The consensus of his family, friends and fans is clear. Steve Grimmett was one of a kind. It wasn’t just his absolutely amazing vocal abilities, he was a genuinely nice and extremely approachable guy, no rock star ego at all. As we reflect on his contribution to the world, remember the prophetic lines of Grim Reaper’s classic anthem”Rock You To Hell” that he and Nick Bowcott gave us in response to the 1985 PMRC’s attempt to censor music lyrics, in which they questioned if books were next? And here we are in 2024, and yes, Steve, you were right!
The Gauntlet listed “Rock You To Hell” as one of the top 5 Metal Songs that challenged the PMRC, writing “The song has probably immediately been dismissed as Satanic on the basis of its title alone on a few too many occasions. However, in reality, ‘Rock You to Hell’ is another excellent battle cry in the fight against musical suppression. The tune calls for unity between musicians and their audiences in order to be victorious in the battle, and that unity is achieved each time they play the song live. The video demonstrates how rock and metal are viewed as detrimental to society by showing the band performing in a prison, and even placing vocalist Steve Grimmett in a straight-jacket at one point. Nevertheless, Grimmett and co. summed up and validated their claim beautifully with one line: ‘It’s only entertainment, can’t they see?’”
https://www.thegauntlet.com/article/31675/The-Top-5-Metal-Songs-That-Challenged-the-PMRC#google_vignette
“Rock You To Hell”
What’s wrong with our society, is it fear or apathy,
Don’t let other people run your life
So those with power don’t use it, they simply abuse it,
And believe me that cuts me like a knife
We gotta make sure that this don’t happen,
‘Cause to me and you it just ain’t right,
Gonna make damn sure it don’t happen,
This is what I’m gonna do
Rock you to hell, packin’ up and shippin’ out,
Rock you to hell, hear them scream and shout,
Rock you to hell, but I’m never giving out,
Rock you to hell, Rock you to hell
Did you always do what momma said, brush your teeth and go to bed,
‘Cause that way never worked for me,
Now they wanna censor music, and if we don’t fight we’ll lose it,
It’s only entertainment, can’t they see?
We gotta make sure that this don’t happen,
‘Cause to me and you it just ain’t right,
Gonna make damn sure it don’t happen,
This is what I’m gonna do
Rock you to hell, packin’ up and shippin’ out,
Rock you to hell, hear them scream and shout,
Rock you to hell, but I’m never giving out,
Rock you to hell, Rock you to hell
Rock you to hell
Is this the beginning of a future
No books, no sound, no rock ‘n’ roll,
With only a few to fight, the manly
This is why rock ‘n’ roll will never die
We gotta make sure that this don’t happen,
‘Cause to me and you it just ain’t right,
Gonna make damn sure it don’t happen,
This is what I’m gonna do
Rock you to hell, packin’ up and shippin’ out,
Rock you to hell, hear them scream and shout,
Rock you to hell, but I’m never giving out,
Rock you to hell, Rock you to hell
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