Clear Channel Memo Songs: And When I Die

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With the new month comes a new countdown, and for this month’s theme I’m continuing a look at songs that were frowned upon. This month, though, it’s songs that were on the Clear Channel Memorandum, a list of songs from the executives at the radio media giant that were thought to be “inappropriate” after 9/11. As with all the month-long countdowns, we start alphabetically and end up with my ten favorites. Let’s get going! And When I Die - Blood, Sweat, and Tears Hey, it’s a repeat act! BST was on last month’s list with “Hi-De-Ho,” which was considered a drug song by the idjits in the Illinois Crime Commission. This time around, they took a Laura Nyro song (that had been covered by Peter, Paul, and Mary [side note: their version is amazing!] before they did it) that took a positive (or at least an attitude of “oh, well”) outlook on death and made it a top three hit in 1969. This one is a little “obvious,” I guess. Still, it was a hit during the Vietnam War, when death totals were a nightly feature from Uncle Walter. It’s a terrific song, though. Post-script: James William Guercio, the longtime Chicago producer, also produced this song’s album. Guess it shows. And When I Die Written by Laura Nyro Recorded by Blood, Sweat, and Tears From Blood, Sweat, and Tears, 1968 All I ask of living is to have no chains on me: