3 One-Hit Wonders From the 1970s That Parents Were Actually Scared Of

Parents in the 1970s feared certain music. As soon as certain songs came on the radio, parents shut them off. Or if parents saw their kids bringing home certain vinyl records, they would just get rid of them.

And that’s what we wanted to dive into here below. We wanted to highlight three songs from back in the day that put real fear in the hearts of parents. Indeed, these are three one-hit wonders from the 1970s that parents were actually scared of.

“Smokin’ In The Boys Room” by Brownsville Station from ‘Yeah!’ (1973)

This one is obvious. It’s not about any psychedelia or Satan worship or drug paraphernalia. No, it’s about breaking the rules at school and smoking cigarettes where and when you shouldn’t. Indeed, this brash rock one-hit wonder track from Brownsville Station glorifies those bad boys who light up in the school restroom. So, it’s no wonder why certain parents would fear (and even hate) this song. They wouldn’t want their kids to grow up and follow in the Brownsville Station example. Who would?

“Tubular Bells” by Mike Oldfield from ‘Tubular Bells’ (1973)

This song scared parents, but not because they were worried it would influence their kids in some life-changing way. No, parents feared this song for more traditional reasons. In fact, it scared kids, too. The instrumental tune was known back in the day because it was the haunting and chilling theme for the groundbreaking 1973 horror movie, The Exorcist. While parents feared the influence of drugs and sex on their kids, they were also scared by evil and spooky things. And back in the 1970s, that was a little scarier than The Exorcist.

“Black Betty” by Ram Jam from ‘Ram Jam’ (1977)

In the 1970s, rock music seemed to empower young people in ways that made their parents worry. For an example of this, look no further than “Black Betty” by Ram Jam. The big, bold, buzzing song seemed to super-charge young people’s minds. It was as if the tune put an oversized motor in their cerebellums and got them racing toward an uncertain future. Buzzing guitars will do that, after all. But that didn’t mean parents were always on board with the music. No, when it came to “Black Betty” by Ram Jam, most would have preferred it to go the way of the Dodo.

Photo by Echoes/Redferns

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