4 Songs From the 70s That Were Controversial but Later Became Pop Classics

Sometimes, the more controversial the song, the more it stands the test of time. Here are four songs from the 70s that are pop classics now, even though they turned heads when they came out.

“Roxanne” by The Police

“Roxanne” was controversial, but only as a means to drive a larger narrative. The song didn’t make the BBC’s Radio One playlist, so The Police chalked it up to the fact that their song had been banned by the radio company because the song was too provocative. This worked in the group’s favor, as the song drew in young punk audiences who were captivated by the idea of a banned track. To this day, it’s still one of The Police’s biggest hits.

“Imagine” by John Lennon

Even though “Imagine” is a song that asks people to picture a more unified, peaceful world, there were some people who thought the song was communist back in the day. Lennon would admit in Lennon and McCartney: Together Alone that, while certain lyrics align with communist ideals, he himself was not one.

“‘Imagine that there was no more religion, no more country, no more politics,’ is virtually ‘The Communist Manifesto’,” he shared. “Even though I’m not particularly a Communist and I do not belong to any movement.”

“Love To Love You Baby” by Donna Summer

When Donna Summer, who was relatively unknown at the time, pitched this song to disco icon Giorgio Moroder, she had planned that it would go to another artist. The lyrics were explicit, and her moaning throughout the song really sold it as a sensual pop song. When she put it out herself, it was banned by the BBC (shocker). In addition to that, the song even started riots at some of Summer’s shows. However, it also kickstarted the singer’s career and became an iconic piece of music in the rock and disco genres.

“Lola” by The Kinks

“Lola” was written about a man who cross-dressed so that he looked like a woman. The song was actually inspired by someone that frontman Ray Davies met while out one night. This one brought The Kinks back into the spotlight. Davies’ brother, Dave Davies, however, admitted to Nick Hasted that “Lola” wasn’t his favorite. The song, regardless of the success it brought, made him feel uncomfortable.

“In fact, when ‘Lola’ was a hit, it made me feel a bit uncomfortable,” he shared. “Because it was taking us out of a different sort of comfort zone, where we’d been getting into the work, and the writing and the musicality was more thought about. It did have that smell of: ‘Oh blimey, not that again…’”

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