Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Rock has always had a rebellious streak… that’s why we love it, right? Well, coming up, I’m counting down 6 songs that stirred up controversy and pissed off all the wrong people. These are tracks that got banned, blacklisted, and canceled by gatekeepers and tastemakers. We’re back at it again with another edition of Taboo Songs! And one of these tracks by George Michael was one of the most talked-about S-E-X—related singles of the 80s… especially after MTV refused to play its video without a disclaimer. But for all the uproar, the song was actually promoting monogamy and committed relationships! Then there’s the comeback hit from the squeaky clean, former teen heartthrob Donny Osmond… and it was banned for having a title that might hurt the feelings of armed forces families. Trust me, there’s no way it could, and it makes no sense. And there’s also the Foreigner album that people were throwing into bonfires because its cover showed a girl in a men’s restroom. I mean, you can’t make this stuff up. Let’s get into it.
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Executive Producer
Brandon Fugal
Honorary Producers
Holly Hammet, Remnarc, Kevin riley, Paul Moore II, CharleyAnne
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Subscribe to the Professor of Rock Podcast
Apple: apple.co/445fVov
Spotify: spoti.fi/42JpfvU
Amazon: amzn.to/44b5D6m
iHeartRadio: bit.ly/444h8MO
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Patreon: bit.ly/ProfessorofRockVIPFan
Merch Store: professor-of-rock-lsn-shop.fourthwall.com
Instagram: bit.ly/Instagram_Professor_of_Rock
#classicrock #80smusic #vinylstory #80srock #onehitwonder
Hey music Junkies…Professor of rock always here to celebrate the greatest artists and the greatest songs of all time! I want to keep this channel going so if you’ll like, share and comment on this and make sure your subsribed….alright let’s get into our countdown: Up first on this latest Taboo Songs countdown, it’s Foreigner and Head Games at #6. By the late 1970s, Foreigner was on the rise. After forming in 1976, the band released their self-titled debut on Atlantic Records in 1977. And it blew up big time… selling more than 4 million copies in the US on the back of two Top 10 singles: "Cold as Ice" and "Feels Like the First Time.” /Foreigner’s next album Double Vision came out in 1978. It was another Top 5 LP powered by two more Top 5 singles: ”Hot Blooded" and the title track.
But then came Head Games, and here things started to get complicated for the band. The title track was written by the band's core songwriting duo of Lou Gramm and Mick Jones. And it had all the hallmarks of classic Foreigner… a massive hook, a powerhouse vocal from Gramm, and a groove that was built to rule rock radio. And it got there, becoming a solid hit at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100. However, nobody was really talking about the song. At least not like they were talking about the Head Games album cover. The artwork depicted a young girl inside a men's bathroom, presumably erasing her phone number from off the side of a toilet stall. The girl on the cover is American model and actress Lisanne Falk, who would later have roles in movies like Heathers and Say Anything. The whole concept was supposed to be cheeky and cartoonish… a visual pun on the word "head," slang for a restroom. Said Lou, “The girl is being naughty, erasing graffiti. She's looking at whoever buys the album, she's been caught.”
However, the conceptual pun landed very differently with many in the public. Parent groups and retailers took one look at the picture and saw a young girl in a men’s room under duress. The imagery struck some as predatory and the backlash came in hot. Stores across the United States refused to stock the album. Radio stations pulled its songs off the air. Lou would say, “In my local paper in Rochester, there was a huge picture on the front cover showing a big bonfire, and people throwing their Foreigner albums in it. They were saying our visual presentation of the cover was hideous, and suggestive, particularly to younger teens. A lot of big radio stations banned us. We had no airplay.” It’s amazing the song did as well as it did. The controversy became so overwhelming that it threatened to bury the band entirely. Lou in particular later admitted the heat got so intense that he seriously considered quitting Foreigner. I guess perception is reality for people even if it isn’t the truth.
Rock has always had a rebellious streak… that’s why we love it, right? Well, coming up, I’m counting down 6 songs that stirred up controversy and pissed off all the wrong people. These are tracks that got banned, blacklisted, and canceled by gatekeepers and tastemakers. We’re back at it again with another edition of Taboo Songs! And one of these tracks by George Michael was one of the most talked-about S-E-X—related singles of the 80s… especially after MTV refused to play its video without a disclaimer. But for all the uproar, the song was actually promoting monogamy and committed relationships! Then there’s the comeback hit from the squeaky clean, former teen heartthrob Donny Osmond… and it was banned for having a title that might hurt the feelings of armed forces families. Trust me, there’s no way it could, and it makes no sense. And there’s also the Foreigner album that people were throwing into bonfires because its cover showed a girl in a men’s restroom. I mean, you can’t make this stuff up. Let’s get into it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Executive Producer
Brandon Fugal
Honorary Producers
Holly Hammet, Remnarc, Kevin riley, Paul Moore II, CharleyAnne
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subscribe to the Professor of Rock Podcast
Apple: apple.co/445fVov
Spotify: spoti.fi/42JpfvU
Amazon: amzn.to/44b5D6m
iHeartRadio: bit.ly/444h8MO
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Patreon: bit.ly/ProfessorofRockVIPFan
Merch Store: professor-of-rock-lsn-shop.fourthwall.com
Instagram: bit.ly/Instagram_Professor_of_Rock
#classicrock #80smusic #vinylstory #80srock #onehitwonder
Hey music Junkies…Professor of rock always here to celebrate the greatest artists and the greatest songs of all time! I want to keep this channel going so if you’ll like, share and comment on this and make sure your subsribed….alright let’s get into our countdown: Up first on this latest Taboo Songs countdown, it’s Foreigner and Head Games at #6. By the late 1970s, Foreigner was on the rise. After forming in 1976, the band released their self-titled debut on Atlantic Records in 1977. And it blew up big time… selling more than 4 million copies in the US on the back of two Top 10 singles: "Cold as Ice" and "Feels Like the First Time.” /Foreigner’s next album Double Vision came out in 1978. It was another Top 5 LP powered by two more Top 5 singles: ”Hot Blooded" and the title track.
But then came Head Games, and here things started to get complicated for the band. The title track was written by the band's core songwriting duo of Lou Gramm and Mick Jones. And it had all the hallmarks of classic Foreigner… a massive hook, a powerhouse vocal from Gramm, and a groove that was built to rule rock radio. And it got there, becoming a solid hit at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100. However, nobody was really talking about the song. At least not like they were talking about the Head Games album cover. The artwork depicted a young girl inside a men's bathroom, presumably erasing her phone number from off the side of a toilet stall. The girl on the cover is American model and actress Lisanne Falk, who would later have roles in movies like Heathers and Say Anything. The whole concept was supposed to be cheeky and cartoonish… a visual pun on the word "head," slang for a restroom. Said Lou, “The girl is being naughty, erasing graffiti. She's looking at whoever buys the album, she's been caught.”
However, the conceptual pun landed very differently with many in the public. Parent groups and retailers took one look at the picture and saw a young girl in a men’s room under duress. The imagery struck some as predatory and the backlash came in hot. Stores across the United States refused to stock the album. Radio stations pulled its songs off the air. Lou would say, “In my local paper in Rochester, there was a huge picture on the front cover showing a big bonfire, and people throwing their Foreigner albums in it. They were saying our visual presentation of the cover was hideous, and suggestive, particularly to younger teens. A lot of big radio stations banned us. We had no airplay.” It’s amazing the song did as well as it did. The controversy became so overwhelming that it threatened to bury the band entirely. Lou in particular later admitted the heat got so intense that he seriously considered quitting Foreigner. I guess perception is reality for people even if it isn’t the truth.
