Let’s Spend “Some Time” Together – Rolling Stones Censor Themselves on Ed Sullivan Show
As Stones fan know, the title of the song is “Let’s Spend the Night Together.” That was a little too strong for Ed Sullivan’s national television audience on a Sunday night on this day in 1967.
Under pressure, the Rolling Stones agreed to censor themselves by changing the title.
Search Today in Civil Liberties History for other episodes of censorship over music, sex and politics related to I Love Lucy, Leave it to Beaver, Pete Seeger, Hootenanny, and the Smothers Brothers Show.
Enjoy the Stones Singing it Uncensored: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l61MFiIeuVM
Learn more about the censorship of rock music: Eric Nuzum, Parental advisory: Music Censorship in America (2001)
Read: Fredrick S. Lane, Decency Wars: The Campaign to Cleanse American Culture (2006)
Learn more at the National Coalition Against Censorship here
For a great perspective on the “long Sixties:” Tom Hayden, The Long Sixties: From 1960 to Barack Obama (2009)
Find links to book, articles and more on censorship of rack and roll at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame here