The 2001 Clear Channel memorandum is a document distributed by Clear Channel Communications (now known as iHeartMedia) shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, to the more than 1,200 radio stations they owned. The memo contained a long list of what the memo termed "lyrically questionable" songs.
During the time immediately after the attacks, many television and radio stations altered normal programming in response to the events, and the rumor spread that Clear Channel and its subsidiaries had established a list of songs with lyrics Clear Channel deemed "questionable". The list was not a demand not to play the songs listed, but rather a suggestion that they "might not want to play these songs". The list was made public by the independent newsletter Hits Daily Double, which is not affiliated with iHeartMedia. Snopes.com did research on the subject and concluded that the list did exist as a suggestion for radio stations but noted that it was not an outright ban on the songs in question. The compiled list was the subject of media attention around the time of its release.
The list contains 165 suggestions, including a single suggestion for all songs by Rage Against the Machine as well as certain songs recorded by multiple artists (for example "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" by Guns N' Roses and the original version by Bob Dylan). In some cases, only certain versions of songs were included on the list. For example, the cover of "Smooth Criminal" by Alien Ant Farm is on the list while the original Michael Jackson recording is not. Similarly, J. Frank Wilson's version of "Last Kiss" is included, but Pearl Jam's cover is not. Also, Martha and the Vandellas's original version of "Dancing in the Street" and Van Halen's version is included; David Bowie and Mick Jagger's recording was excluded from the list. Also, the song "Leaving on a Jet Plane" by Peter, Paul, and Mary is included, but the version by the song's composer John Denver is not. AC/DC has the most individual songs listed, with 7 specific songs by them appearing on the list.