April 5th, 1983 - The Beach Boys banned from the National Mall by James Watt
The Beach Boys of the early Eighties were about as All-American as any Sixties rock band could be. Every Fourth of July weekend they performed on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. But in 1983 Secretary of the Interior James Watt banned them and opener the Grass Roots, saying that rock bands attracted the "wrong element." He then announced that Wayne Newton would take their place. The news caused an absolute uproar, angering even Ronald and Nancy Reagan. Watt was forced to apologize. The Beach Boys returned to the National Mall the following summer, but by that point Watt was long out of a job. In September of 1983 he was talking about affirmative action when he uttered his now legendary quote: "I have a black, a woman, two Jews and a cripple. And we have talent." It was the perfect storm of offensiveness, and he was soon forced to resign.
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