
The Beijing Games concluded with the closing ceremony today, and the Summer Olympic torch was passed off to London. A performance by Jimmy Page of the British band Led Zeppelin was part of that hand-off from Beijing to London, but it turns out that some folks think Zeppelin lyrics aren't appropriate for all ears.
Page and Leona Lewis performed a version of the Zeppelin classic "Whole Lotta Love" that had some of the lyrics changed and others excised so as not to offend. Lewis didn't want to sing the line, "I'm gonna give you every inch of my love" in the second verse, because she said she didn't think that particular "sexual innuendo" made sense from a female singer. So "inch" was changed to "bit."
And the third verse, which includes the line, "Shake for me, girl, I wanna be your backdoor man" was deemed inappropriate and was cut from the ceremony.
My question: If the song was considered inappropriate, why didn't they just pick another song, instead of saddling the closing ceremony with a bastardized version?
Controversies at Beijing Games
The Beijing Games' closing ceremony includes a performance of the classic Led Zeppelin song "Whole Lotta Love" by Jimmy Page and singer Leona Lewis. But the song wasn't quite the same because some of the "sexual innuendo" was pulled from the lyrics.
Gabriel Bouys, AFP / Getty Images
Ukrainian heptathlete Lyudmila Blonska was stripped of her Olympic silver medal after a positive doping test. Blonska, who is facing lifetime banishment from the Olympics, already served a three-year suspension for doping from 2003-05.
Stu Forster, Getty Images
Sweden's Ara Abrahamian was stripped of his bronze medal and booted from the Beijing Olympics after he protested the result of a disputed Greco-Roman wrestling match. Abrahamian berated officials and dropped his bronze on the ground during the medal ceremony because of a controversial penalty call in his match against eventual gold medalist Andrea Minguzzi of Italy.
Ed Wray, AP
Spain's men's basketball team caused a stir when a photograph of the team using their index fingers to slant their eyes surfaced in a publication in their native country. While some have denounced the photo as racist, several Spanish players have said it has been misinterpreted.
Seur / AP
The Chinese women's gymnastics team took home gold, but questions remain about the age of team members. According to Olympic regulations, gymnasts must turn 16 during the year of the Games to be eligible to compete. Though all of the team members are of age on their passports, local reports have speculated that several of the members are underage.
Al Bello, Getty Images
Michael Phelps' record-tying seventh gold medal of the Games didn't come without controversy. Phelps, top, edged Serbian Milorad Cavic by 1/100th of second in 100-meter butterfly, but it was impossible to distinguish who won the race on TV replays. Cavic protested the result, but was overruled by FINA, swimming's international governing body.
IOC BOB / AP
Even the Opening Ceremonies had their fair share of controversy. Following reports that some of the fireworks during the ceremony were digitally enhanced, it was revealed that 9-year-old Lin Miaoke, pictured, lip-synced "Ode to the Motherland" in place of 7-year-old Yang Peiyi, who was deemed not good-looking enough by Chinese officials.
Zhou Liang, Xinhua / AP
Concerned about pollution in Beijing, members of the U.S. cycling team arrived in the host city wearing masks that covered the mouth and nose. They later sent a written apology to the organizing committee.
Valery Hache, AFP / Getty Images
Olympic speed skating gold medalist Joey Cheek was at the center of controversy when China pulled his visa right before the Beijing Games. Cheek, the founder of Team Darfur, a philanthropic group devoted to raising awareness about the crisis there, has been critical of the host country's support of Sudan's ruling regime.
Susan Walsh, AP
Vietnamese gymnast Thi Ngan Thuong was also expelled from the Games after she tested positive for a banned substance.
Hoang Dinh, AFP / Getty Images



























Reader Comments (Page 1 of 8)
8-24-2008 @ 9:06PM
terry said...
