Presented here is a digital reproduction of a recorded conversation among Lenny Bruce, Phil Spector and Allen Ginsberg. The date is January 25, 1966 and the location is Bruce's house in Los Angeles. Ginsberg recorded the conversation. The primary goal of the meeting was for Ginsberg to hear Bruce's experience with being arrested for giving performances that contained obscene material, and his views on what legal steps can be taken to fight those charges. The secondary goal is for Spector and Bruce to discuss Bruce's upcoming engagement, financially backed by Spector, at the Music Box theater in Los Angeles. The recording begins with Bruce's talk, in progress, about California obscenity law. He stresses the importance of the judge who issues the warrant for the arrest (as opposed to the trial judge). He talks about the history of obscenity law in the state and says that his contention now is that he's been repeatedly deprived of his civil rights. He says that his speech is his own property. He wants the opportunity to be heard, because juries and judges haven't heard his act from him (they've heard it approximated by police officers and other witnesses). Bruce goes into the differences between federal courts vs. state courts as regards freedom of speech and says, I know more than any member of the American Civil Liberties Union. Ginsberg tells Bruce that radio station KPFA taped a poetry reading of his and then decided not to broadcast it for fear that the FCC would bother them (because of the issue of obscenity). Ginsberg asked the station to get a letter from the FCC saying the reading can't be broadcast; in that case Ginsberg will sue the FCC. However, the FCC won't say in advance what they would ban from the airwaves; they say a show should be broadcast first, and then a judgment will be made. Ginsberg asks for Bruce's advice on how to proceed. Bruce says it will be a matter for a federal, not California, court. He says the 5th amendment of the Constitution protects your property ( your property is the medium of expression ), and under the 14th amendment, the state is forbidden to deprive you of your liberty ( your freedom of expression ). He advises Ginsberg to take his tape before a federal court and have it declared that the work is protected under the first amendment. Ginsberg says he's gotten what he wanted from Bruce, and jokes What's your fee? Bruce further discusses his legal problems. Ginsberg says he finds Bruce hard to understand, and that may be why Bruce has trouble communicating with his lawyers. He observes You very rarely finish a sentence, syntactically and Your method of communication is simultaneous association, at times. Bruce reads from a 1961 Supreme Court decision that said a Los Angeles ordinance on obscenity had been improperly applied; he doesn't understand why, in light of this, he has been repeatedly forced to prove in court that his act is art. Bruce and Spector talk about the upcoming shows at the Music Box theater, which will begin on February 5, 1966. They discuss how to advertise the shows. Spector worries that the old-school Hollywood publicists wouldn't know to advertise the Bruce shows in college newspapers. Bruce is about to go on Melvin Belli's television show, and he says he can easily get other TV spots. Bruce says his legal situation in Los Angeles should be better since there's a new district attorney, named Younger. Still, he plans to go to a federal court in New York with the purpose of getting a legal declaration that his work is protected (from charges of obscenity). Bruce tells Spector to be sure to have a reputable accounting firm handle the ticketing. Spector tells the story of having gone to Jungle Land (39 miles from Hollywood) to check out a prospective opening act for Bruce: a trio of dancing pigs. Spector talks about his current lawsuit against The Righteous Brothers, who left his record company for Verve/MGM. He is about to go to New York for that trial. As Spector and Ginsberg exit the house, Ginsberg leaves the recorder on during the walk. He says to Bruce: Doesn't it look pretty with the city behind you? Meditating on the law. That's nice. The recorder is shut off, then turned on again and Ginsberg identifies the time and date of the conversation at the embattled, barbed wire household of Lenny Bruce.
Full length copies of the recordings are available for use in the department. Please contact the Robert D. Farber University Archives & Special Collections Department, Brandeis University for more information.
