In 1975, Loretta Lynn released a song that celebrated birth control and the freedom of choice for women who don’t want or cannot afford children (via The Boot). Nowadays, most would probably agree there’s nothing particularly scandalous about that, but in the mid-1970s the song found itself at the center of widespread controversy.
Across the United States, 60 radio stations opted not to play the song, An article that appeared in People around the time the song was released even details a preacher in West Liberty, Kentucky who denounced Lynn’s song and its lyrics from the pulpit.
Lynn was a frequent performer at the famed Grand Ole Opry, and in an interview discussed the backlash she received from the country music institution. “You know I sung it three times at the Grand Ole Opry one night, and I found out a week later that the Grand Ole Opry had a three-hour meeting, and they weren’t going to let me. If they hadn’t let me sing the song, I’d have told them to shove the Grand Ole Opry!” (via Wide Open Country).
However, as is often the case, the controversy didn’t suppress Lynn’s music its powerful feminist message; it amplified it. The same People article from 1975, reported that the song was selling at a clip of 15,000 copies per week. It would also go on to become one of Lynn’s most famous and beloved songs.
