloods – Get Together
165. Zombies – She’s Not There

Everyone at Kerrang! sends their heart out to all those who were affected by the September 11 attacks.