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The Katz Tapes at Northeastern Archives and Special Collections

"The Katz Tapes" was a blog created by Larry Katz in 2013. Between 2013 and 2018 Larry Katz published posts reflecting on and transcribing some of the recorded interviews he conducted with many musicians over the course of his career as a music reporter for several Boston area newspapers. You can learn about the course of Katz’s career in his own words on the "About Larry Katz" page.

In 2020 Katz donated the recordings of his interviews to the Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections.  This version of the Katz Tapes Blog replicates the content of Larry Katz’s original site as much as possible with the notable exception that links to the newly digitized interviews have been added throughout. To browse the full digitized collection please visit the "Browse the Tapes" page.

A Collage of Images from Blog Posts

RSS Blog Posts

  • D.J. Fontana (1997)
    D.J. Fontana etched his place in rock and roll history playing drums for Elvis Presley. He was more than just lucky to be in the right place at the right time. Original Interview Audio: The staff drummer for the Louisiana Hayride TV show when he first backed Elvis in 1954, Fontana was a killer on […]
  • Jay Geils (2005)
      Jay Geils made his mark playing blues and his fortune playing rock and roll. But his first love was jazz. Jay—who died on April 11, 2017 at age 71—made that clear when I interviewed him at his split-level home in Groton ten days before a date at Tempo, a Waltham restaurant, to celebrate the […]
  • Wilson Pickett (1999)
    “We didn’t go in there bullcrapping around. We meant business.”  – Wilson Pickett               Pop quiz: Name the top three greats of sixties soul. If you answer James Brown, Aretha Franklin and Otis Redding, you won’t get much of an argument from anyone. But who comes next on the […]
  • Dan Penn (1995)
      Dan Penn is far from famous, but most everyone – at least most everyone of a certain age – knows his work. Penn produced the Box Tops’ immortal “The Letter” and co-wrote a clutch of stone soul classics (“Dark End of the Street,” “Do Right Woman,” “I’m Your Puppet,” “Cry Like A Baby,” “Sweet […]
  • Chubby Checker (2003)
                      Chubby Checker believes he deserves more than just a plaque in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He wants what he insists is his just due: a 30-foot tall statue on the plaza in front of the Hall of Fame building in Cleveland. Original Interview […]
  • David Bowie (1995)
    When liver cancer killed David Bowie on January 10, 2016, he had made sure the world would be thinking about his art as well as his death. Original 1995 Interview Audio:   His musical, “Lazarus,” opened off-Broadway on December 7; his final album, “Black Star,” appeared two days before he died; in between the show […]
  • Lloyd Price (1998)
      Lloyd Price is angry. His anger comes through on almost every page of a new memoir as idiosyncratic as its title: “sumdumhonkey.” Original Interview Audio: In it, you will find stories about Price’s musical career, such as how he came to record of one of the first rock and roll records, “Lawdy Miss Clawdy, […]
  • John Trudell (1992)
    “…an Indian is someone you rob, someone you steal from.” If you’re into “Serial,” “The Jinx” or “Making of A Murderer,” check out “Incident at Oglala,” a 1992 documentary about Leonard Peltier, a Native American activist imprisoned for two murders there is reason to believe he did not commit. You will also meet John Trudell, […]
  • Ted Hawkins (1994)
    “….I’m wringing wet with sweat, my throat’s on fire and my hand is aching. But I had to keep going…” “Cold and Bitter Tears – The Songs of Ted Hawkins” is a tribute album boasting no celebrity names. James McMurtry, Kasey Chambers and Mary Gauthier are probably the most recognizable of the Americana and country […]
  • Allen Toussaint (1996)
    “If I was to say my joy, piano is first.”     I loved Allen Toussaint before I knew who Allen Toussaint was. Original Interview Audio: In this, I’m sure I was not alone. My first exposure to Toussaint most likely came in 1960, when Ernie K-Doe ruled the Top Ten with “Mother-In-Law,” which Toussaint […]

