On This Day in 1968, The Rolling Stones Released the Protest Song Deemed Too “Subversive” for American Radio

The hard rock and surprisingly political song “Street Fighting Man” by The Rolling Stones was released on this very day, August 31, back in 1968. It’s a bit of a fan favorite after all these years, though many a Stones fan listened to the song retrospectively for the first time. And that’s because the tune itself wasn’t a particularly high-charting one.

So, how could that be, considering 1968 was basically the year of massive protest anthems and political songs? It appears as though the majority of radio stations in the US were just too afraid to air it, leading to lackluster numbers on the Billboard charts.

Why Were Radio Stations Afraid To Play “Street Fighting Man” by The Rolling Stones?

“Street Fighting Man” boasts quite a few lyrics about violent revolution. Naturally, US radio stations were a bit nervous to air it. With lines like “Hey, think the time is right for a palace revolution / But where I live, the game to play is compromise solution” or “I’ll kill the king, I’ll rail at all his servants,” it was hard to ignore how surprisingly extreme, though not uncommon for the times, the song was.

As a result, the single only made it to No. 48 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song did better in the UK at No. 21, but I can’t help but think the lack of radio play really didn’t do the band any favors. Their previous single, “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”, was a Top 5 hit in the States, to give some context.

Mick Jagger and Keith Richards initially put the song together with very different lyrics. But after Jagger attended a rally at London’s US embassy in 1968, the song was changed drastically. He was also allegedly inspired by violence among rioters at Paris, France’s Left Bank at the time.

“Yeah, it was a direct inspiration, because by contrast, London was very quiet … It was a very strange time in France,” Jagger said of the song’s inspiration. “But not only in France but also in America, because of the Vietnam War and these endless disruptions.”

It’s a shame the track didn’t fare well, because “Street Fighting Man” is actually a great song. Even though it did poorly on the charts, critics at the time praised it. In a way, this very song helped shape the band’s image as a subversive and countercultural group.

(Photo by Mark Hayward Archive/Redferns)

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