Ernie Fields | |
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| Birth name | Ernest Lawrence Fields |
| Born | (1904-08-28)August 28, 1904 Nacogdoches, Texas, United States |
| Died | May 1, 1997(1997-05-01) (aged 92) Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States |
| Occupation(s) | Trombonist, pianist,arranger,bandleader |
| Instrument(s) | Trombone, piano |
| Years active | 1920s-1960s |
Ernest Lawrence Fields (August 28, 1904 – May 11, 1997)[1] was an Americantrombonist,pianist,arranger andbandleader. He first became known for leading the Royal Entertainers, aterritory band which was based inTulsa, Oklahoma, and toured along a circuit stretching fromKansas City, Kansas, toDallas, Texas, and eventually across the US and parts of Canada. Later, he led a band that recorded inLos Angeles.
Fields was born inNacogdoches, Texas,[2] and was raised inTaft, Oklahoma. He graduated fromTuskegee Institute in 1924 and then moved to Tulsa.[1][3]
Over the course of his career, a number of musicians who were to become well known passed through his band. These included vocalist and drummerRoy Milton.[4],Yusef Lateef,Booker Ervin,Rene Hall andTeddy Edwards ("Going Back to T-Town: The Ernie Fields Territory Big Band"] University of Oklahoma Press ISBN 978-0-8061-9184-3 hardcover)
From the late 1920s, he led a band called the Royal Entertainers, and eventually began touring more widely, and recording. Supported byBob Wills, Fields' band became the first African-American band to play at the landmarkCain's Ballroom in Tulsa.[3] In 1939, he was invited to New York City byJohn Hammond to record for theVocalion label, and began to tour nationally.[1] He did not become a star, but continued to work steadily, recording for smaller labels, and gradually transforming his sound through a smaller band and a repertoire shift frombig band,swing toR&B. DuringWorld War II, he entertained troops both at home and abroad.[1]
He continued to straddle these styles into the 1950s, playing swing standards such as "Tuxedo Junction" and "Begin the Beguine" in a rockingR&B style. In the late 1950s he moved to Los Angeles, joiningRendezvous Records, for whom he ran the house band. This included pianistErnie Freeman, guitaristRene Hall (who had previously worked with Fields in the 1930s), saxophonistPlas Johnson, and drummerEarl Palmer. In 1959 this band had an international hit with an R&B version ofGlenn Miller's "In the Mood", credited to the Ernie Fields Orchestra, which reached number 4 on theBillboard chart.[1][5] The track also peaked at number 13 in theUK Singles Chart.[6] It sold over one million copies, and was awarded agold disc.[7] The band, with minor changes of personnel, went on to recordinstrumentals under many different names, includingB. Bumble and the Stingers,the Marketts andthe Routers.[citation needed]
Rendezvous Records folded in late 1963, and Fields retired soon after and returned to Tulsa.[1] He died in May 1997, at the age of 92.[1] In 2013 his family donated his memorabilia to the planned Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture.[3]
His son is the saxophonist and bandleaderErnie Fields, Jr., and his daughter Carmen became a journalist in Boston, where she co-hosted theevening news forWGBH-TV.[3]
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