10 Amazing Rock Songs That Got Banned

10. Street Fighting Man - The Rolling Stones

Throughout most of their career, the Rolling Stones were never considered the most wholesome rock outfit for anyone to get into. The Beatles may have kickstarted everything the British Invasion had to offer, but the thought of any of those teenage girls bringing home someone like Keith Richards to their house would have been a nightmare waiting to happen. So when they actually started advocating violence, you better believe that the higher ups had something to say about it.

Then again, Street Fighting Man is not really supposed to be about chaos in the streets, with Mick Jagger talking about the madness going on outside and choosing to sing for a rock and roll band instead. The Stones always had that kind of menace in their sound from day one, but the reason they got banned for this song had to do more with the context of its release than the song itself.

Around the time that the Stones were making Beggars Banquet, the States had already gone through their fair share of protests, which more often than not turned violent. Just when the song was about to be released, cities like Detroit had forbidden it from being played, thinking that it would spark a riot the second that it was blasted in the streets. The Stones were going to get their point across one way or the other though, and Detroit already had the likes of the MC5 and the Stooges who were more than willing to spread the gospel of rock and roll.