Danny Fields | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Fields in 2017 | |
| Born | Daniel Feinberg (1939-11-13)November 13, 1939 (age 85) |
| Education | Harvard Law School (Did not graduate) |
| Alma mater | University of Pennsylvania |
Danny Fields (bornDaniel Feinberg; November 13, 1939) is an American music manager, publicist, journalist, and author. As a music industry executive from the 1960s to the 1980s, he was one of the most influential figures in the history ofpunk rock. He signed and managedIggy and the Stooges, signed theMC5 and managed theRamones, and worked in various roles withJim Morrison,the Velvet Underground and theModern Lovers. In 2014The New York Times said, "You could make a convincing case that without Danny Fields, punk rock would not have happened."[1]
Fields was born to a Jewish family and grew up inRichmond Hill, Queens. After graduatingPhi Beta Kappa[2] from theUniversity of Pennsylvania in 1959, he attendedHarvard Law School, but left during his first year. He moved to Manhattan'sGreenwich Village in 1960, briefly enrolled atNew York University, and became involved with the burgeoning downtown arts and music scene.[1]
After stints at publications such asLiquor Store andOutdoor Advertiser, Fields got a job at the teen-fan magazineDatebook. In 1966, as Managing Editor, he was responsible for shining a spotlight onJohn Lennon's "more popular than Jesus" quote.[3]
In the 1960s, Fields began frequentingMax's Kansas City. It was there that he developed connections toAndy Warhol'sFactory social circle. Fields occasionally shared his loft with Warhol actressEdie Sedgwick,[4] and wrote an account of the Warhol-sponsoredVelvet Underground during their early years. He later penned the liner notes for the band's albumLive at Max's Kansas City, recorded in 1970, but released in 1972, after the band broke up.
Fields hosted a radio show onNew Jersey'sWFMU during its groundbreaking 1968–1969 free-form years, and he was hired byElektra Records as a publicist. Elektra, which had primarily been afolk music label, was having huge success in the rock record market withThe Doors, and hired Fields to publicize the band, despite the fact (discussed by Fields in numerous interviews) that he and lead singerJim Morrison disliked each other.[3] Despite this mutual antagonism, Fields got Morrison on many key teen magazine covers in 1968. In September 1968, Fields visited Detroit and Ann Arbor on the recommendation of two fellow DJs at WFMU (Bob Rudnick and Dennis Frawley). He recommended to Elektra that the label sign theMC5 andThe Stooges.[3] Both bands served as major inspirations for the US and UK punk music movements of the mid-to-late 1970s. Danny was also instrumental in getting the legendary New York street musician, David Peel, released on Elektra in 1968[5]
In 1975, Fields discovered theRamones atCBGB, and helped get them signed toSire Records. Around this time, Fields was writing a regular column in theSoHo Weekly News.[6][7] As the band's co-manager, withLinda Stein, Fields brought the band toEngland, where they had an enormous impact, inspiring the nascent UK punk movement, including such bands as theSex Pistols,The Clash andThe Damned. Under Fields' management the Ramones recordedRamones,Leave Home, andRocket to Russia. The 1980 Ramones albumEnd of the Century includes the track "Danny Says", about Fields. The song has been covered by theFoo Fighters andTom Waits.[8]
In 1990, Fields discovered singer-songwriterPaleface at a performance in New York's Chameleon club and became his manager: he helped the young artist get signed toPolygram Records andElektra Records.[9]
After leaving the music business, Fields co-authoredDream On, the biography of Warhol actressCyrinda Foxe, the wife ofAerosmith lead singerSteven Tyler. He subsequently wroteLinda McCartney: A Portrait,[10] which was turned into a television miniseries by CBS.[citation needed]
In 2015, Fields discovered East London punk bandFalse Heads in Camden and has been highly influential in the band's career and growing success,[11] naming them as "the future of rock and roll".[12]
Fields was one of the first people in the music business to be openly gay.[13]
He currently lives in New York City.
Interviews with Fields are included in the documentariesNico: Icon (1995),We're Outta Here! (1997),25 Years of Punk (2001),MC5: A True Testimonial (2002),End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones (2003), andA Walk Into the Sea: Danny Williams and the Warhol Factory (2007),It's Alive 1974–1996 (2007), andLords of the Revolution: Andy Warhol (2009). He is also one of the central characters ofEdie: American Girl byJean Stein andPlease Kill Me|Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk byLegs McNeil andGillian McCain; the dedication of the latter book reads, "For his gorgeous taste in music, his generous intellect, and his killer sense of humor, this book is dedicated to Danny Fields, forever the coolest guy in the room." The 2006 bookThe Heebie-Jeebies at CBGB's: A Secret History of Jewish Punk (A Cappella Books/Chicago Review Press), by Steven Lee Beeber, includes a chapter about Fields, entitled, "A Nice Jewish Boy."[14]
Danny Says, a feature-length documentary chronicling Fields' life, premiered atSouth by Southwest in 2015.
