[Jukebox-list] RE: Bubblecar song

[Bob Ellingson]

At 08:43 AM 1/9/2007 -0800, you wrote:
>dave.halford at telent.com wrote:
>> I think those in NY city have a good idea what 'pong' means now. Strangely
>> 'ping pong' is a derogatory name for table tennis over here, due to the
>> sound i guess.
>
>"Ping-pong" isn't really considered derogatory in the USA.  More 
>Americans refer to the game as ping-pong than table tennis.
>
>It is interesting how slang terms vary from place to place.  An 
>Australian friend about bust a gut laughing when he saw a drain cleaning 
>service truck with "Speedy-Rooter" in huge lettering on the side.  Made 
>me follow it and took pictures.
>
>> For those on the group who wonder what the Bubblecar song is, they had to
>> change the words of the song about the little Nash Rambler ("Beep Beep")
>> when the song was released in the UK. The BBC would not let brand names be
>> featured in pop songs. Also, Chuck Berry's "Maybelline" had to have the
>> word
>> Cadillac changed to something generic as well (limousine, I think).
>
>That must have resulted in some interesting lyrics for Janis Joplin's 
>"Mercedes-Benz".

I'm not sure about that particular song, but things were changing then.
That may have been about the time the BBC was revising their attitude,
which was at its height in the 50's, I think.  Sometimes, the song was
re-recorded for the UK market, and sometimes just the title was changed.
Probably depended on the size of the record label (company, not the 
paper sticker!)...The Playmates did do a quick re-recording of "Beep Beep",
with changed lyrics, but I believe Johnny Bond's "Hot Rod Lincoln" merely
had the title changed to "Hot Rod Jalopy".  I guess, after looking around,
that "Maybelline" wasn't changed for the UK, it wasn't released there 
at all!

Here is a post to the 50's music newsgroup by a UK poster who is very
knowledgable in his research:

***********************************

BANNED BY THE BBC!!!!

By Roger Ford

Now As I've mentioned before,over here in England we only had the one
local radio broadcaster in the 1950's----there was NO OTHER actually
located within Britain---the very,very staid and austere BBC who had a
VERY rigid code when it came to the music they played.A panel of
"experts" listened to every record that entered the BBC and threw out
any that did not meet their "high" standards.

All BBC stations were non-commercial----all were state funded----as
they still are to this day---- by way of a compulsory "licence fee"
(if you don't pay it they take you to court!) that everyone who had a
radio HAD to pay by law.The radio licence has since been dumped but
the TV licence fee remains----even in this age of 200+ channel digital
and satellite TV---again,to fund the BBC

So because the BBC was non commercial ALL records that could be
construed as in any way ADVERTISING a product were banned.

Records that fell foul of this rule included :-

** "Beep Beep"--The Playmates---featured references to "Cadillac" and
"Nash Rambler" cars (I never saw either of them on any British street
I played in)----the ban was lifted when The Playmates rushed a
hurriedly re-recorded version onto the market (substituting
"limousine" and "bubble car" for the offending words

** The US hit "A Rose And A Baby Ruth" George Hamilton IV (changed to
"A Rose And A Candy Bar")----even tho I never saw a "Baby Ruth" var in
my life till I first visited the USA in 1968

**"Hot Rod Lincoln" - Johnny Bond (changed to "Hot Rod Jalopy").Just
how many Lincolns did you see in the average 1950's British street?

** and the absolute worst case scenario----"Maybellene"-Chuck Berry
(criminally banned and never released here----for nothing more than
USA car brand---that were'nt even sold here---references)

The ban was so farcical that at one point in the 1940's the song "I
Can't Give You Anything But Love" was banned (because of the line
"diamond bracelets WOOLWORTHS would'nt sell")

Much later this ban was still in force and hit records like Paul
Simon's "Kodachrome" and The Kinks' "Lola" (re-recorded to delate the
reference to "Coca Cola")

Another "no-no" area was POLITICS---and if these were in any way
"anti-British" then watch out! Not many fell foul of this rule but one
that did was :-

