1957 Rock Classic, Banned for Being 'Too Suggestive,' Became a No. 1 Hit Anyway
The most innocent (and catchy) song to be banned from radio in 1957 was about two teenagers falling asleep at the movies.
That song was "Wake Up Little Susie" by The Everly Brothers, the duo who'd already reached No. 1 that same year with "Bye Bye Love." Written by husband-and-wife songwriting team Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, its premise was exactly as virtuous as it sounds. A young couple dozed off at the movies, woke at four in the morning and faced the consequences of missing curfew. As the lyrics remind us, "Our goose is cooked, our reputation is shot." We've all been there, right?
That is the full extent of the scandal.
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♬ Wake Up Little Susie - The Everly Brothers
The Bryants were among Nashville's most productive songwriting teams. Their work with the Everly Brothers had already produced 'Bye Bye Love' and would go on to deliver 'All I Have to Do Is Dream' - three consecutive No. 1 hits in less than a year.
The song took time to get to where they wanted it. Boudleaux started writing it alone late one night before waking his wife Felice to help smooth out the rough edges. Recording went about the same. The Everly Brothers spent an entire three-hour studio session on the track and still couldn't nail it. They returned the next day and, according to Bryant, "got it down, first take."
In 1957, radio stations didn't just play whatever audiences wanted to hear. Broadcasters and religious institutions decided what they deemed was acceptable, and they were not shy about flexing that power.
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Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit" had been banned from many stations because of its racially charged imagery. Cole Porter's "Love for Sale" was also banned in many areas for its depiction of prostitution. In 1952, the Roman Catholic Church in Boston had even condemned Jimmy Boyd's "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus," banning it from radio on the grounds that it mixed kissing with Christmas Day and that raised fears of glorifying cheating.
It turned out, Boston had done this before.
The Ban That Backfired
Five years later, the Boston Catholic Diocese turned its attention to "Wake Up Little Susie" and banned local radio stations from playing it, declaring the lyrics ‘too suggestive'.
When Don Everly heard the news he was stunned because to him the situation was straightforward - two kids just fell asleep at the movies. But others found it too provocative.
While Boston radio stations refused to play the record on air, the Everly Brothers performed "Wake Up Little Susie" on The Ed Sullivan Show on October 6, 1957, in front of the entire country via television. Banned from being played in Boston. However, it was hugely popular on national television the exact same week.
The ban may have kept the song off Boston radio stations but it couldn't keep it off the charts.
Fans who couldn't hear the song on the radio just bought the single instead. "Wake Up Little Susie" entered the country charts on September 30, 1957, reached No. 1 on the Billboard country chart on October 14, 1957, and topped the pop charts the same week. It simultaneously topped the Billboard pop chart and the Cash Box Best Selling Records chart. Rolling Stone later named it among the Greatest Songs of All Time.
The song that couldn't be played became the song everyone couldn't get enough of and bought to listen to.
Nearly three decades later, The Everly Brothers returned to Boston and finally performed "Wake Up Little Susie"at the iconic Boston Common.
How the times have changed.
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This story was originally published June 4, 2026 at 5:00 AM.