Songs About Dicks of the 1960's and 1970's
This is the era of the ban. France Gall sang Gainsbourg's aniseed "lollipops" in 1966 and only found out what they were after it was a hit; the BBC banned Max Romeo's Wet Dream, which reached number ten anyway; and Mary Whitehouse tried to stop My Ding-a-Ling, which became Chuck Berry's only US number one and the most famous "toy" in rock. It ends in 1979 with an Italian ballad about chocolate ice cream that its own authors still cannot agree on.
- 1
Le Zizi
Pierre Perret · 1974 · 3:57YouTubeEvery French radio station refused it until one didn't, and half a million people bought a sex-ed lesson on the penis with no crude word.
- 2
My Ding-a-Ling
Chuck Berry · 1972 · 4:17YouTubeThe only US number one of Chuck Berry's career, and it is a sing-along about his "ding-a-ling".
- 3
Love Gun
KISS · 1977 · 3:17YouTubePaul Stanley wrote a song about his "love gun" and sang it with the straight face of a man reading out a weather report.
- 4
Fernande
Georges Brassens · 1972 · 3:41YouTubeOne of France's great songwriters wrote a refrain about which women give him an erection, and the nation filed it under poetry.
- 5
Les Sucettes
France Gall · 1966 · 2:34YouTubeSerge Gainsbourg wrote a song about aniseed "lollipops" for an eighteen-year-old, who found out what it meant from everyone but him.
- 6
Plaster Caster
KISS · 1977 · 3:27YouTubeGene Simmons wrote a song volunteering for the woman who made plaster casts of rock stars' penises. She never cast his.
- 7
Gelato al cioccolato
Pupo · 1979 · 3:18YouTubeThe singer says it is about oral sex with a man the lyricist met in Tunisia; the lyricist says it is about a pudding.
- 8
Big Balls
AC/DC · 1976 · 2:38YouTubeBon Scott, in an aristocrat's voice, hosts the most sustained double meaning in hard rock: the finest "balls" in high society.
- 9
Wet Dream
Max Romeo · 1968 · 2:47YouTubeThe BBC played it twice, banned it, and watched it reach the top ten anyway. Max Romeo said it was about a leaky roof.
- 10
The Lemon Song
Led Zeppelin · 1969 · 6:19YouTubeA "lemon" that ran from Robert Johnson in 1937 to Led Zeppelin II in 1969, and the juice is still running.
- 11
Le Banana Split
Lio · 1979 · 2:34YouTubeA French number one about a dessert served by the Abominable Snowman to a sixteen-year-old, who has since said what she thinks of it.
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