On the 30-year anniversary of the well-remembered U.S. Senate's "porn-rock" hearing, PMRC's most prominent member, the indubitable Tipper Gore, looked back on the concept of "Parental Advisory." For those who don't know, the hearing featured artists Frank Zappa, John Denver and Dee Snider, who protested against the idea that record labels would be able to "rate" albums the way that movies are rated (G, PG, PG-13 and R). Infamously, Zappa's album in question was Jazz From Hell, which was devoid of any inappropriate lyrics whatsoever and was all instrumental.
Tipper became interested in the idea of "rating" albums when her young daughter purchased hot-seller Purple Rain by Prince and played "Darling Nikki," which she discovered was about masturbation on the home sound system. Gore was offended that there was no warning label on the album to prevent her daughter from being exposed to the lyrics and promptly founded the PMRC, Parent's Music Resource Center to combat the issue.
It resulted in a "Parental Advisory" sticker being pasted on any CD that referenced the occult, sex, violence or consuming drugs and alcohol. Stanley Gortikov, former president of the Record Industry Association of America, came to this decision after meeting with 19 record labels, but some fears held by the musicians came true when Walmart refused to carry any album with a "Parental Advisory" sticker on it due to lyrical content.
Obviously, one of the most effected genre was rap and Billboard recorded this statement from rap's original public enemy, N.W.A, before their film Straight Outta Compton was released, "It was all kinds of forces against us - it didn't crack us, break us, turn us into punks," said Ice Cube, "It didn't make us bite our tongue. It just made us stand up even more -and that's powerful." The "Parental Advisory" labels were still able to prevent children from listening then, but what about in the Digital Age, with rampant online streaming services?
Rolling Stone reported this statement from Gore when they asked her thoughts on the 30th anniversary of this decision, "In this era of social media and online access, it seems quaint to think that parent's can have control over what their children see and hear. But I think this conversation between children and parents is as relevant today as it was back in the Eighties. Music is a universal language that crosses generations, race, religion, sex and more. Never has there been more need for communication and understanding on these issues as today."
Tipper Gore left the PMRC in 1993 after she became Second Lady in order to devote herself to the bigger issues of homelessness and mental health, but the group is still in effect even today.
