Bob Fass Recordings and Papers, 1935-2011, bulk 1963-1991

Summary Information

At a Glance

Arrangement

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into seven series. Materials in each series are arranged chronologically where dates are known; otherwise they are arranged alphabetically.

• Series I: Radio Unnameable, 1963-2011
• Subseries I.1: Radio Unnameable, 1963-1969
• Subseries I.2: Radio Unnameable, 1970-1977
• Subseries I.3: Radio Unnameable, 1982-1989
• Subseries I.4: Radio Unnameable, 1990-2011
• Subseries I.5: Radio Unnameable, undated
• Series II: Other radio shows, 1965-1990
• Subseries II.1: Beyond the Unnameable, 1972-1974, 1976, undated
• Subseries II.2: Night Into Day, 1966-1972, undated
• Subseries II.3: Bob Fass Show, 1965-1990, undated
• Subseries II.4: WFMU, 1980-1984, undated
• Subseries II.5: Radio show unidentified, 1966-2011
• Subseries II.6: Smaller radio production projects, circa, 1965-1985
• Subseries II.7: Announcements, routines, and other recorded components for radio, 1963-1994, undated
• Series III: Bootlegs, demo tapes, and other live recordings, 1962-2011
• Subseries III.1: Audition and demo tapes, 1962-2000, undated
• Subseries III.2: Bootlegs and live recordings, 1952-2004, undated
• Subseries III.3: Field recordings, 1963-2011, undated
• Subseries III.4: Radio and television shows and recordings produced by others, 1963-2011, undated
• Subseries III.5: Mix tapes, 1963, undated
• Series IV: Personal recordings and digital media, 1958, undated
• Series V: Unidentified recordings, 1958-1972, undated
• Series VI: Papers, photographs, and slides, 1941-circa 2010s, bulk circa 1960s-1990s
• Subseries VI.1: Individual correspondence and subject files, 1941-2008, bulk circa 1960s-1990s
• Subseries VI.2: WBAI, 1963-circa 2010s
• Subseries VI.3: Other activities and personal materials, circa 1950s-2009
• Series VII: Damaged and blank media, 1965-1991, undated

Description

Scope and Content

The Bob Fass Recordings and Papers contains materials created by Bob Fass, host of the late-night program Radio Unnameable on New York City's WBAI radio station. The collection primarily consists of audio recordings of Radio Unnameable and other radio programs hosted by Bob Fass between 1963 and 2011. A small number of video recordings, photographs, correspondence, printed ephemera, and motion picture films are also included in the collection.

Radio Unnameable provided a platform for many key figures of 1960s counterculture and helped launch the careers of artists including Bob Dylan, Arlo Guthrie, and Joni Mitchell. Guests frequently featured on the program include Greenwich Village-based folk musicians such as Larry Estridge, Tuli Kupferberg, and Sammy Walker; political activists including Abbie and Anita Hoffman and other members of the Yippies; the political assassination conspiracy theorists Mae Brussell, Flo Kennedy, and Ted Gandolfo; and comic performers and satirists Paul Krassner, Marshall Efron, and Wavy Gravy.

Bob Fass also used his radio programs to cover protests and current events of interest to his audience, including the 1963 March on Washington, the protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, and the 1988 Tompkins Square Park Riot. Some events, such as the Yip-In at Grand Central Station in April of 1968, were covered live in the field on Radio Unnameable. Others, such as the November 1975 revolt on Rikers Island, were covered via telephone calls from listeners who had information to share.

The bulk of the audiovisual recordings in the collection are on open-reel audiotapes and audiocassettes. Other formats include VHS, U-Matic, and 8mm videocassettes, many of which were used to store digital audio recordings before compact discs became widely available. A few dozen open reel videotapes contain video recordings. Most of the collection's later audio and video recordings, dating from circa 2001 to 2011, are on compact discs and DVDs.

Descriptive information created for many of the audiovisual recordings is preliminary. Item identification is based on information found on the packaging of the item, which may not be accurate or complete. Reusing tapes seems to have been a standard practice at WBAI. Tapes and cases also appear to have been mistakenly swapped on occasion during the decades prior to their arrival at the Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Item descriptions will be corrected as the items are digitized, and the finding aid updated accordingly.

• Series I: Radio Unnameable, 1963-2011

  Series I contains recordings of Radio Unnameable. The series is divided into subseries chronologically, due to the large number of recordings in the collection.

• Series II: Other radio shows, 1965-1990

  Series II contains recordings of radio shows other than Radio Unnameable, which were also hosted by Bob Fass.

• Series III: Bootlegs, demo tapes, and other live recordings, 1962-2011

  Series III contains recordings featuring performers other than Bob Fass, and materials in other formats whose primary subjects are not Bob Fass. Some materials in the series include Bob Fass as one of many subjects—for example, the recordings of the Living Theatre's production of Poland/1931, in which Fass played one of three leading roles. Other materials in the series, such as the field recordings in Subseries III.3, may have been created by Bob Fass, but he is not their primary subject.

• Series IV: Personal recordings and digital media, 1958, undated

  Series IV contains audio recordings and digital media from Bob Fass's personal life, unrelated to his activities as a radio host, musical aficionado, theatrical performer, or political activist. Paper-based personal materials are located in Series VI.

• Series V: Unidentified recordings, 1958-1972, undated

  Series V contains audio recordings which cannot be adequately described or accurately categorized based on the information provided about them. As the recordings are digitized and their content becomes clear, they will be moved into the first four series of the collection as appropriate.

