ABSTRACT

Few events involving rock music in the 1980s generated more media attention than the September 1985 congressional hearings instigated by the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC). The PMRC originally proposed a categorical rating system for explicit material. Most importantly, the committee should understand the PMRC is not advocating any Federal intervention or legislation whatsoever. The PMRC eventually prevailed on a more general scale when it convinced the recording industry to implement the “parental advisory—explicit content” sticker. The PMRC’s testimony was followed by three respondents—Frank Zappa, John Denver, and Dee Snider—all of whom felt that the organization had forced their ideological interpretations on the music, and was wading into the dangerous waters of censorship.