Controversy sells, as the old saying goes. Oliver Anthony Music’s “Rich Men North of Richmond enters the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 1 this week, having set off a national debate over its lyrics.
The opening lyrics are the kind of highly relatable, working-stiff complaints that we’ve seen since at least the days of Johnny Paycheck’s 1977 hit “Take This Job and Shove It” – “I’ve been sellin’ my soul, workin’ all day / Overtime hours for bullshit pay.”
But it’s these lyrics that have stirred the most heated controversy: “Lord, we got folks in the street, ain’t got nothin’ to eat / And the obese milkin’ welfare/Well, God, if you’re 5-foot-3 and you’re 300 pounds / Taxes ought not to pay for your bags of fudge rounds.”
“Rich Men North of Richmond” is the second No. 1 on the Hot 100 this month that has been highly controversial. Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town” became his first No. 1 hit because, not in spite of, the fact that it has incited controversy.
“Rich Men North of Richmond” and “Try That in a Small Town” join a long line of No. 1 hits that were controversial. Artists such as The Rolling Stones and Madonna seem to thrive on controversy, on pushing the envelope.
Here are 15 No. 1 hits on the Hot 100 that stirred controversy at the time. They are listed in chronological order. We also show how controversial they were on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the most controversial.
Additional assistance from Andrew Unterberger and Joe Lynch.
