ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, September 14, 1996 TAG: 9609170003
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JAMES BATES ANd CHUCK PHILIPS LOS ANGELES TIMES
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., America's largest retailer, stunned the music industry by banning an upcoming album by Grammy winner Sheryl Crow from its stores because of a song lyric suggesting that the the retailer sells guns to children.
Wal-Mart's decision, which record industry executives estimate could cost Crow a staggering 400,000 album sales, came two weeks before the album, ``Sheryl Crow,'' is to be released by A&M Records on Sept. 24.
Stores such as Wal-Mart frequently refuse to sell albums containing lyrics they believe are too sexually explicit or excessively violent. But this is apparently the first time a major retailer has banned a song in which it is the target of a lyric.
``Selling a record implying behavior that is against all we stand for is something we just could not profit from,'' said Wal-Mart spokesman Dale Ingram.
What also makes the dispute unusual is that the 34-year-old Crow is hardly the kind of artist one expects to find at the forefront of a music censorship issue. Her upcoming album is Crow's much-anticipated follow-up to her best-selling ``Tuesday Night Music Club,'' whose ``All I Wanna Do'' single in 1995 won her Grammy awards for best pop vocal performance and record of the year. Crow also won a Grammy that year for best new artist.
The lyrics at issue are in a song called ``Love is a Good Thing,'' co-written with Tad Wadhams. The lyrics read:
``Watch out sister,
watch out brother,
Watch our children as they kill each other
with a gun they bought at the Wal-Mart discount stores.''
Ingram characterized the lyrics as an unfair attack on the Bentonville, Ark.-based chain, which he said has strict policies prohibiting the sale of guns to minors. He said the company believes the song insults Wal-Mart employees, many of whom are involved in charities for children.
Wal-Mart became aware of the lyrics when the album was screened by a ``rack job'' company that distributes albums to the chain and checks albums for lyrics before their release. A&M Record's Chairman Al Cafaro said Wal-Mart did not request that Crow change her lyric.
Wal-Mart's gun sales have periodically been criticized and the subject of lawsuits, although the company in recent years has taken steps to tighten its policies.
In 1994, Wal-Mart stopped selling handguns in its stores, making them available only through catalogs. That decision came after the company was sued by relatives of a Texas man who allegedly killed his parents with a gun bought at a Wal-Mart even though he had indicated on a federal form that he had been treated for mental problems. At the time, Wal-Mart denied that the decision was related to the lawsuit.
In 1992, a judge dismissed a lawsuit that had accused Wal-Mart of selling bullets to two minors who used them to kill a man working in a Florida auto parts store, citing a previous legal case that found that a person who illegally sold a gun could not have known it would be used in a crime. In 1994, Wal-Mart was sued by the family of a man killed in a Texas courthouse shootout by an assailant who had allegedly bought a gun from Wal-Mart even though he was under indictment for sexual assault charges.
Crow could not be reached for comment.
The Wal-Mart decision brought immediate criticism from record industry executives, who noted the irony that an anti-violence song is being banned from a retailer even as the entertainment industry is under fire from politicians such as presidential candidates Bob Dole and President Clinton for violent content in films, TV shows and song lyrics.
``At a time when the entire entertainment industry is criticized about lyrics being too violent, here we have a cautionary tale about the dangers of guns,'' Cafaro said.
Added Hilary Rosen, president of the Recording Industry Association of America, ``Sheryl Crow is a great artist with a lot of positive things to say to young people. Shame on Wal-Mart to censor that message out of its own self-interest.''
Music executives have been expecting strong sales from Crow's album. Crow's first single from the album, ``If It Makes You Happy,'' also is expected to be banned from Wal-Mart, A&M executives said, even though the offending lyric isn't on the single.
Exactly how many fewer albums A&M will sell is hard to say, although executives said that Wal-Mart, with 2,265 stores, could have sold 400,000 or more if the album turns out to be a hit. Discount retailers such as Wal-Mart have emerged the past few years as the largest sellers of albums as traditional record chains have fallen on tough times. As a result, Wal-Mart's decision carries far more weight than if it been made by a record chain or any other retailer.
LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Po-rock singer Sheryl Crow's new, self-titled album willby CNBbe released Sept. 24. color.