Today 29 Years Ago

Sep/19/1985

Tipper Gore and other political wives form the Parents Music Resource Center as Frank Zappa and other musicians testify at U.S. Congressional hearings on obscenity in rock music.

Tipper Gore

She became well known for her role in the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), criticizing music with profane language and promoting Parental Advisory stickers (nicknamed "Tipper Stickers") on record covers, especially in the heavy metal, punk and hip hop genres. Gore explained that her purpose wasn't to put a "gag" on music but, to keep it safe for younger listeners. 

Parents Music Resource Center

The Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) was an American committee formed in 1985 with the stated goal of increasing parental control over the access of children to music deemed to be violent, have drug use or be sexual via labeling albums with Parental Advisory stickers

As a method of combating this alleged problem, the PMRC suggested a voluntary move by the RIAA and the music industry to develop "guidelines and/or a rating system" similar to the MPAA film rating system. Additional suggestions from the PMRC that appeared in an article in the Washington Post included: printing warnings and lyrics on album covers, forcing record stores to put albums with explicit covers under the counters, pressuring television stations not to broadcast explicit songs or videos, reassessing the contracts of musicians who performed violently or sexually in concert, and creating a panel to set industry standards. 

This article led to the removal of rock music and magazines from American stores including Wal-Mart, J. C. Penney, Sears and Fred Meyer.

On November 1, 1985, before the hearing ended, the RIAA agreed to put "Parental Advisory" labels on selected releases at their own discretion. The labels were generic, unlike the original idea of a descriptive label categorizing the explicit lyrics.