What Was the Filthy Fifteen?

In 1985, led by Tipper Gore, the Parents Music Resource Center compiled a list of offensive rock songs - the so-called “filthy fifteen." The PMRC then sent the list to music industry execs, demanding both a rating system for lyrics and the application of warning labels - deemed “Tipper Stickers” by some - on albums. The filthy fifteen contained everything from Top 40 hits by Cyndi Lauper to Venom’s subterranean metal, and the PMRC provided its own key to each song’s offensive content. Before long, everyone was asking, “Could Junior be corrupted by the Mary Jane Girls?” VH1 remembers the music behind the madness.

1. Prince - "Darling Nikki" (1984)
He'd set the stage with titles like Dirty Mind and "Jack U Off." But when he met his little pal doing the rub routine with a magazine, no one could claim that he wasn't pushing America's buttons. From the hotel lobby to the castle bedroom to the shrieks of ecstasy to the bump and grind rhythms, the PMRC had plenty to fret over.
Listen to a clip

2. Sheena Easton - "Sugar Walls" (1984)
When a singer moves from goodie-two-shoes to saucy vixen, you've got a fire on your hands - or maybe in your loins. And when the hit's refrain is a whispered invitation to "come inside my sugar walls," well, you can see why the PMRC was irked. Plus, little Sheena was hanging with bad boy Prince. Rated X for sexually explicit or profane lyrics.
Listen to a clip

3. Judas Priest - "Eat Me Alive" (1984)
Singer Rob Halford left nothing to the imagination on this grade-B metal chugger with references to his “rod of steel” and blunt lines like, “Spread-eagled to the wall/ You're well equipped to take it all.” Then the iron maiden came out of the closet and some small minds were even more aghast. Rated X for sexually explicit or profane lyrics.
Listen to a clip

4. Vanity - "Strap On Robby Baby" (1984)
Mainstream moms and dads don't usually want their kids heaved into the disturbing world of "marital aids." So when Prince's gal pals put a saucy beat under an ode to their favorite boudoir toy, there was plenty of friction. Maybe it was simply the fact that the ladies had the sense of fun to name the damn thing. Rated X for sexually explicit or profane lyrics..


5. Motely Crue - "Bastard" (1983)
As exploitative and cheesy as a gore flick like I Spit On Your Grave, the mousse metal raunch of “Bastard” finds a rapist being stabbed, having his head blown off and getting his neck put in a noose. The clueless Crue probably thought this made them feminists. Rated V for glorifying violence.
Listen to a clip

6. AC/DC - "Let Me Put My Love Into You" (1983)
With the cluckish, raucous and powerful thrust of electric guitars helping them pound forward, Angus and company offended by simply making their libido seem too brutish. A fact forever: waxing horny is considered gauche when backed by powerful thrust of electric guitars. Rated X for sexually explicit or profane lyrics.
Listen to a clip

> Go to Filthy Fifteen page 2