Original Interview Audio Tapes

Interview with Tom Petty, American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer and actor
Katz, Larry
Petty, Tom
Interview with Aretha Franklin, American singer-songwriter dubbed the "Queen of Soul", 1991
Katz, Larry
Franklin, Aretha
Interview with Aretha Franklin, American singer-songwriter dubbed the "Queen of Soul", 1995
Katz, Larry
Franklin, Aretha
Interview with Lou Reed, American musician, singer, songwriter and poet
Katz, Larry
Reed, Lou
Interview with Lou Reed, American musician, singer, songwriter and poet
Katz, Larry
Reed, Lou
Interview with Lou Reed, American musician, singer, songwriter and poet, 2003
Katz, Larry
Reed, Lou
Interview with Chet Atkins, American country musician
Katz, Larry
Atkins, Chet
Interview with Abbey Lincoln, American jazz vocalist, songwriter, actress and activist
Katz, Larry
Lincoln, Abbey
Interview with Dickey Betts, American guitarist, singer and founding member of The Allman Brothers Band, 1989
Katz, Larry
Betts, Dickey
Interview with Dickey Betts, American guitarist, singer and founding member of The Allman Brothers Band, 2000
Katz, Larry
Betts, Dickey
Interview with Edie Brickell, American singer-songwriter
Katz, Larry
Brickell, Edie
Interview with Aimee Mann, American singer-songwriter and member of new wave band 'Til Tuesday, 1996
Katz, Larry
Mann, Aimee
Interview with Aimee Mann, American singer-songwriter and member of new wave band 'Til Tuesday, 1985
Katz, Larry
Mann, Aimee
Interview with Cornel West, American philosopher, political activist, social critic, spoken word performer and public intellectual
Katz, Larry
West, Cornel
Interview with Joe Perry, American musician, songwriter and member of rock band Aerosmith, 1997
Katz, Larry
Perry, Joe
Interview with Joe Perry, American musician, songwriter and member of rock band Aerosmith, 2003
Katz, Larry
Perry, Joe
Interview with Joe Perry, American musician, songwriter and member of rock band Aerosmith, 2005
Katz, Larry
Perry, Joe
Interview with Joe Perry, American musician, songwriter and member of rock band Aerosmith, 1993
Katz, Larry
Perry, Joe
Interview with John Fogerty, American musician, singer, songwriter and co-founder of the band Creedence Clearwater Revival
Katz, Larry
Fogerty, John
Interview with Gary Talley, American guitarist, singer, songwriter and author
Katz, Larry
Talley, Gary
Interview with Mark Sandman, American singer, songwriter, musical instrument inventor, musician, comic writer and lead singer and slide bass player of alternative rock band Morphine
Katz, Larry
Sandman, Mark
Interview with Celia Cruz, Cuban-American singer
Katz, Larry
Cruz, Celia
Interview with Rosanne Cash, American country singer-songwriter and daughter of Johnny Cash, 1981
Katz, Larry
Cash, Rosanne
Interview with Rosanne Cash, American country singer-songwriter and daughter of Johnny Cash, 2003
Katz, Larry
Cash, Rosanne
Interview with John Lydon, also known as Johnny Rotten, English singer, songwriter and member of British punk band the Sex Pistols
Katz, Larry
Lydon, John
Interview with Dick Addrisi of the Addrisi Brothers, American pop duo from Winthrop, Massachusetts
Katz, Larry
Addrisi, Dick
Interview with Ginger Baker, English drummer and a co-founder of rock band Cream
Katz, Larry
Baker, Ginger
Interview with James Brown, American funk and soul singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, record producer, and bandleader, 1994
Katz, Larry
Brown, James
Interview with James Brown, American funk and soul singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, record producer, and bandleader, 1993
Katz, Larry
Brown, James
Interview with Robyn Davidson, Australian travel writer and author of Tracks
Katz, Larry
Davidson, Robyn
Interview with Billy Joel, American musician, singer-songwriter, and composer, 1998
Katz, Larry
Joel, Billy
Interview with Billy Joel, American musician, singer-songwriter, and composer, 1989
Katz, Larry
Joel, Billy
Interview with Billy Joel, American musician, singer-songwriter, and composer, 2001
Katz, Larry
Joel, Billy
Interview with Billy Joel, American musician, singer-songwriter, and composer, 2004
Katz, Larry
Joel, Billy
Interview with Jack Bruce, Scottish bassist, singer-songwriter and member of the rock band Cream
Katz, Larry
Bruce, Jack
Interview with Oscar Brown, Jr., American singer, songwriter, playwright, actor, poet and civil rights activist
Katz, Larry
Brown, Oscar
Interview with Merle Haggard, American country singer-songwriter, guitarist and fiddler
Katz, Larry
Haggard, Merle
