The Banned Ad of Island Girl

 The Banned Ad of Island Girl

In October 1975, the American music magazine Billboard published, in its October 18 issue, an advertisement for Elton John’s single “Island Girl.” The record had been released just days earlier, on September 29, 1975, by MCA Records. The song quickly reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Elton’s fifth chart-topping single.

However, the promotional artwork drew attention for a darker reason. The MCA ad, featured on page 76 of the magazine, showed a racially insensitive illustration: a caricature of a Black woman depicted as a King Kong-like figure atop the Empire State Building, holding a white man — a direct visual reference to the song’s character, portrayed in the lyrics as a Jamaican prostitute.

The image, created by MCA’s advertising department, was not credited to any artist. At the time, no record industry publication, including Billboard itself, reported any criticism or public backlash against the ad. Decades later, however, collectors and historians of music marketing have cited it as a clear example of racial stereotyping common in 1970s promotional materials.

The controversy extended to the song’s lyrics. Written by Bernie Taupin, “Island Girl” includes racially charged and gendered language, describing the woman as “black as coal” and questioning her place in the “white man’s world.” Over the years, both Elton John and Taupin have acknowledged that the song’s content was inappropriate.

Although “Island Girl” was a commercial success in 1975, it gradually disappeared from Elton John’s live performances. The last known live rendition took place in 1990 in New Zealand. Since then, the song has been omitted from concert setlists and major compilation releases.

Today, both the 1975 advertisement and the song itself stand as reminders of a time when the music industry often overlooked racist and sexist portrayals in its visual and lyrical narratives. Despite its chart-topping success, “Island Girl” remains a controversial piece of Elton John’s legacy.

Billboard – October 18, 1975 (PDF):

https://archive.org/details/the-banned-ad-of-island-girl