• Series VI: Papers, photographs, and slides, 1941-circa 2010s, bulk circa 1960s-1990s

  Series VI contains correspondence, printed ephemera, newsletters and zines, manuscripts, and photographs and slides created or collected by Bob Fass throughout his life and career. Many of the materials in Series VI relate to recordings in the first five series of the collection. For example, photographs of the February 1967 Fly-In—recordings of which can be found in Series I.1—are included in Series VI. Other materials in the series document Bob Fass's political and musical interests, personal life, and Greenwich Village counterculture more broadly. Boxes 127-131 contain slides, Boxes 249 and 309 contain photographs, and Boxes 266 and 293-296 contain oversized materials. Photographic prints are generally black and white, while slides are in full color.

• Series VII: Damaged and blank media, 1965-1991, undated

  Series VII contains items that could not be digitized, usually because they were blank or were damaged beyond repair.

Using the Collection

Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Conditions Governing Access

You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

To request a copy of an audio or video item, the researcher must visit the RBML reading room and listen to / view the item. If the item is still desired, a description of the proposed use of the item will be evaluated by the donor.

The papers and photographs are located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.

Unique time-based media items have been reformatted and are available onsite via links in the container list. Commercial materials are not routinely digitized. The items are also browsable via the Digital Library Collections website and many cases have additional metadata.

Any digital media in this collection must be imaged before use. Please contact the library to arrange access to these materials.

Boxes numbered 132-148, 240, 250, and 292 do not exist.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. To request a copy of an audio or video item, the researcher must visit the RBML reading room and listen to / view the item. If the item is still desired, a description of the proposed use of the item will be evaluated by the donor. Single photocopies of paper and photographic items may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron. Please contact the library for more information.

Preferred Citation

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Bob Fass Recordings and Papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Related Materials

Abbie Hoffman Papers, 1943-2016: Papers of Abbie Hoffman, co-founder of the Youth International Party, repeat guest on Radio Unnameable, and friend of Bob Fass. At the University of Texas at Austin Briscoe Center for American History.

Stew Albert and Judy Gumbo Albert papers, 1938-2006: Papers of another Youth International Party founding member and Radio Unnameable guest. At the University of Michigan Special Collections Research Center.

Accrual

An addition of approximately 594 audiotapes arrived in summer 2020. These items were assigned unique identifiers between BF6001 and BF6694.

Ownership and Custodial History

Purchased from Bob Fass in 2016.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Papers: Method of acquisition--Purchase; Date of acquisition--date. Accession number--2015.2016.M122.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Processing Information

Recordings processed by Celeste Brewer, Christopher Laico, Vianca Victor, and Jonathan Jara, 2017. Recordings digitized, 2018-2022. Papers processed by Celeste Brewer, May-September 2023.

Items in Series VII were originally described in the first five series of the collection. They were moved into this series during the digitization process for this collection, after they were determined to be blank, damaged beyond repair, or otherwise impossible to digitize.

Slides in boxes originally numbered 132-148 were rehoused into boxes 127-131. Boxes 132-148 no longer exist. Films in boxes 162-163 were rehoused onto one reel per original box during digitization. As a result, Box 162-163 is now one box containing two film reels.

The entirety of the papers in Series VI were cleaned to remove mold in 2020. (Photographs and slides were not affected by mold and did not need cleaning.) Approximately one third of the recordings in the collection were also affected by mold and were cleaned prior to digitization.

The original order of any material, insofar as it existed, was lost over the course of several moves and a hasty retrieval from Fass's home on Staten Island during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Many recordings were unlabeled and some were misidentified, possibly due to accidental swaps of items and cases. Even some paper-based material is unattributed or unidentified. Identification of material in the collection was an extensive effort involving staff members from across Columbia University Libraries, including Original and Special Materials Cataloging librarians and staff in Preservation and Reformatting. RBML welcomes additional information about unidentified or under-described materials in this collection.

At some point before 2017 and 2023, some materials were erroneously labeled with the call number MS#1786. Many of these errors were resolved; however, some material may still retain the error. The call number for this collection is MS#1784.

Separated Materials

Videotapes with BF numbers BF2899, BF2912, and BF4096 contained material of a personal nature and were discarded.

Revision Description

2017-10-20 File created.

2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.

2019-07-03 Links to digitized content added. kws

2023-07-24 Series VI processed and description uploaded. CLB

Subject Headings

The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches at Columbia University through the Archival Collections Portal and through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, as well as ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.

All links open new windows.

Genre/Form

Subject

History / Biographical Note

Biographical Note

Bob Fass (1933-2021) was born in Brooklyn, New York, on June 29, 1933. After graduating from Syracuse University in 1955, he joined the U.S. Army, where he directed and acted in dramatic productions for the Fort Bragg Entertainment Workshop. He then returned to New York City to study acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse and the Stella Adler Studio of Acting. He joined the staff of WBAI in 1963.

In the 1960s, Fass helped create the format known as free-form radio on his program, Radio Unnameable. He became known for his long, discursive conversations with his listeners, as well as for the many musicians, performers, and activists who appeared on his show. Radio Unnameable provided a platform for many key figures of 1960s counterculture and helped launch the careers of artists including Bob Dylan, Arlo Guthrie, and Joni Mitchell.

In 1977, a dispute over WBAI staff unionization resulted in Bob Fass being banned from WBAI for five years. During those years, he broadcast at WFMU, WBAI's listener-supported counterpart, in New Jersey. He also returned to acting in theatrical works. He was reinstated at WBAI in 1982.

Throughout the 1980s and beyond, Fass continued to work as an actor and master of ceremonies for live events, in addition to hosting Radio Unnameable. He also produced several smaller scale projects for radio and public access television. Radio Unnameable ceased to be broadcast nightly after 1982. In 2006, it was reduced to once a week. Bob Fass continued to host Radio Unnameable weekly after midnight on WBAI-FM until shortly before his death on April 24, 2021.