Fearing the corruption of its youth, Santa Cruz, California, banned rock 'n' roll in 1956.

Take a look at an early rock 'n' roll artifact

This 1956 jukebox musical, "Rock, Rock, Rock!," is an early example of the burgeoning rock 'n' roll culture—with performances from Chuck Berry, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, D.J. Alan Freed, and several others. It was also a catalyst, sending the new youth culture into theaters around the country.

The Parents Music Resource Center criticized rock 'n' roll's lyrics in the 1980s

The group, spearheaded by Tipper Gore, the wife of then-Senator and eventual Vice President Al Gore, argued that rock music, especially heavy metal, was having an adverse effect on the country, particularly young children. One of the group's fiercest critics was musician Frank Zappa. In the video below, he appears on a 1986 episode of "Crossfire," arguing about the proposed ban of so-called obscene music.

Jazz's popularity inspired a moral panic

When jazz exploded in the 1920s, some believed the music's sudden popularity was the sign of a rotten nation, with one 1920 address at the University of Wisconsin proclaiming, "We are in deadly fear of the Jazz Devil, the demon which is consuming the country." Often, the connections were racialized, with columnists and preachers suggesting that jazz's Black artists were attempting to degrade white America.

In the 1930s, New York banned buskers as part of an antinoise campaign

Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia was hoping to modernize the city and believed that street performers only crowded the streets and added to an annoying cacophony. Residents wrote to the mayor to protest the decision, arguing that buskers were appreciated by the public.

The Bakersfield Sound challenged the music's creeping respectability

As country music leaned towards the slick Nashville Sound in the 1950s, several artists operating outside that city reacted with rougher sounds more reminiscent of honky tonk and early rock ‘n’ roll. It came to be known as the Bakersfield Sound, reflecting the California agricultural region.

A 1954 Senate subcommittee investigated the comics industry

Comic books were wildly popular in the '50s, especially with children, whom some politicians believed were being corrupted by crime and horror comics. A subcommittee convened and eventually determined that “this Nation cannot afford the calculated risk involved in the continued mass dissemination of crime and horror comic books to children.” The government didn't endorse censorship, but the comics industry did, creating its own Comics Code Authority.

Later bossa nova music sometimes featured subtle anti-government protests

In 1968, Brazil's military dictatorship imposed tight restrictions on airplay and banned songs (and, subsequently, their artists) that failed to depict an idyllic life. That meant that, on the surface, popular bossa nova painted a rosy picture of life in Brazil. Musicologists note that artists like Antônio Carlos Jobim often juxtaposed those sunny lyrics with sad-sounding musical accompaniment, making for subtle protests that slipped by censors.

Elvis was allegedly chided for playing rock 'n' roll at the Grand Ole Opry

Elvis Presley had deep roots in country music, though the Grand Ole Opry and its audience weren’t happy with Presley’s rocking take when he performed for his first (and only) time in 1954. Afterwards, the Opry’s manager Jim Denny allegedly told Presley, “Don’t quit your day job.”

Lorne Michaels claims 'SNL' has never banned a musical guest

After including overt political protests in their performances, rumors swirled that Sinead O'Connor and Rage Against the Machine had been banned from the show. (People said the same about rock band the Replacements, but that was for on-air drunkenness.) Showrunner Lorne Michaels, however, claims no musical guest has ever been banned.

Minor Threat inadvertently created the straight edge movement

The DC hardcore band released the song “Straight Edge” in 1981, which detailed singer Ian MacKaye’s decision to abstain from alcohol, drugs and promiscuous sex. The track inadvertently inspired legions of young hardcore kids to similarly declare themselves “straight edge,” which eventually grew into its own subgenre.

SantaCon went from an anarchist protest to a rowdy bar crawl

Now known mainly as a costumed, Christmas-themed bar crawl, SantaCon began in San Francisco in 1994 as an anarchist protest against Christmas overconsumption inspired by a Danish event in 1974. It spread to Portland and Seattle before the event went worldwide and lost its radical roots in the process.

Some dispute why the Newport crowd booed Dylan

Bruce Jackson, one of the directors for the infamous 1965 Newport Folk Festival, claimed that the story of Dylan being booed for going "electric" is a myth. Pointing to transcripts from the set's audio recordings, he argued that the audience wasn’t upset with Dylan; they were bothered that he couldn’t play for longer.

CBGB, the breeding ground for punk, was intended to be a country bar

Ramones, Talking Heads, Television, Blondie, and many other bands got their start at CBGB. But its owner, Hillel “Hilly” Kristal, didn’t intend for it to be a punk rock venue. CBGB stood for “Country Bluegrass Blues,” though he included “OMFUG” (for “Other Music For Uplifting Gourmandizers”) on the venue’s marquee.

Carmel, California, is looking into banning pickleball

Pickleball is the fastest-rising sport in the US, but it's not without its controversies. Chief among them is noise, which Carmel, California, a wealthy enclave on the state's central coast, seeks to remedy with a ban on the sport. It would be the first in the state.

Carlin's 'Seven Words' led to a landmark Supreme Court ruling

The original recording of Carlin's bit aired on a New York radio station in 1973, leading to an FCC complaint. The case went up to the Supreme Court, which ruled that the FCC had the right to penalize broadcasters that aired obscene content during the daytime.

'Huckleberry Finn' has a long history of book bans

Twain’s most famous novel was first banned in March 1885. Librarians in Concord, Massachusetts, called it “suitable only for the slums.” Since then, it’s been banned many more times, mostly because of how it deals with race. In recent decades, its use of the N-word, has led to its removal.

