Now I don't generally think of it as big or clever (despite liking Public Enemy) & don't know if the mods will let us do this, but I was just - genuinely - wondering when the first "profanity" was ever uttered on a pop tune & who the artist was. I'm thinking here...maybe The Pretenders (Precious); or Wayne County (FOff). I just started wondering 'cos (I think) I misheard a lyric from Golden Earring's Long Blonde Animal (1980) this morning.
Nice one Dr Wu..."Working Class Hero" of course. I also remember MC5 "Kick Out The Jams" from 1968 starting with the M-word, though I don't think there were any expletives in the song itself. I just wondered where it all started, reaching as we have a situation where swearing is common in lyrics. Which doesn't bother me incidentally, but can be pretty tiresome.
Anyone remember The Real McCoy's spoof on Public Enemy's liberal use of expletives?