litbrit's invocation of Frank Zappa reminded me of a spectacular moment in history. In 1985, the Parents' Music Resource Center, led by Tipper Gore, was trying to impose a ratings system on music similar to the ratings system for movies. The incongruous trio of Frank Zappa, Dee Snider, and John Denver were called before Congress to testify in defense of music. From Barry Miles' Zappa:
Pressured by their wives, the congressmen held an impartial forum to investigate the sorry state of the record industry. Senator Hollings (whose wife was a signatory to the RIAA letter) said, 'If I could do away with all of this music constitutionally, I would'. The Senate hearing on 19 September 1985 was fixed in favor of the PMRC. The five-hour event was a media circus with 35 television feeds, 50 photographers, plus reporters and members of the public.
At the Senate hearing, Zappa was by far the most eloquent speaker,though he undermined his credibility by imitating the southern accentsof some of the PMRC wives. Dee Snider from Twisted Sister proved to bemuch more articulate than the PMRC had expected and was able tocontradict much of their testimony, but it was John Denver who did themost damage to the PMRC cause. Clean-cut and all-American, he heldfast to the First Amendment, telling the Chairman, "Sir, we cannot have any kind of censorship whatsoever."
