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Arthur Fields (August 6, 1884 – March 29, 1953) was an American singer (
baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the ...
) and songwriter.


Biography

He was born Abraham Finkelstein in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
, but grew up mainly in
Utica, New York Utica () is a city in the Mohawk Valley and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The tenth-most-populous city in New York State, its population was 65,283 in the 2020 U.S. Census. Located on the Mohawk River at the fo ...
. He became a professional singer as a youngster. Around 1908, he toured with Guy Brother's
Minstrel Show The minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of racist theatrical entertainment developed in the early 19th century. Each show consisted of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music performances that depicted people spec ...
, and helped form a
vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
act "Weston, Fields and Carroll". His first hit as a songwriter was "On the Mississippi" (1912), which he wrote the music for with
Harry Carroll Harry Carroll (November 28, 1892, in Atlantic City, New Jersey – December 26, 1962, in Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania) was an American songwriter, pianist, and composer. Biography Carroll taught himself how to play the piano and began playing in mov ...
and
Ballard MacDonald Ballard MacDonald (October 15, 1882 – November 17, 1935) was an American lyricist, who was one of the writers of Tin Pan Alley. Born in Portland, Oregon, he was a charter member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers ...
supplied the lyrics. In 1914 he wrote the lyrics to "
Aba Daba Honeymoon "Aba Daba Honeymoon" is a popular song written and published by Arthur Fields and Walter Donovan in 1914, known through its chorus, "Aba daba daba daba daba daba dab, Said the chimpie to the monk; Baba daba daba daba daba daba dab, Said the monke ...
", which was revived for the 1950 M.G.M. film '' Two Weeks With Love'' and thus got a renewed popularity which brought Fields large royalty incomes during his last two years. From 1914 onward, he recorded with many bands and for many labels and had a varied career in the recording industry. In 1918, he was popular for his performance of his " Hunting the Hun" war song. His 1919 recordings with bandleader Ford Dabney may be the very first recordings of a white singer backed by a black band. For a period Fields also formed a vocal trio with brothers
Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...
and
Irving Kaufman Irving Robert Kaufman (June 24, 1910 – February 1, 1992) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern Dis ...
, billing themselves as "The Three Kaufields". Fields also often appeared on records under
pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...
s, for example as "Mr X." on Grey Gull Records and related labels. In 1926 he recorded with Oreste Migliaccio & His Queensland Orchestra. His last records were made in the early 1940s. Among Field's most prolific partnerships was the one with band leader and pianist
Fred Hall Frederick Lee Hall (July 24, 1916 – March 18, 1970) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 31st lieutenant governor of Kansas from 1951 to 1955 and 33rd governor of Kansas from 1955 until 1957. He was a member of the Republica ...
, with whom Fields made plenty of records and co-wrote several songs, often with comic titles like "The Shoes We Have Left Are All Right", "You're My Little Rhapsody in Blue", and "I Can't Sleep in the Movies Anymore". Hall and Fields also
broadcast Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began wi ...
together as Rex Cole's Mountaineers. Retiring to
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...
in 1946 he also worked in radio on WKAT
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
. He suffered a stroke early in 1953 and was killed in a fire at Littlefield Nursing Home in
Largo, Florida Largo is the third largest city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, as well as the fourth largest in the Tampa Bay area. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 82,500, up from 69,371 in 2000. Largo was first incorporated in ...
a little later the same year.Arthur Fields's death certificate
Phonostalgia.com, Accessed 12 June 2013


Selected songs

*"On the Mississippi" (1912) *"
Aba Daba Honeymoon "Aba Daba Honeymoon" is a popular song written and published by Arthur Fields and Walter Donovan in 1914, known through its chorus, "Aba daba daba daba daba daba dab, Said the chimpie to the monk; Baba daba daba daba daba daba dab, Said the monke ...
" (1914) *"
Over There "Over There" is a 1917 song written by George M. Cohan that was popular with the United States military and public during both world wars. It is a patriotic song designed to galvanize American young men to enlist and fight the " Hun". The son ...
" (1917) *" Tom, Dick and Harry and Jack (Hurry Back)" *" Hunting the Hun" (1918) *" Oh! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning" *" When Yankee Doodle Learns to "Parlez Vous Français"" (1918) *" Oui, Oui, Marie" *"The Shoes We Have Left Are All Right" *" Good Morning Mr. Zip Zip Zip" *"How Ya Gonna Keep'em Down On The Farm" (1919)


References


External links

*
Arthur Fields online biography by Tim Gracyk

Arthur Fields recordings
at the
Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The DAHR provides some of these original recordings, free of charge, via audio streaming, along with ...
.
Song ''Any Old Place the Gang'' from ''archive.org''Arthur Fields cylinder recordings
from the
UCSB Cylinder Audio Archive The Cylinder Audio Archive is a free digital collection maintained by the University of California, Santa Barbara Library with streaming and downloadable versions of over 10,000 phonograph cylinders manufactured between 1893 and the mid-1920s. The ...
at the
University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the U ...
Library. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fields, Arthur American Jews Blackface minstrel performers Vaudeville performers Victor Records artists Vocalion Records artists Accidental deaths in Florida Deaths from fire in the United States 1884 births 1953 deaths 20th-century American singers