Classic rock songs about 9/11 came from some of the biggest names in music within weeks of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Twenty-five years later, on the anniversary this week, those songs still shape how rock remembers that day.
So do the benefit concerts and a controversial radio memo from the same period.
Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, and Neil Young all wrote new material and played emergency benefit shows in the days that followed.
Meanwhile, roughly 160 existing songs got flagged as “inappropriate” for radio.
File photo: Bruce Springsteen performing on a recent tour, not from 2001. Reused from classicrockartists.com’s Springsteen coverage.
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⚡ Key Takeaways
- Bruce Springsteen released “The Rising” on July 30, 2002, one of the definitive classic rock songs about 9/11, built around “My City of Ruins.”
- Paul McCartney released the charity single “Freedom” on November 5, 2001, with Eric Clapton on guitar, to benefit New York City firefighters and police.
- The Clear Channel memorandum listed roughly 160 songs that more than 1,100 radio stations were encouraged to avoid playing after September 14, 2001.
- Rage Against the Machine was the only act whose entire catalog was pulled from Clear Channel airplay after the attacks.
- America: A Tribute to Heroes aired September 21, 2001, and The Concert for New York City followed at Madison Square Garden on October 20, 2001.
What Classic Rock Songs About 9/11 Should You Know?
The best-known classic rock songs about 9/11 came from artists who lived through the attacks or lost people they knew that day.
Bruce Springsteen’s “My City of Ruins” and the full “The Rising” album lead any list of classic rock songs about 9/11.
Neil Young’s “Let’s Roll” and Paul McCartney’s “Freedom” belong right alongside them.
Bob Dylan’s album “Love and Theft” happened to arrive in stores on September 11, 2001.
Its song “Mississippi” contains the line “sky full of fire, pain pouring down.”
Slayer’s “God Hates Us All” was delayed from a July release to September 11, 2001.
Its track “Disciple” references a “terrorist targeting the next mark.”
Neither Dylan nor Slayer wrote those lyrics about the attacks, since both records were finished before September 11.
Writer Greg Tate later asked in the Village Voice what Dylan “knew, and when did he know it.”
The question pointed to the eerie timing of the album’s release date.
How Did Bruce Springsteen Write Classic Rock Songs About 9/11?
Bruce Springsteen updated an older song, “My City of Ruins,” into a tribute for the benefit-concert circuit within days of the attacks.
The song describes a firefighter climbing the stairs of the World Trade Center, aware he might not come back down.
Springsteen expanded that idea into a full studio album, “The Rising,” released July 30, 2002.
“The Rising” became one of the most direct classic rock songs about 9/11 to reach a mass audience.
Springsteen has continued touring in the years since, most recently confirming 2026 American tour dates.
File photo: Mick Jagger performing on a recent tour, not from the 2001 Concert for New York City. Reused from classicrockartists.com’s Rolling Stones coverage.
Which Classic Rock Artists Performed at 9/11 Benefit Concerts?
Two large benefit concerts brought together most of the classic rock artists who responded to 9/11 in the weeks after the attacks.
America: A Tribute to Heroes aired September 21, 2001, across all four major U.S. broadcast networks.
Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Tom Petty, Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Jon Bon Jovi, and Richie Sambora all performed on that broadcast.
Neil Young covered John Lennon’s “Imagine” during the telecast, a moment that became one of the night’s defining performances.
U2 performed “Walk On” by satellite from London for the same broadcast.
The Concert for New York City followed on October 20, 2001, at Madison Square Garden.
Paul McCartney, who had watched the attacks unfold from a grounded plane on the JFK airport tarmac, opened that show.
The Who joined Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones on the Madison Square Garden stage.
David Bowie, Elton John, and Eric Clapton performed there too.
Sting also chose to perform on September 11 itself, at an already-scheduled intimate show in Tuscany, Italy.
He went ahead despite losing a friend in the towers.
“I didn’t know how I was gonna go out there,” Sting told the Chicago Tribune, “but there seemed to be a groundswell for music.”
Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo also played a scheduled show that night, in Napa Valley, California.
The crowd gave a strong response to their 1985 hit “Invincible.”
| Concert | Date | Classic Rock Performers |
|---|---|---|
| America: A Tribute to Heroes | September 21, 2001 | Springsteen, Neil Young, Tom Petty, Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Bon Jovi, U2 |
| The Concert for New York City | October 20, 2001 | McCartney, The Who, Jagger, Richards, Bowie, Elton John, Clapton |
Which New Classic Rock Songs About 9/11 Were Released?
Several classic rock songs about 9/11 arrived as standalone charity releases rather than album tracks.
Paul McCartney released “Freedom” as a benefit single on November 5, 2001, with Eric Clapton on guitar.
“We hadn’t reckoned on this demand for ‘Freedom,'” McCartney said at the time.
The single raised money for New York City firefighters and police.
Neil Young introduced “Let’s Roll” in November 2001, naming it after Todd Beamer’s final words before passengers tried to retake United Airlines Flight 93.
Young later placed “Let’s Roll” on his 2002 album “Are You Passionate?”
Sting released the concert film “All This Time” on November 20, 2001.
He dedicated it “to all those who lost their lives on that day.”
