‘Try That in a Small Town,’ ‘WAP’ & More No. 1 Hot 100 Hits That Stirred Controversy

Controversy sells, as the old saying goes. Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town” has become his first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, due to — not in spite of — the fact that it has incited controversy. The song was released in May, but only exploded in the past few weeks. It entered the Hot 100 at No. 2 last week and moves up to No. 1 this week.

Critics accused him Aldean of including racial dog whistles in the song and video, a charge he denied. “There is not a single lyric in the song that references race or points to it and there isn’t a single video clip that isn’t real news footage,” he said in a statement. Nonetheless, CMT pulled the clip from its video rotation. The video was later edited to remove imagery of a Black Lives Matter protest and additional footage later in the video.

“Try That in a Small Town” joins 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.

Sometimes the story behind a No. 1 hit is what isn’t controversial anymore. Stories’ “Brother Louie” detailed an interracial romance, yet that didn’t stir much debate in 1973. Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On,” also from 1973, was one of the most overtly sexual songs released to that point, but it became a megahit, logging more weeks in the top 10 (13) than any song since B.J. Thomas’ “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” at the turn of the ’70s.

Here are 14 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.