Why not pick another song....and judging from the photo earlier of the girl standing next to Beckham in a tight white tank and booty shorts I guess they werent all that strict on it
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8-25-2008 @ 4:31AM
melessa said...
omg i said the same thing! i was like. um, isnt she dressed a little skanky for the olympics?
8-25-2008 @ 5:10PM
Jack said...
Terry what closing ceremony were you watching? Beckham was wearing a "sweatsuit" pantts and a jacket pay attention
8-24-2008 @ 11:14PM
jon said...
Our world is a sad, sterile and mundane place anymore.
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8-25-2008 @ 1:44AM
NoOneYouKNow said...
Doesn't anyone know how to correctly use the word "anymore" anymore? Anyway, I agree with the person who said they should have just chosen a different song. Changing "inch" to "bit" for a female singer I can live with, but when they start leaving out entire lines, that's too much.
8-25-2008 @ 2:53PM
sarah said...
i agree it is a sad worl...ill take every inch of your love...:P
8-24-2008 @ 11:18PM
amankins said...
wow, that is just pretty sad.
all they have to do is pre-approve what they can, and can;t sing, and if they sing it, they dont get paid.
easy.
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8-24-2008 @ 11:25PM
Dave said...
I guess one Billion 300 Million Chinese never have sex.
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8-25-2008 @ 1:45PM
Robert said...
No, Its just that chinese dont have inches...
uhmmm they use the metric system. So it would have had to have been "every milimeter of my love"
8-25-2008 @ 6:06PM
Sue said...
That is not the point...who has sex and does not. The Olympics are attended by tons of children...hello????
8-24-2008 @ 11:31PM
tellie said...
Well, if a female singer were to sing about "giving you every inch of my love" and being "your back-door man", it would imply a kind of sex that would sound really weird at the Olympics. Think about it.
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8-25-2008 @ 5:54PM
jim said...
nawww...it would be an Olympic event!
8-24-2008 @ 11:34PM
richrdsmak said...
Well it didn't matter anyway because you couldn't understand a single thing that they were singing. The sound was SO horrible! It sounded like they placed a microphone in the middle of the stadium, so all we heard was echo and noise. Too bad...another great moment screwed up by network television. Sad.
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8-24-2008 @ 11:58PM
George B Vieto said...
Leona is overreacting in this case. Typical of these singers who find some song lyrics offensive and have to change the lyrics of the song and it turns out to be worse than the original.
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8-25-2008 @ 12:18AM
danger said...
It was cool to see Jimmy playing. Simple as that. If Plante had sung the sanitized lyrics that would be different.
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8-26-2008 @ 5:12PM
kd said...
WHOA..ridiculous, how about another song??? stupid
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8-25-2008 @ 12:45AM
carolyn said...
well ill be damned, THATS what the words to that song are, huh? have heard that a million times over the last 35 years and have never been able to understand a single word that schreeching fool has ever said. WHY in gods name would anyone pick this particular song for the closing ceremonies of the olympics? the inmates are clearly running the asylum on this one. great for everyone who partook in the festivities, but this just made me even more resolute to not shop at walmart.
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8-25-2008 @ 2:12AM
pat said...
Seriously, you have got to be kidding. "Whole Lotta Love" has sonme of the easiest Zep lyrics ever. I wonder what goes on in your head when you hear "Gallow's Pole" or "Kashmir"?
8-25-2008 @ 4:35PM
jrcass said...
Zepplin was all about the guitar rifts, the music and the beat. They define a time and place that will never happen again. LYRICS are just words unless you can relate to them personally, then listen to the Music, Revel in the beat and the magic. Set yourself free Go with the RHYTHM OF LIFE AND MUSIC.
8-25-2008 @ 12:21AM
Laura said...
Beckham. Lewis. Page. I'm still trying to connect these three people in some logical fashion. It's not working. Was this a last minute throw-together or what? And what was that they were standing on? A putt-putt course born from a bus? Zhang Yimou definitely needs to help the British in 2012. Jackie Chan singing his heart out was fabulous.
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