The John Lennon Songs That Got Banned From The Radio

A controversial figure that he was, John Lennon was never a man to back down from anything. Throughout his entire career, Lennon had a sharp tongue that was meant to provoke thoughts from those who oppose him and he never for once hesitated on giving strong opinions to the press. Apart from being snarky with his comments, Lennon also took time to write songs that were highly controversial – so provocative that they were even banned from being aired on the radio. Below are the three of them.

“Open Your Box” – Single (1971)

Although it was the B-side to John Lennon’s massive hit “Power to the People,” “Open Your Box” may not be as well-known. The song was written by Yoko Ono, although Lennon played guitar and helped with production. Britain outlawed it unless an echo was used to obscure the words since they were deemed to be sexually explicit because “box” is slang for female genitalia.

“Woman is the N***** of the World” – Some Time in New York City (1972)

Lennon wasn’t scared to make some controversial music, but it was still hard to believe that a song with this title ever saw the light of day. Pat Bennett, the US promotions manager of Apple Records, made a bet with the singer that no radio station would want to play this to promote, and he was right.

“Cold Turkey” – Single (1969)

Lennon penned “Cold Turkey” when he and his wife Yoko Ono tried and failed to quit heroin cold turkey. The song was banned from various American radio stations because listeners complained it encouraged drug use. “Cold Turkey’ is self-explanatory,” Lennon said in 1980. “It was banned again all over the American radio, so it never got off the ground. They were thinking I was promoting heroin, but instead … They’re so stupid about drugs!”