The Everly Brothers Were Once Banned on Boston Radio for This “Controversial” Song

Although it’s hard to imagine the pop duo behind hits like “All I Have to Do Is Dream” and “Walk Right Back” would ever be controversial enough to get banned from the radio, that’s precisely what happened with the Everly Brothers’ second No. 1 hit. The Everly Brothers released the controversial track on September 2, 1957.

Not long after, the Boston Catholic Diocese ordered all local radio stations to remove the song from the airwaves—which only served to increase the allure around the seemingly harmless tune.

The Church Banned the Everly Brothers For Suggestive Lyrics

Even the most suggestive lyrics of the 1950s seem downright tame compared to what dominates the Billboard Hot 100 these days. Nevertheless, the Everly Brothers came under intense scrutiny via the Boston Catholic Diocese for their 1957 single, “Wake Up Little Susie.” The church banned local radio stations from playing the song due to its “suggestive” lyrics. In hindsight, this seems like more than a bit of a stretch.

“Wake Up Little Susie” tells the story of a young couple falling asleep together. Presumably at a drive-in movie theater, they realize they’ve stayed out hours past their curfew. I told your mama that you’d be in by ten. Well, Susie, baby, looks like we goofed again, the male protagonist sings. The narrator re-emphasizes that they only fell asleep. He also laments the couple’s potentially marred reputation, singing, The movie wasn’t so hot. It didn’t have much of a plot. We fell asleep, our goose is cooked, our reputation is shot.

At a time when the church’s influence permeated into most other areas of society, to be “banned in Boston” meant that something was particularly scandalous. Of course, humans are humans no matter the decade, and the proposed controversy only increased curiosity about the song. Despite being banned, the Everly Brothers’ “Wake Up Little Susie” became their second No. 1 hit after “Bye Bye Love.”

The Musicians Responded Years Later

Decades after the Boston Catholic Diocese first banned their track from the radio, the Everly Brothers performed “Wake Up Little Susie” at the Boston Common in 1986. The cultural attitude shift between the 1950s and ‘80s was massive. This meant the pop duo could not only perform their song. They could also lightheartedly tease the banishment without fear of reproach.

Don Everly recalled the moment they brought back the once-banned song to Boston in an interview with the Chicago Tribune that same year. “I introduced it by saying, ‘Here’s a song that was banned in this city in 1957.’ Then, we sang it, and it just sounded like a harmless little ditty. How far we’ve come.”

To be fair to the elder Everly, he thought it was a “harmless little ditty” in 1957, too. “I remember when it happened. They called and said it had been banned in Boston. I said, ‘What?’ It’s what people read into it, isn’t it? Today, you say that innocent little song was banned in Boston, and somebody’s going to ask you, ‘Where were people’s heads?’”

“Phil and I sang pretty much innocent stuff,” he continued. “Our songs were about relationships. Looking back over the lyric content of our music, I’m basically very proud of it. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. There’s nothing sleazy or off-color in there.”

Indeed, the Everly Brothers’ discography sounds totally saccharine compared to today’s musical offerings—songs that would surely have made the 1957 Catholic Diocese’s heads spin.

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