Stevie Nicks kept a personal 9/11 diary in the weeks that followed.
She later described it as documenting “a tragedy like no one has ever seen.”
What Songs Got Banned From the Radio After 9/11?
No song was formally banned after 9/11.
Clear Channel instead sent a memo to more than 1,100 stations on September 14, 2001, listing roughly 160 songs to avoid.
The Clear Channel memorandum flagged songs referencing airplanes, explosions, death, and New York City.
The list of flagged classic rock songs about 9/11 caution mixed obvious choices with a few genuine surprises.
- AC/DC, “Shot Down in Flames“
- Billy Joel, “Only the Good Die Young”
- Ozzy Osbourne, “Suicide Solution”
- Blue Oyster Cult, “Burnin’ for You”
- Creedence Clearwater Revival, “Travelin’ Band”
- Dio, “Holy Diver”
- Elton John, “Rocket Man”
- Metallica, “Seek and Destroy”
- Led Zeppelin, “Stairway to Heaven”
- John Lennon, “Imagine”
The full memo, later republished by Kerrang and Consequence, mixed these classic rock songs about 9/11 flags with plenty of pop and rap titles too.
No single genre was spared.
Why Was Rage Against the Machine’s Entire Catalog Banned?
Rage Against the Machine was the only band pulled from Clear Channel airplay entirely, regardless of a given song’s lyrics.
The band’s politically charged catalog made programmers uneasy in the raw, patriotic mood of September 2001.
No individual Rage Against the Machine song needed to reference the World Trade Center or the Pentagon to make the list.
The whole-catalog ban made Rage Against the Machine the most extreme case in the entire Clear Channel memorandum.
No other artist’s full catalog got the same treatment among the classic rock songs about 9/11 caution decisions.
Why Do Classic Rock Songs About 9/11 Still Matter 25 Years Later?
Classic rock songs about 9/11 still matter because they capture how musicians processed a national trauma in real time, without hindsight.
Springsteen’s “The Rising,” McCartney’s “Freedom,” and Young’s “Let’s Roll” remain staples of anniversary coverage every September.
The Clear Channel memorandum is remembered today as a case study in media overreaction under pressure, according to Snopes and The Washington Post.
The September 2026 anniversary has brought renewed attention to these classic rock songs about 9/11.
The benefit concerts that surrounded them are getting a fresh look too.
Anyone exploring classic rock artists from this era will run into the aftermath of September 11 again and again.
People Also Ask About Classic Rock Songs About 9/11
What Classic Rock Songs Are About 9/11?
The best-known classic rock songs about 9/11 are Bruce Springsteen’s “My City of Ruins” and “The Rising,” Neil Young’s “Let’s Roll,” and Paul McCartney’s “Freedom.”
Springsteen wrote “My City of Ruins” as a tribute to first responders and built his 2002 album “The Rising” around that theme.
Did Bruce Springsteen Write a Song About 9/11?
Yes, Bruce Springsteen wrote “My City of Ruins” and released the full album “The Rising” on July 30, 2002, both directly inspired by the September 11 attacks.
The album became one of the most commercially successful rock responses to the tragedy.
What Songs Were Banned From Radio After 9/11?
Clear Channel sent a memo to more than 1,100 radio stations on September 14, 2001, listing roughly 160 songs to avoid.
The list included AC/DC’s “Shot Down in Flames,” Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven,” and John Lennon’s “Imagine.”
Rage Against the Machine was the only band whose entire catalog was flagged.
What Was the Clear Channel Memorandum?
The Clear Channel memorandum was an internal list of about 160 songs that Clear Channel circulated to its radio stations on September 14, 2001, as suggestions to avoid playing after the attacks.
It was never an official or legally binding ban, but many stations followed it anyway.
Which Classic Rock Artists Performed at 9/11 Benefit Concerts?
Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, and Paul McCartney all performed at either America: A Tribute to Heroes on September 21, 2001, or The Concert for New York City on October 20, 2001.
The Who, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, David Bowie, Elton John, and Eric Clapton performed at those same two shows.
Both benefit concerts raised money for 9/11 victims and first responders.
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🎸 Essential 9/11 Tribute Albums 🎸
The records that came directly out of rock’s response to September 11, 2001.
The Rising
Bruce Springsteen, 2002
Built around “My City of Ruins,” Springsteen’s direct response to the September 11 attacks.
One of the most acclaimed classic rock songs about 9/11 collections ever released.
Are You Passionate?
Neil Young, 2002
Home to “Let’s Roll,” Young’s tribute to the passengers of Flight 93.
A soul-influenced record cut with members of Booker T. and the M.G.’s.
The Concert for New York City
Various Artists, filmed October 20, 2001
Full footage of McCartney, The Who, Bowie, Clapton, and more at Madison Square Garden.
The definitive visual record of rock’s biggest 9/11 benefit show.
America: A Tribute to Heroes
Various Artists, 2001
The September 21, 2001 telecast, with Springsteen, Neil Young, and U2 among the performers.
Recorded ten days after the attacks, before the shock had even started to settle.
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Last updated: September 10, 2026.
Twenty-five years on, classic rock songs about 9/11 still stand as the clearest record of how the genre answered that day.