Interview with Scotty Moore, American guitarist, recording engineer and member of Elvis Presley's backing band
Katz, Larry
Moore, Scotty
Interview with Sam Moore, American vocalist and member of soul and R&B duo Sam & Dave
Katz, Larry
Moore, Sam
Interview with David Maxwell, American blues pianist, songwriter and singer, 1997
Katz, Larry
Maxwell, David
Interview with David Maxwell, American blues pianist, songwriter and singer, 1994
Katz, Larry
Maxwell, David
Interview with Elvis Costello, English singer-songwriter, 1998
Katz, Larry
Costello, Elvis
Interview with Elvis Costello, English singer-songwriter, 1993
Katz, Larry
Costello, Elvis
Interview with Burt Bacharach, American composer, songwriter and record producer about Elvis Costello
Katz, Larry
Bacharach, Burt
Interview with Michael Thomas, British violinist and former member of classical group Brodsky Quartet
Katz, Larry
Thomas, Michael
Interview with Ben E. King, American soul and R&B singer and record producer
Katz, Larry
King, Ben E.
Interview with Charles Sawyer, American historian, author and biographer
Katz, Larry
Sawyer, Charles
Interview with Ornette Coleman, American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer
Katz, Larry
Coleman, Ornette
Interview with Ornette Coleman, American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer, 1994
Katz, Larry
Coleman, Ornette
Interview with Nina Simone, American singer, songwriter, musician, arranger and civil rights activist
Katz, Larry
Simone, Nina
Interview with Mose Allison, American jazz and blues musician
Katz, Larry
Allison, Mose
Interview with Curtis Mayfield, American soul and funk singer-songwriter, guitarist and record producer, 1994
Katz, Larry
Mayfield, Curtis
Interview with Curtis Mayfield, American soul and funk singer-songwriter, guitarist and record producer, 1996
Katz, Larry
Mayfield, Curtis
Interview with Al Kooper, American songwriter, record producer and musician
Katz, Larry
Kooper, Al
Interview with Al Kooper, American songwriter, record producer and musician
Katz, Larry
Kooper, Al
Interview with Al Kooper, American songwriter, record producer and musician, 1999
Katz, Larry
Kooper, Al
Interview with Al Kooper, American songwriter, record producer and musician, 1995
Katz, Larry
Kooper, Al
Interview with Al Kooper, American songwriter, record producer and musician, 2005
Katz, Larry
Kooper, Al
Interview with Allen Toussaint, American musician, songwriter, arranger and record producer
Katz, Larry
Toussaint, Allen
Interview with Ted Hawkins, American singer-songwriter
Katz, Larry
Hawkins, Ted
Interview with John Trudell, Native American author, poet, actor, musician and political activist
Katz, Larry
Trudell, John
Interview with Lloyd Price, American R&B, pop and soul vocalist
Katz, Larry
Price, Lloyd
Interview with David Bowie, English singer-songwriter, 1990
Katz, Larry
Bowie, David
Interview with David Bowie, English singer-songwriter, 1995
Katz, Larry
Bowie, David
Interview with Chubby Checker, American rock singer and dancer
Katz, Larry
Checker, Chubby
Interview with Dan Penn, American songwriter, singer, musician, and record producer
Katz, Larry
Penn, Dan
Interview with Wilson Pickett, American soul and funk singer-songwriter
Katz, Larry
Pickett, Wilson
Group interview with the J. Geils Band, American rock band from Boston, Massachusetts
Katz, Larry
The J. Geils Band
Interview with Seth Justman, American musician and keyboard player rock band The J. Geils Band
Katz, Larry
Justman, Seth
Interview with Peter Wolf, American musician and lead vocalist of rock group The J. Geils Band, 1998
Katz, Larry
Wolf, Peter
Interview with Peter Wolf, American musician and lead vocalist of rock group The J. Geils Band, 2002
Katz, Larry
Wolf, Peter
Interview with Peter Wolf, American musician and lead vocalist of rock group The J. Geils Band, 1990
Katz, Larry
Wolf, Peter
Interview with Peter Wolf, American musician and lead vocalist of rock group The J. Geils Band, 1994
Katz, Larry
Wolf, Peter
Interview with Peter Wolf, American musician and lead vocalist of rock group The J. Geils Band, 1996
Katz, Larry
Wolf, Peter
Interview with Peter Wolf, American musician and lead vocalist of rock group The J. Geils Band, 1993
Katz, Larry
Wolf, Peter
Interview with Peter Wolf, American musician and lead vocalist of rock group The J. Geils Band, 1994
Katz, Larry
Wolf, Peter
Interview with Peter Wolf, American musician and lead vocalist of rock group The J. Geils Band, 1999
Katz, Larry
Wolf, Peter
Interview with D.J. Fontana, American musician and drummer for Elvis Presley
Katz, Larry
Fontana, D.J.