**"The Battle Of New Orleans" (Johnny Horton) (for the "bloody
British" reference and general "anti English" stance)

Lonnie Donegan promptly did a "revised version" (changing it
to "bloomin' rebels") and scored the hit causing US Columbia to order
Horton back into the studio to cut a similarly revised version to
ensure they got British airplay too

RELIGIOUS references was another banning offence and included a couple
of #1 records :-

**"Hold My Hand" - Don Cornell--for the "so this is the Kingdom of
Heaven" line----he still made #1 tho

**"The Bible Tells Me So"-Don Cornell---poor old Don could'nt get a
thing right

**"He" - Al Hibbler -for its "flippant" attitude to its religious
subject.Say what???????"

**"Stranger In Paradise"-Tony Bennett---partly for its quasi religious
overtones but mostly because it broke the next rule as well.....

Pop songs taken from CLASSICAL melodies were veboten!!!!

**"Night" - Jackie Wilson--banned outright and never issued here ("My
Empty Arms" and "Alone At Last" were banned too but WERE released)

**Della Reese fell foul of the ban twice---with her huge US hit "Don't
You Know" based on a theme from Puccini's "La Boheme" and her earlier
"And That Reminds Me" which used the tune of "Autumn Concerto"

**"Pomp And Circumstance" - Adrian Kimberley (Don Everly)---and based
on Sir Edward Elgar's famous march suffered the same fate

**"Magic Moon"-The Rays (lifted from Debussy)---criminally banned (a
fave of mine)

**"Carmen's Boogie" - The Crew Cuts----even the good old Crew Cuts
were'nt safe! "Mostly Martha" that was also based on a classical piece
I think never showed here either

One DID sqeeze thru tho---in 1961 the BBC relented a little and DID
allow limited play on Kokomo's US hit "Asia Minor" (based on Grieg's
Piano Concerto in A Minor"

The next category is a little more subjective---songs with a MORBID
content were banned----examples include :-

**"Tell Laura I Love Her" - Ray Peterson---the ban was lifted but by
then local lad Ricky Valance was at #1 with a rip off cover

**"Teen Angel" - Mark Dinning---I'm not sure this was actually banned
but I never heard it on BBC "Ebony Eyes" however WAS played as was
"Running Bear" a UK #1

** "Transfusion" was banned outright---"Dinner With Drac" wasd
blacklisted too

**"Tribute To Buddy Holly"-Mike Berry---banned on the grounds on
morbid fascination with a dead pop idol---yet a few short years later
the BBC happily played Heinz's similar Cochran tribute "Just Like
Eddie".

** and on that same subject the BBC bizarrely BANNED Tommy Dee's
"Three Stars" yet passed Ruby Wright's version for play!!!

Now we come to the obvious "no-no"---songs with a SEXUAL content.
Not many in our time period (Boy! What if that rule were still in
force today!!!!!)

**"Such A Night"  by Johnnie Ray was banned in 1954 but still made it
to #1 nevertheless.The ban did not affect The Drifters version since
a) it was never released here and b) at that time the British reaction
would have been "who are The Drifters"?

**"Made You" - Adam Faith - banned for "lewdness"

** the most famous example came a few years later when Jane Birkin's
"Je T'Aime" became a huge hit in spite of (or because of?) a BBC ban.

Lastly songs with the F-WORD---

None in the 50's???? Well maybe not but one still got banned for this
reason----

**"Woman Love" - Gene Vincent----the BBC said it was "f******g" so no
plays for you,Gene old mate,sorry!

** it's not quite the F-word but one of Carl Perkins songs has the
word "bugger" in it and was banned for that reason (it's a swear word
here)

And one last example of a record that may or may not have actually
been banned----but you knew you'd NEVER NEVER EVER heard this on the
BBC-----

** "I Put A Spell On You"-Screamin' Jay Hawkins

And no further comment is neccessary,surely?

More about this at this web site

http://www.rocklist.net/banned.html 

***********************************

--Bob
=======================================================================
Bob Ellingson					bobe at halted.com
Halted Specialties Co., Inc.			http://www.halted.com
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