Famed for his landmark "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television" routine, George Carlin filled the void created by the death of Lenny Bruce, honing a provocative, scathing comic style which bravely explored the limits of free speech and good taste. George Dennis Carlin was born on May 12, 1937 in the Bronx, New York. While serving a stint in the military, he was stationed in Shreveport, Lousiana, where he began working as a disc jockey; after working with fellow radio personality Jack Burns on a Shreveport morning show, in 1955 the duo began performing in clubs as a comedy team. Carlin and Burns made their recorded debut in 1960 with a live show consisting of their rendition of Lenny Bruce's "Dijinni in the Candy Store" routine (Bruce was an early supporter of the duo as well as a major influence) along with a spot-on impersonation of Mort Sahl and the sketch "Captain Jack and Jolly George," a spoof of children's shows inviting young girls to "send for your Lolita kit."

By and large, the Carlin-Burns team found little success, and eventually broke up; the album was not released until many years later under the name The Original George Carlin, long after Burns split to begin working with Avery Schreiber. Striking out on his own, Carlin's initial work cast him a clean-cut, straitlaced performer; his proper solo debut, 1967's Take Offs and Put Ons, offered clever if mild-mannered routines like "Wonderful WINO," about a mindless disc jockey. That year he was also tapped to co-star in Away We Go, a summer replacement series for The Jackie Gleason Show; still, despite his success, Carlin found his suit-and-tie image stifling, and began gravitating towards the image and ideals of the counterculture.