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 r ...

) 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. Sinc ...

, but grew up mainly in

Utica, New York Utica () is a Administrative divisions of New York, city in the Mohawk Valley and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The List of cities in New York, tenth-most-populous city in New York State, its population was 65,283 ...

. 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 spe ...

, 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 mo ...

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 Ford Thompson Dabney (15 March 1883 – 6 June 1958) was an American ragtime pianist, composer, songwriter, and acclaimed director of bands and orchestras for Broadway musical theater, revues, vaudeville, and early recordings. Additionally, for ...

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, 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 individua ...

s, for example as "Mr X." on

Grey Gull Records Grey Gull Records was a record company and label founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 1919. The company was started by Theodore Lyman Shaw, a member of a wealthy and prominent family from Wellesley, Massachusetts whose ancestors included Civil Wa ...

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 ...

together as

Rex Cole's Mountaineers {{Infobox musical artist , name = Rex Cole's Mountaineers , image = , image_size = , image_upright = , landscape = , alt = , caption = , background = group_or_band , alias ...

. 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 to ...

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 East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. 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 1 ...

a little later the same year.Arthur Fields's death certificate
Phonostalgia.com, Accessed 12 June 2013

Selected songs

*"On the Mississippi" (1912) *"

" (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 song i ...

" (1917) *"

Tom, Dick and Harry and Jack (Hurry Back) "Tom, Dick and Harry and Jack (Hurry Back)" is a World War I era song released in 1917. Howard Johnson wrote the lyrics. Milton Ager composed the music. The song was published by Leo Feist, Inc. of New York City. Artist Henry Hutt designed the she ...

" *" Hunting the Hun" (1918) *"

Oh! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning "Oh! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning" is a song written by Irving Berlin in 1918 that gives a comic perspective on military life. Berlin composed the song as an expression of protest against the indignities of Army routine shortly after being ...

" *"

When Yankee Doodle Learns to "Parlez Vous Français" "When Yankee Doodle Learns to "Parlez Vous Français"" is a World War I song published by A.J. Stasny Music Co. Based on estimates of sales, a performance of the song by Arthur Fields in 1918 was ranked #8 in the United States when it was feature ...

" (1918) *"

Oui, Oui, Marie Oui, Oui, Marie is a 1918 song composed by Fred Fisher with lyrics written by Alfred Bryan and Joe McCarthy. It was published by McCarthy & Fisher Inc. The sheet music cover featured an illustration by Andre De Takacs. The song was in the top 20 ...

" *"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 university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduate ...

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