On December 17, 1977, the year punk originally broke, 23-year-old Elvis Costello did something on live, national TV that would have him banned from Saturday Night Live "forever."
Although not technically a punker, the well-dressed pop star was never one to back down from confrontation and had such a beautiful edge to him that when he sang "I'm Not Angry (Anymore)" no one believed him.
So when he was told he could play two songs on the groundbreaking late night show, but not "Radio, Radio," he did the most punk rock thing.

Of course he played it.
The tune's lyrics ping-pong between sarcasm and spite as Elvis, on his second album ever, ridicules the radio industry in the most biting way ever set on wax:
You either shut up or get cut up, they don't wanna hear about it
It's only inches on the reel-to-reel
And the radio is in the hands of such a lot of fools
Tryin' to anesthetize the way that you feel
Radio is a sound salvation
Radio is cleaning up the nation
They say you better listen to the voice of reason
But they don't give you any choice 'cause they think that it's treason
So you had better do as you are told
You better listen to the radio
Wonderful radio
Marvelous radio
The night started fine with Elvis and The Attractions performing the delightful "Watching the Detectives." Then when they returned to stage later in the show, they began with "Less Than Zero."
But then the bespeckled guitarist, looking sharp in a suit and tie, shouted at his band to stop. Then he said a phrase that will go down in rock and TV history.
“I'm sorry, ladies and gentlemen, there's no reason to do this song here.”
And then they broke in to "Radio Radio." The one song he was instructed not to play.

The network execs and suits at Columbia Records became furious, in part because Elvis wasn't even supposed to be in the building.
SNL had originally invited the Sex Pistols to be the musical guest that night, but the band's manager, the usually super smart Malcolm McLaren didn't do the correct paperwork to get Johnny Rotten et al across the pond.
So the show called The Ramones, who could have easily taken the subway from the Bowery to 30 Rock to fill in, but immediately refused the offer.
In his autobiography, Commando, singer Joey Ramone, speaking about the SNL offer stated proudly, "we don’t substitute for anybody."
Careful viewers of the video of Elvis defying the suits will see drummer Pete Thomas wearing a sleeveless t-shirt with THANKS MALC on it, a sly tip of the cap to the Pistols' manager.
In 2013, Details magazine asked Costello about the SNL appearance and he said he was inspired by something Jimi Hendrix did on the BBC the night Cream broke up.
"I was copying Jimi Hendrix," he explained, referring to the night the guitar god stopped playing "Hey Joe" and instead broke into a Cream song. Hendrix's version was so long during the live program that it cut into the news. Which, apparently was sinful back then.
"Hendrix had done the same thing on the Lulu Show, when he went into an unscheduled number. I remember seeing it and going, 'What the hell's going on?'"
By the time SNL turned 25 years old it patched things up with Costello and during the Beastie Boys doing "Sabotage," Elvis stormed the stage and the three bad brothers you know so well busted with "Radio, Radio," with the King of America.
Elvis announced a fascinating tour recently. In 2025 he will go on the road and play his early material.
Dubbed The Radio Soul Tour ("Radio Soul" was the original title of "Radio, Radio" when he penned the first incarnation of the tune), Costello will perform setlists containing songs from his 1977 debut, My Aim Is True through 1986's Blood & Chocolate.
Tickets available on Elvis's website.

Radio Soul Tour
June 12, 2025 Seattle, WA Woodland Park Zoo Amphitheatre
June 13, 2025 Portland, OR Keller Auditorium
June 15, 2025 Reno, NV Venue TBA
June 17, 2025 San Francisco, CA The Masonic
June 19, 2025 Wheatland, CA Hard Rock Live Sacramento
June 21, 2025 Los Angeles, CA Orpheum
June 24, 2025 San Diego, CA Humphreys Concerts by the bay
June 26, 2025 Las Vegas, NV Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino Resort
June 28, 2025 Beaver Creek, CO Vilar Performing Arts Center
June 29, 2025 Denver, CO Bellco Theatre
July 1, 2025 Kansas City, MO Uptown Theater
July 3, 2025 St. Louis, MO The Factory
July 5, 2025 Nashville, TN Ryman Auditorium
July 7, 2025 Greenville, SC The Peace Center Concert Hall
July 9, 2025 St. Petersburg, FL Duke Energy Center for the Arts
July 10, 2025 Fort Myers, FL Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall
July 12, 2025 Miami Beach, FL Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theatre