Sunday, February 5, 2023

They're Coming to Take Me Away by Napolean 14 should not be played on the radio as an oldie

 Last night Cousin Brucie honored the request of a listener by playing They're Coming to Take Me Away by Napolean XIV.  I posted my disapproval on the Fans of Cousin Bruce page on Facebook.  Several people who wanted to hear this bashed me personally.  Thus, I deleted the thread.  People can disagree with me but did not have to make personal attacks.

I found this comment on the WABC of July 19, 1966:

SPECIAL NOTE:  "They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!" by 
Napoleon XIV (on the Warner Brothers label) generated massive 
amounts of protest in New York and elsewhere.  The protests mostly 
came from mental health professionals, advocates for mental 
health, and families of those afflicted with mental illness or 
psychological/psychiatric disorders.  Both New York Top 40 
stations (WABC and WMCA) banned airplay of the song; WABC doing so 
in the middle of this survey week, when the song reached its peak 
position.  WABC acknowledged this on the air, continued to list 
the song on the survey in subsequent weeks, and its position was 
noted on the air during Cousin Brucie's Top 20 countdown on 
Tuesday evenings, but it never again received airplay.

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