Prince's sexually explicit 1984 track 'Darling Nikki' attracted the ire of the Parents Music Resource Center, an advocacy group that inspired the Parental Advisory sticker, even though the song ends with a Christian message.

The studio behind 'Rocky Horror' pulled its promotion before the national release

Before its national release in 1975, the studio behind "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" decided the musical movie was too strange, campy, and unwieldy for most audiences and cut its promotional efforts, hoping to minimize its losses. That decision led to the film's commercial failure.

Arthur Russell's avant-garde music spanned many genres

The classically trained cellist moved to San Francisco in the early 1970s, mingling with the hippie movement and the Beat Generation. After arriving in New York in 1973, he began exploring the nascent punk and disco scenes, infusing them with his classical training; however, his eclectic style might've been part of the reason he never broke through during his lifetime. That variety, though, is what draws so many devoted listeners to his work today.

The distributor behind 'Rocky Horror' pulled the film from its scheduled national release, believing it would be a failure, though it eventually amassed a dedicated fanbase through midnight showings, a trend that continues over 50 years later.

Billie Holiday ensured performances of 'Strange Fruit' had the right context

In the song's earliest performances at Cafe Society in New York, one of a few truly integrated nightclubs in the society, the song was always performed last, after bar service had stopped, with a single spotlight on Holiday so audiences would pay close attention to the lyrics. Later, Holiday included her ability to perform the song in her concert contracts, allowing her to sing it even if venue owners were nervous about its protest message.

The 1919 Chicago White Sox were banned from baseball for fixing the World Series

The Black Sox scandal involved eight 1919 Chicago White Sox members accused of intentionally losing that season’s World Series in exchange for financial kickbacks from gamblers. Ultimately acquitted in court, the players, including star outfielder “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, were permanently banned from baseball.

Brian Wilson wrote the Beach Boys' 'Don't Worry Baby' for the Ronettes, but the legendary girl group rejected it.

The tragic history of 'the 27 Club'

Kurt Cobain's 1994 suicide followed an eerie pattern in rock 'n' roll history: Several of the music's brightest stars' lives end at the age of 27. That group includes Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Amy Winehouse. This exploration of the phenomenon delves into the eerie and tragic circumstances that continue to shape its relevance.

Native religious practices were suppressed for centuries before receiving federal protection in 1978

During the first two centuries of American history, the government frequently banned Native ceremonial dances, took sacred sites, and enrolled children in boarding schools where they were prevented from practicing their faith. The American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 committed the federal government to safeguarding Native spiritual practices.

Vintage 1980s photos of the streets of San Francisco

In the early 1980s, San Francisco was changing amid increased diversity and a nascent tech boom. This series of photos from 1981 and 1982 was found of the evolving city, depicting trolleys, doorsteps, storefronts, and more from a time very different from today. Explore the vintage shots here.

UC Santa Cruz's nontraditional mascot was selected by its students

After becoming an NCAA Division III school, UC Santa Cruz ditched its informal mascot, the banana slug, for a sea lion. Students protested and eventually held a straw vote to reinstate the old name, which they saw as an antidote to the hypercompetitive nature of college athletics.

Brian Wilson originally wrote the Beach Boys' classic 'Don't Worry Baby' for the Ronettes, but the legendary girl group rejected it.

Watch a 1934 short film starring jazz legend Cab Calloway, a major figure in the Harlem Renaissance's music scene

A century of Billboard issues documenting the evolution of popular music.

Quincy Jones' 'Big Band Bossa Nova' helped introduce bossa nova—a jazz-influenced Brazilian genre—to the US

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

American dance legend Martha Graham, sometimes called 'the Picasso of dance,' refused to perform at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and conceived the piece 'Chronicle' in response to the experience.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

The name 'Silicon Valley' arose from the founding of Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory in Fairchild Semiconductor in 1956-57, founded near Stanford University in Palo Alto

The story of Dollree Mapp, whose legal challenge over her 1957 conviction for possessing "obscene material" led to a major strengthening of the Fourth Amendment

The United States has had a tumultuous relationship with Cuba since its 1959 revolution, highlighted by a nuclear crisis and a decades-long trade embargo.

Jimmy Carter signed a 1978 bill that legalized home brewing, a move credited with kick-starting the craft beer industry.

A small portion of The Winstons' 'Amen, Brother,' an obscure '60s gospel record, is the basis for thousands of hip-hop tracks, making it one of the most sampled records ever that's informally known as 'the Amen break.'

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

See this overview of the firework rules across all 50 states, ranging from a complete ban on non-professional fireworks in Massachusetts to states with more lax rules like Indiana.

Before writing 'Walden,' transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau nearly burned down his hometown with a campfire that grew out of control.

Fast-casual restaurant Chili's is experiencing a resurgence, with its parent company recently reporting a nearly 32% increase in sales, thanks to passionate Gen Z fans on TikTok.

Mid-century modern graphic designers, known for their bright colors and bold lines in advertising, also found success with children's books.

Graffiti dates back to at least ancient Pompeii, where citizens scrawled messages to one another on public walls

Hotels in Cannes, the glamorous city on the French Riviera, hire hawks to ward off seagulls during the city's famous film festival.

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island

Despite being favored by 87% of Americans, Congress does not have term limits.

El Niño, Spanish for 'the boy,' was named after Jesus Christ because the phenomenon resembled the weather changes observed around Christmastime.

A pickleball's loud 'pop' sound can reach 120 decibels, which is equivalent to a hammer hitting a nail