The artist (most often) known asPrinceaccomplished plenty of feats during his lengthymusiccareer. He’s had the admiration ofmajor movie stars for his creative work, put on live performancesstill considered stunning, and laid down guitar solos that continue to have us tryingto pick our collective jaws up off the floor.
Not to mention, Prince’s 1984 albumPurple Rainhas remained his brilliant magnum opus, both on tape and on the screen. Despite the LP remaining a shining flashpoint of his legendary artistry, that prominence has not always led to positive outcomes. Especially when it came to the United States government’sreaction to one particular song from the album.
Prince’s “Darling Nikki” Sparked Outcry That Led To The Parental Advisory Label
Spearheaded By A Senator’s Wife
While “Darling Nikki” wasn’t released as a single fromPurple Rain, its descriptive lyrics about an explicit encounter with a hypersexual woman soondrew the ire of Tipper Gore, wife of then-Senator Al Gore. Gore said she’d (not knowing the lyrics) boughtPurpleRainfor her 11-year-old daughter in 1984, and was outraged by what she heard in “Darling Nikki.”
In response to this, the following year, Gore and other Congressional wives formedthe Parents Music Resource Center (or PMRC). Membership within the group rapidly grew into the millions, and eventually forced enough pressure that a Senate subcommittee hearing was held on the PMRC’s chief issue,putting labels on albums with explicit content.
Despite PMRC opposition from various musicians, including Frank Zappa and John Denver, the organization wouldn’t be denied. Headlined by their “Filthy Fifteen” songs they found most objectionable (led by “Darling Nikki” and a song Prince wrote for Sheena Easton called “Sugar Walls”), Gore said the labelingwasn’t censorship, but rather “truth in packaging.”
Ultimately, by 1990, the PMRC was able to get19 record companies to put Parental Advisory labels on applicable albums. The practice has only grown in its spread since that time.
The Parental Advisory Label Is Much More Commonplace Nowadays
Though Not With Perhaps The Intended Effect
These days, many popular albums have the Parental Advisory label, though it likely hasn’t hadthe result that the PMRC would have hoped. Initially, the logo acted as a lightning rod for publicity and a sales boost for many songs (includingPrince’s"Darling Nikki") instead of a way to protect children or parents.
While it has occasionally been a stumbling block for artists and record labels trying to promote their work, overall, the Parental Advisory label doesn’t have much impact in the modern day as culture has changed. Even many of the songs from the “Filthy Fifteen” nowadays seem tame by comparisonto where music has evolved.
