Jingle Bell Blocked: 7 ‘Banned’ Holiday Songs
A viral story once claimed that playing holiday music before Thanksgiving was a federal crime. But it was a joke. That couldn't happen, thanks to the First Amendment.
The First Amendment protects freedom of expression. That includes music. It also protects freedom of religion. That includes celebrating religious holidays with song.
Federal, state and local governments cannot declare a song illegal and prohibit it from being sold or played — unless a song falls into a category of speech not protected by the First Amendment, such as obscenity. Nor can the government get involved if people or companies decide not to play certain songs
But holiday music isn't without controversy.
Highlighted in this article are some “banned” holiday songs that you may not hear on the radio, when you’re holiday shopping at the mall or before Dec. 1.
What is a ‘banned’ song?
For this article, we define a “banned” song as one that has been made unavailable in its entirety by someone other than the song’s creator. That could mean a TV network, video platform, music store, digital streaming platform, etc. It includes cases of private radio stations refusing on their own to play a song or allow it on their platform.
A key to understanding issues around banned songs is knowing whether the First Amendment is involved. While both private and government actors can ban songs, only government censorship involves the First Amendment.
That’s because the First Amendment only concerns government actions. This includes public schools, which are part of the government. However, schools have more leeway to restrict songs to avoid disruptions to the educational environment — although they must both protect religious freedom and prevent religious pressure when selecting holiday music.
A private radio station deciding on its own not to play a holiday song because the station owner doesn’t like it would be a “ban” for the purposes of this article, but there is no First Amendment issue involved.
The examples below don’t involve government action — and therefore don’t involve the First Amendment. But they illustrate how private businesses and individuals — from radio stations to bars — have their own First Amendment rights to choose which songs they play (and don’t play) and can make those choices without violating the First Amendment.
Discover 7 of the most prominent banned holiday songs of all time
1. All I Want for Christmas Is You | Mariah Carey (1994)
While this is one of the most played modern holiday hits, it’s also one of the most divisive.
A 2019 Change.org petition asked the government to ban the song from stores and radio stations because the petitioners disliked hearing the song so much. The petition did not move forward. Asking the government for change is using the First Amendment freedom to petition. But such a government ban would violate the First Amendment's protection of free speech.
However, a bar in Dallas got attention for banning this hit song from being played before Dec. 1. A sign at the bar sparked social media debate, with Carey herself weighing in.
2. Baby, It's Cold Outside | Frank Loesser (1949)
This duet between the composer and his wife was featured in the 1949 movie "Neptune's Daughter," a musical romantic comedy.
Since then, it has been covered by many famous artists as a duet.
But in 2018, when the #MeToo movement spurred a new look at society’s treatment of women, it faced criticism.
Critics argued that the song depicts sexual harassment as a man pressures a woman into staying the night. Some radio stations decided to stop airing it. Mood Media, a company that provides playlists to hotels and retail stores, pulled the song from its holiday selections in 2019.
Others argued that the lyrics showed a woman flirting in a way that was OK for the society of the 1940s. Some stations returned the song to the air following listener polls. One Kentucky radio station played the song on repeat to counter the criticism.
Since the controversy erupted, some artists have created covers of the song with updated lyrics.
The song remains popular on streaming services.
3. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus | Jimmy Boyd (1952)
Boyd recorded this novelty tune at age 13. It quickly topped the charts.
However, the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston condemned the song for combining a religious holiday with suggested infidelity. Some radio stations refused to play the tune.
But after Boyd spoke to church leaders, explaining that the song was about a child mistaking his father in costume for Santa Claus, the archdiocese relented and radio stations returned the song to air.
4. It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas | Meredith Willson (1951)
Composer Meredith Willson wrote this holiday classic, which has since been recorded by many artists, including Perry Como, Bing Crosby and Michael Bublé.
Mood Media pulled this tune from its holiday catalog of playlists for retail stores and hotels in 2019. It did so because of a lyric about wishing for “a pistol that shoots.”
5. Little Becky's Christmas Wish | Becky Lamb (1967)
In this spoken word piece, a little girl narrates a letter to Santa Claus. She asks for her big brother Tommy to come home safe from the Vietnam War. The song suggests he won't be coming back.
Some radio stations reportedly declined to play the song. There were concerns it could upset families with relatives fighting overseas. Still, the song reached No. 2 on the charts.
6. Santa Baby | Eartha Kitt (1953)
Written by Phil Springer and Joan Javits, this nontraditional holiday song was a quick hit. But its lyrics were considered risqué for the time. They include a mention of "all the fellas that I haven't kissed." Some radio stations opted out of playing it.
Kitt drew criticism when she performed the song at a banquet for the king and queen of Greece.
But the tune has since been covered by stars from Madonna to Miss Piggy.
7. White Christmas | Elvis Presley (1957)
Composer Irving Berlin, a Jewish immigrant from Russia, wrote “White Christmas.” Bing Crosby made it popular when he sang it in the 1942 movie “Holiday Inn.”
It was covered by many artists, including Presley in 1957. The megastar was shaking up music and stirring controversy for his sultry moves and rock 'n' roll sound.
Berlin reportedly did not appreciate Presley's take on the classic hit. Because Presley was seen as inappropriate at the time, Berlin thought he corrupted the song. Berlin asked radio stations not to play it, but Presley's version topped the charts anyway.
One Portland, Oregon, radio station decided not to play the song. The station fired a DJ who played it anyway. But after listeners complained, the DJ was quickly rehired.
What's the bottom line on banned holiday songs and the First Amendment?
Privately owned radio stations, retail stores and other businesses can make their own decisions about what music to license and play.
But the government can’t ban holiday songs — or any music — outright, unless it can show the song falls into one of the narrowly defined categories of speech that are not protected by the First Amendment (the most likely examples in this case being that the song is obscene or defamatory). Public schools, however, have more leeway to restrict songs to avoid disruptions to the educational environment.
Today, in the United States, the First Amendment protects the right to produce and listen to music with only limited government interference.
Thanks to the First Amendment, you have the right to purchase or stream most every song you'd like, — just as a private business, station or store can decide not to play it.
You're free to make your own playlist, whether you want to listen to Mariah Carey on repeat in July or press skip when you hear her each December.
Celebrating the Power of Music and the First Amendment at Freely Fest
Watch: Rise Up: The Hollywood Effect & the LGBTQ Community
Related Content