Skip to main content

Larry Katz interviews

 Collection
Identifier: M223

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of over 1,000 interviews conducted by music reporter Larry Katz, captured on nearly 500 audio cassettes, 1980-2007. Katz worked at the Real Paper (1980-1981) and The Boston Herald (1981-2011), and the interviews informed his reporting. Katz transcribed many of the interviews; the collection contains both the transcripts and the audio recordings. Most of the interviews are with musicians and others in the music industry, but he also interviewed cultural figures such as writers and artists.

Katz recorded his interviews on audiocassettes, often recording more than one interview per cassette. He typically wrote the names of interviewees on the cassette and/or on the jacket sleeve. The audiocassettes have been digitized and are accessible via Northeastern's Digital Repository Service (DRS).

Since there is often more than one interview per cassette, the contents of each cassette may be split up in several discreet interviews. In some cases, names written on the cassette do not have a corresponding interview in the DRS. These names are preceded by an asterisk, to alert researchers that the interview was not found in the reformatted version of the cassette. In other cases, an interview was found on the reformatted version, but the interviewee(s)'s name was not found written on the actual cassette.

Katz also saved “tear sheets” of the articles he had written, which were page(s) torn out of the publication. These are mostly from The Boston Herald, and are part of the collection as well.

Dates

  • Creation: 1980-2007

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is unrestricted.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright restrictions may apply.

Biographical / Historical

Larry Katz was a reporter, critic, columnist and editor at The Real Paper (1980-1981) and The Boston Herald (1981-2011). Originally from New York, Katz moved to Boston in the late 1970s after receiving a BA degree from the City College of New York and a BS degree from the Manhattan School of Music. During his time as a reporter, he interviewed hundreds of musicians and others in the music industry, as well as cultural figures such as writers and artists.

Extent

14.1 cubic feet (18 boxes)

498 audio cassettes

Language

English

Overview

Writer and editor Larry Katz worked at the Real Paper (1980-1981) and The Boston Herald (1981-2011), where he was a reporter, arts critic, arts columnist, music editor, arts editor and executive features editor. He conducted approximately 1200 interviews, recorded on audio cassette, to inform his reporting. Most of the interviews were with musicians, or other individuals from the music industry, but he also interviewed other cultural and sports figures such as writers, illustrators and sports teams managers. Katz transcribed some of the interviews, and also saved copies of articles he wrote.

Arrangement

Organized into 3 series: 1. Interviews; 2. Transcripts; 3. Tear sheets. Files are arranged alphabetically within series.

Physical Location

100/5/1, 100/6/1-2, 100/7/1

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Larry Katz donated the audiocassettes to Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections in 2021, and donated the interview transcripts and tear sheets in 2024.

Sources for Biographical Note

Title
Finding aid for the Larry Katz interviews
Author
Irene Gates, Dominique Medal and Aleks Renerts
Date
November 2024
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Snell Library
360 Huntington Avenue
Boston MA 02115 US