News 12 Then: Tipper Gore’s campaign to clean up music lyrics

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) – Imagine the reaction if Beyonce issued Lemonade 30 years ago.

You can be sure that the music stores (actual buildings where they sold records, cassettes and CDs) would have slapped a parental advisory on them for lyric content.

The move to warn parents about the lyrics in their children’s music started with Tipper Gore, wife of then-Tennessee Senator Al Gore, Jr.

Her campaign against the music industry went nationwide.

But in the spring of 1986, she brought it to Chattanooga and the local PTA.

Here is a look back at what she was trying to accomplish, and the music with the naughty words in the mid 80s.