Ernie Fields
Encyclopedia
Ernie Fields was an African American
trombonist, pianist
, arranger
and bandleader
. He first became known for leading the Royal Entertainers, which were based in Tulsa, Oklahoma
, and toured along a circuit stretching from Kansas City, Kansas
, to Dallas, Texas
.
, Texas
. From the late 1920s, he led a band
in the Tulsa
, Oklahoma
area called the Royal Entertainers, and eventually began touring more widely, and recording
. In 1939, he was invited to New York
by John Hammond
to record for the Vocalion
label
. 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
, swing to R&B
. 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.
, California
, 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
. In 1959 this band had an international hit with an R&B version of Glenn Miller
’s "In the Mood
", credited to the Ernie Fields Orchestra, which reached #4 on the Billboard
chart
. The track also peaked at #13 in the UK Singles Chart
. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc
. The band, with minor changes of personnel, went on to record instrumental
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. He died in May 1997, at the age of 91.
His son is the saxophonist and bandleader Ernie Fields, Jr.
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
trombonist, pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
, arranger
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
and bandleader
Bandleader
A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....
. He first became known for leading the Royal Entertainers, which were based in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
, and toured along a circuit stretching from Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City is the third-largest city in the state of Kansas and is the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the third largest city in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The city is part of a consolidated city-county government known as the "Unified...
, to Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
.
Early life and career
Fields was born in NacogdochesNacogdoches, Texas
Nacogdoches is a city in Nacogdoches County, Texas, in the United States. The 2010 census recorded the city's population to be 32,996. It is the county seat of Nacogdoches County and is situated in East Texas. Nacogdoches is a sister city of Natchitoches, Louisiana.Nacogdoches is the home of...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. From the late 1920s, he led a band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
in the Tulsa
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
area called the Royal Entertainers, and eventually began touring more widely, and recording
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
. In 1939, he was invited to New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
by John Hammond
John H. Hammond
John Henry Hammond II was an American record producer, musician and music critic from the 1930s to the early 1980s...
to record for the Vocalion
Vocalion Records
Vocalion Records is a record label active for many years in the United States and in the United Kingdom.-History:Vocalion was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Piano Company of New York City, which introduced a retail line of phonographs at the same time. The name was derived from one of their...
label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
. He did not become a star
Celebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
, 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
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
, swing to R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
. He continued to straddle these styles into the 1950s, playing swing standards such as "Tuxedo Junction
Tuxedo Junction
"Tuxedo Junction" is a song co-written by Birmingham, Alabama composer Erskine Hawkins and saxophonist and arranger Bill Johnson. Julian Dash is also credited for the music. The song was introduced by Hawkins's orchestra. Lyrics were by Buddy Feyne...
" and "Begin the Beguine
Begin the Beguine
"Begin the Beguine" is a song written by Cole Porter . Porter composed the song at the piano in the bar of the Ritz Hotel in Paris. In October 1935, it was introduced by June Knight in the Broadway musical Jubilee produced at the Imperial Theatre in New York City.-Music:The beguine music and dance...
" in a rocking R&B style.
Later career
In the late 1950s he moved to Los AngelesLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, joining Rendezvous Records
Rendezvous Records
Rendezvous Records was a record label established in 1958 in Los Angeles, California. Its biggest successes were with "Bumble Boogie" and "Nut Rocker", recorded by members of its house band going under the name B...
, for whom he ran the house band. This included pianist Ernie Freeman
Ernie Freeman
Ernie Freeman was an American pianist, organist and arranger.In 1935 he began playing in local Cleveland area nightclubs, and also formed a classical music trio for local social functions with his father and his sister Evelyn...
, guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
Rene Hall
René Hall
René Hall , was an American guitarist and music arranger.He was born in Morgan City, Louisiana, and first recorded as a banjo player with Joseph Robichaux in New Orleans in 1933. He then worked around the country as a member of the Ernie Fields Orchestra, before joining Earl Hines as musical arranger...
(who had previously worked with Fields in the 1930s), saxophonist Plas Johnson
Plas Johnson
Plas John Johnson Jr. is an American soul-jazz and hard bop tenor saxophonist, probably most familiar as the lead on Henry Mancini’s "The Pink Panther Theme"....
, and drummer Earl Palmer
Earl Palmer
Earl Cyril Palmer was an American rock & roll and rhythm and blues drummer, and member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame....
. In 1959 this band had an international hit with an R&B version of Glenn Miller
Glenn Miller
Alton Glenn Miller was an American jazz musician , arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the best known "Big Bands"...
’s "In the Mood
In the Mood
"In the Mood" is a big band era #1 hit recorded by American bandleader Glenn Miller. Joe Garland and Andy Razaf arranged "In the Mood" in 1937-1939 using a previously existing main theme composed by Glenn Miller before the start of the 1930s...
", credited to the Ernie Fields Orchestra, which reached #4 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
. The track also peaked at #13 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
. The band, with minor changes of personnel, went on to record instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
s under many different names, including B. Bumble and the Stingers
B. Bumble and the Stingers
B. Bumble and the Stingers were an American instrumental ensemble in the early 1960s, who specialized in making rock and roll arrangements of classical melodies. Their biggest hits were "Bumble Boogie" and "Nut Rocker", which reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart in 1962...
, The Marketts
The Marketts
The Marketts were an American instrumental pop group, formed in Hollywood, California. They are best known for their 1963 million-seller, "Out of Limits".-Biography:...
and The Routers
The Routers
-Career:Formed in 1962 by Mike Gordon, the Routers recordings sometimes used session musicians in addition to the actual group with the exception of Gordon who played on most the sessions. The Routers first release in September 1962 was the guitar-driven instrumental "Let's Go ", which reached #19...
.
Rendezvous Records folded in late 1963, and Fields retired soon after. He died in May 1997, at the age of 91.
His son is the saxophonist and bandleader Ernie Fields, Jr.
Ernie Fields, Jr.
Ernie Fields, Jr. is a baritone saxophonist and session musician.Son of notable musician Ernie Fields, he has worked with blues, soul and funk artists including B. B...