1970s: "7 Deadly Words" - George Carlin
George Carlin ends his fourth comedy album with his legendary "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television'' bit. This was Carlin's defiance against the FCC during a time where comedians were harassed by government officials for their comedy acts. In July 1972, George Carlin was arrested in Wisconsin for performing his "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television" routine on stage. The obscenity charges were later dropped when a judge ruled in Carlin's favor, citing that Carlin's language was "indecent, but not obscene."
The next year, a case was filed when a father complained to the FCC after he and his son heard George Carlin's "Filfty Words" bit on the radio in New York City. This began a five-year court battle between FCC and Pacifica. The FCC sued Pacifica for breaking regulations that forbid broadcasting obscene material through radio waves. The case went to the Supreme Court, in which the court also ruled Carlin's bit was "indecent but not obscene," and decided the FCC can require "indecent" broadcasts to be aired during hours when only adults were presumably present. This was the origin of "safe harbor" hours between 10pm and 6am.
George Carlin is a direct descendant of Lenny Bruce's activism, and Class Clown archives the changing counter-culture sensibilities of the 1970s during the Vietnam war, and was an integral part in helping change American obscenity laws in communications, and securing first amendment rights for artists. This album also acts as an early archive of satire against U.S. involvement in the Vietnam war, and how Americans reacted to Muhammad Ali refusing to be drafted.
