Remember when the VP formerly known as Al Gore tried to stop the damaging effects of Purple Rain?

Before he was saving the planet from acid rain, the vice president formerly known as Al Gore was helping his wife save the children from Purple Rain.

It was the 1980s and rock music was unabashed with blatant messages of sex, drugs, and Beelzebub. And many of the top bands and artists of the time were gender-bending perverts and parents everywhere were scrambling to protect their kids’ innocence that was being robbed by Twisted Sister’s bulging denim and Prince’s technicolor hip gyrations.

Who would save America’s children from this debauchery? Their parents? Their churches? No! The government, that’s who! Al and Tipper Gore made it their mission to become the federal parents of every child in America. With their sites firmly set on the music industry, Tipper launched the PMRC, the Parents Music Resource Center, and came up with what the group considered to be the worst of the worst songs in music. They called them “The Filthy Fifteen” and the list included songs by Judas Priest, Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Def Leppard, and Prince just to name a few.

At that time, Tipper had released a book called, Raising PG Kids in an X-Rated Society. She explained that she blindly bought Prince’s Purple Rain for her 11-year-old daughter; something that millions of other parents were doing in 1984, as it was one of the most popular albums of that year. Her book explains what happened next:

“When we brought the album home, put it on our stereo, and listened to it together, we heard the words to…’Darling Nikki’: ‘I knew a girl named Nikki/guess [you] could say she was a sex fiend/I met her in a hotel lobby/Masturbating with a magazine.’ The song went on and on, in a similar manner. I couldn’t believe my ears! The vulgar lyrics embarrassed both of us. At first, I was stunned—then I got mad!”

Of course, any of us would be mad if we were blindsided by something like that, but even just a little bit of effort into researching Prince’s past work — his album Dirty Mind, for example — might have clued Tipper in that perhaps this scantily-clad androgynous pelvis pumper was probably not producing songs aimed at an 11-year-old audience. But by golly it’s because she didn’t have something like the PMRC in place doing all the leg work to protect her own child!

And that’s the basic thinking of why the PMRC was started and Prince’s song “Darling Nikki” was target number one on “The Filthy Fifteen” list. So, hubby Al, a senator at that time, helped her set up a hearing to “urge” — not force, mind you (yeah, right) — the music industry to follow in the footsteps of the film industry and start putting warning labels on records that contained themes of sex, drugs, or violence in the lyrics.

Those hearings can be viewed on YouTube and really should be required viewing if for nothing else than watching Tipper and Al get verbally whipped by one wild-haired rocker, Dee Snider; lead singer of Twisted Sister, whose song “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” also made the PMRC’s list because they interpreted it as violent. It’s not violent at all and Snider let them know it. He also reminded the panel of federal know-it-alls and moral betters that it is HIS job as a parent to monitor what his children hear and see, not anyone else:

“There happens to be one area where I’m in complete agreement with the PMRC, as well as the national PTA, and probably most of the parents on this committee. That is, it is my job as a parent to monitor what my children see, hear and read during their pre-teen years. The full responsibility for this falls on the shoulders of my wife and I because there is no one else capable of making these judgements for us. Parents can thank the PMRC for reminding them that there is no substitute for parental guidance but that is where the PMRC’s job ends.”

And boom goes the heavy metal hammer!

But try as they might, the Gore’s never were really able to stop the Purple Rain and the outpouring of support in the wake of Prince’s sudden death has proven that his influence spread far and wide across the warming globe — which just so happens to be where Al’s savior talents really shine; one fossil fuel-burning private jet trip around the world at a time.

H/T Reason