OntheWilderSide

(You can buy a tape of George Carlin’s 7 words from the non-profit, Pacifica Radio Archives here.) (See the keep reading for a description of the 7 words performance on WBAI Pacifica Radio.)

George Carlin mourned as a counterculture hero

By KEITH ST. CLAIR, Associated Press Writer 3 minutes ago

Acerbic standup comedian and satirist George Carlin, whose staunch defense of free speech in his most famous routine “Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television” led to a key Supreme Court ruling on obscenity, has died…

Carlin’s jokes constantly breached the accepted boundaries of comedy and language, particularly with his routine on the “Seven Words” — all of which are taboo on broadcast TV and radio to this day…

When the words were later played on a New York radio station, they resulted in a 1978 Supreme Court ruling upholding the government’s authority to sanction stations for broadcasting offensive language during hours when children might be listening…

[Note: Guess the mainstream media cannot even say the words: The “New York radio station” which played the 7 words in 1978 was WBAI 99.5FM in New York. WBAI is part of the Pacifica Radio network. Their focus is peace and justice. WBAI is community supported, Free Speech radio. In response to the news of George Carlin’s passing, WBAI will surely have good and meaningful coverage of George Carlin’s life.]

Description of the tape of George Carlin’s 7 words routine at the Pacifica Radio Archives. You can order a copy on line:

From the Vault: George Carlin, Pacifica, and the F.C.C.
Description

“And bastard you can say, and hell, and damn, so I have to figure out which ones you couldn’t ever — and it came down to seven, but the list is open to amendment, and in fact, has been changed; by now, a lot of people have pointed things out to me, and I noticed some myself. The original seven words were: [expletives omitted]. Those are the ones that will curve your spine, grow hair on your hands, and maybe even bring us- God help us- peace without honor and a bourbon.” ~George Carlin performing his “Filthy Words” routine in 1973.

At 2:00 pm on Tuesday, October 30, 1973, WBAI 99.5 FM host Paul Gorman broadcast, unedited, George Carlin’s “Filthy Words” monologue, and Pacifica Radio listeners in New York City were treated that autumn day to a bold and controversial test of First Amendment. Rich- very rich- with expletives, that first (and only) unedited public broadcast of “Filthy Words” would be become the genesis for one of the the most important landmark Supreme Court decisions on free speech in the last 30 years. The fallout from that historic broadcast, as documented and preserved in the vault of the Pacifica Radio Archives, provides the inspiration for this week’s episode of From the Vault.

F.C.C. v. Pacifica Foundation, or the ‘Carlin Case’ as it is now commonly called, was really born from the action of a lone radio listener whom filed a complaint with FCC some weeks after the original “Filthy Words” broadcast in 1973 on WBAI. After a volley of threats from the FCC, Pacifica Foundation (which owns and operates WBAI) dug in its heels and fought back, in the name of protecting its Mission and the interests of free speech in the United States. After an initial court victory by Pacifica, the FCC appealed to the Supreme Court, which in 1978 rejected Pacifica’s arguments and effectively established itself as a moral authority on what’s decent and what’s not.

In the first half hour, we’ll dig through the vault and explore our wonderful collection of ‘Carlin Case’ interviews, produced for WBAI in 1978 by Joe Cuomo and Mickey Waldman. The interviews are with host Paul Gorman, former FCC Commissioners, a lawyer for the National Association of Broadcasters, and a minister. Then, we’ll hear a reading of the letter that started it all, followed by a healthy dose of Carlin’s “Filthy Words” (edited for language, of course!).

In the second half hour we will hear from George Carlin himself, in excerpts from two wonderful interviews he gave – one in 1970 before his “Filthy Words” routine was broadcast on WBAI, and the other conducted by Larry Bensky at KPFA in June 1997, nearly 30 years later. Together, they provide an interesting time-lapse perspective of one of the more controversial and brilliant comedians alive today.

Filed under: media, More Events Calendars, News, Nonprofit Orgs, Our Favorite Radio Stations, progressive politics Tagged: | Filfthy Words, first ammendment, Free Speech, George Carlin, pacifica, Pacifica Radio Archives, Radio station, Supreme Court, WBAI