Ernest Lawrence Fields (August 28, 1904 – May 11, 1997)Laprarie, Michael

Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture
'' (accessed May 14, 2010). was an American trombonist,

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestrat ...

and

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a dance band, rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhyth ...

. He first became known for leading the Royal Entertainers, a territory band which was based in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

, and toured along a circuit stretching from

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City (commonly known as KCK) is the third-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As ...

, to

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, and eventually across the US and parts of Canada. Later, he led a band that recorded in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Early life and career

Fields was born in Nacogdoches, Texas,Thedeadrockstarsclub.com
- accessed April 2011 and was raised in Taft, Oklahoma. He graduated from

Tuskegee Institute Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU; formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute) is a Private university, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama, United States. It was f ...

in 1924 and then moved to Tulsa."Collection memorializing Tulsa musician Ernie Fields Sr. donated to Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture"
''

The Oklahoman ''The Oklahoman'' is the largest daily newspaper in Oklahoma, United States, and is the only regional daily that covers the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, Greater Oklahoma City area. The Alliance for Audited Media (formerly Audit Bureau Circul ...

'', March 8, 2013. Over the course of his career, a number of musicians who were to become well known passed through his band. These included vocalist and drummer Roy Milton.,

Yusef Lateef Yusef Abdul Lateef (born William Emanuel Huddleston; October 9, 1920 – December 23, 2013) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, and prominent figure among the Ahmadiyya Community in the United States. Although Lateef's main i ...

Booker Ervin Booker Telleferro Ervin II (October 31, 1930 – August 31, 1970) was an American tenor saxophone player. His tenor playing was characterised by a strong, tough sound and blues/gospel phrasing. He is remembered for his association with bassi ...

, Rene Hall and Teddy 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 by

Bob Wills James Robert "Bob" Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although Spade C ...

, Fields' band became the first African-American band to play at the landmark Cain's Ballroom in Tulsa. In 1939, he was invited to New York City by John Hammond to record for the Vocalion label, and began to tour nationally. 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 from

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

, swing to R&B. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he entertained troops both at home and abroad.

Later career

He continued to straddle these styles into the 1950s, playing swing standards such as " Tuxedo Junction" and " Begin the Beguine" in a rocking R&B style. In the late 1950s he moved to Los Angeles, joining Rendezvous Records, for whom he ran the house band. This included pianist Ernie Freeman, guitarist Rene Hall (who had previously worked with Fields in the 1930s), saxophonist Plas Johnson, and drummer

Earl Palmer Earl Cyril Palmer (October 25, 1924 – September 19, 2008) was an American drummer. Considered one of the inventors of rock and roll, he is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Palmer was one of the most prolific studio musicians of al ...

. In 1959 this band had an international hit with an R&B version of

Glenn Miller Alton Glen "Glenn" Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band conductor, arranger, composer, trombonist, and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the United States Army Air Forces ...

's "

In the Mood "In the Mood" is a popular big band-era jazz standard recorded by Americans, American bandleader Glenn Miller. "In the Mood" is based on the composition "Tar Paper Stomp" by Wingy Manone. The first recording under the name "In the Mood" was re ...

", credited to the Ernie Fields Orchestra, which reached number 4 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' chart. The track also peaked at number 13 in the UK Singles Chart. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

. The band, with minor changes of personnel, went on to record

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

s under many different names, including B. Bumble and the Stingers, the Marketts and the Routers. Rendezvous Records folded in late 1963, and Fields retired soon after and returned to Tulsa. He died in May 1997, at the age of 92. In 2013 his family donated his memorabilia to the planned Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture. His son is the saxophonist and bandleader Ernie Fields, Jr., and his daughter Carmen became a journalist in Boston, where she co-hosted the evening news for

WGBH-TV WGBH-TV (channel 2), branded GBH or GBH 2 since 2020, is the primary PBS List of PBS member stations, member television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Affiliated stations and facilities WGBH-TV is the Flagship (broadcasting), ...

References

External links

Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Fields, Ernie
* * * *OUPress.com, "Going Back to T-Town: The Ernie Fields Territory Big Band" {{DEFAULTSORT:Fields, Ernie 1904 births 1997 deaths American music arrangers Jamie Records artists Combo Records artists People from Nacogdoches, Texas People from Muskogee County, Oklahoma Musicians from Tulsa, Oklahoma Tuskegee University alumni Vocalion Records artists 20th-century American musicians 20th-century African-American musicians