This Banned 1957 Rock Hit Is Now Ranked Among the Greatest Songs Ever
Fans may be surprised to learn that every decade has yielded its fair share of songs that were deemed inappropriate for radio play. Rock duo the Everly Brothers recorded and released a hit track in 1957 that was banned from local radio stations over its lyrics.
"Wake Up Little Susie" was originally written by husband-and-wife country music and pop songwriting team, Felice and Boudleaux Bryant. The duo had developed multiple tracks for the Everly Brothers in their careers that became hits like "All I Have to Do Is Dream" and "Bye Bye Love." Both tracks were named in Rolling Stone's list of the Greatest Songs of All Time, including their first No. 1 track, "Wake Up Little Susie."
The track only further pushed the rock duo into stardom, topping almost every Billboard chart at No.1, while landing at No. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in 1982. It was even No. 1 on the Cash Box Best Selling Records charts. Unlike its predecessors, "Wake Up Little Susie" was one of the only tracks by the Everly Brothers to get banned from the radio.
"Wake Up Little Susie" lyrics were considered suggestive at the time and resulted in the song being banned from Boston radio stations. In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, Don Everly recalls having been phoned about the track being pulled by stations in Boston, and he thought it was absurd.
"They called and said it had been banned in Boston, and I said, 'what?' I was naive in those days. To me, they just fell asleep at a movie. Everybody else took it like some big deal," he said. "It's what people read into it, isn't it? Today you say that innocent little song was banned in Boston, and somebody`s going to ask you, 'Where were people`s heads?'"
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The lyrics for the track tell the story of a young teen couple who have fallen "sound asleep" while watching a movie at a drive-in. Its lyrics then say, "The movie's over, it's four o'clock, and we're in trouble deep." The rest of the lyrics joke about the two teens getting in trouble, unclear of what to tell Susie's parents, having "goofed again," and losing their good reputations.
At the time the song was released, some felt the lyrics were alluding to a sexual rendezvous at the drive-in. The misinterpretations weren't uncommon during the '50s, when teens would often use the drive-in for dates away from prying eyes. Regardless of its ban, "Wake Up Little Susie" was still a chart-topper that ended up being inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2017.
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This story was originally published May 10, 2026 at 1:48 PM.