It was Tipper Gore and her rock and roll "backmasking" hysteria that got us lyrics on album covers. (That wasn't necessarily a bad thing, though. Lyrics were hard to understand, which is why everyone used to get them so very wrong. "Yes, I'd like to hear I Ain't Jay by the Rolling Stones, please ..." Crap equipment as much as anything else. Before that, it was considered special if you got lyrics with your record. And sometimes the record album would have them, but not the cassette version. 2112, looking at you for most disappointing tape version.)

FIrst time I remember "political correctness" being mentioned was around about 1984/85 (when cable was new to my area, and I was ~16) and comedians were talking about how "they" wanted the names of things like manhole covers changed; no one had been asking that, but the next thing you know, you're not supposed to say -ess on the ends of occupational words. Before that, you had those Norman Lear shows.

It crept up on little cat's paws while all eyes were on Reagan and Swaggart and the Moral Majority.