Irving Fields (born Yitzhak Schwartz; August 4, 1915 – August 20, 2016) was an American pianist and

lounge music Lounge music is a type of easy listening music popular in the 1950s and 1960s. It may be meant to evoke in the listeners the feeling of being in a place, usually with a tranquil theme, such as a jungle, an island paradise or outer space. The rang ...

artist who was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Some of his most noteworthy compositions include "Miami Beach Rhumba"; "

Managua, Nicaragua ) , settlement_type = Capital city , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Nicara ...

"; and "Chantez, Chantez," covered by

Dinah Shore Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, and television personality, and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during ...

in 1957. From November 1, 1954 to January 3, 1955, he and his orchestra appeared on the

DuMont Television Network The DuMont Television Network (also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont Television, simply DuMont/Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont ) was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of being ...

series ''

The Ilona Massey Show ''The Ilona Massey Show'' is a DuMont Television Network variety show hosted by actress Ilona Massey and featuring musician Irving Fields. Massey sang on a set built to resemble a nightclub.Terrace, Vincent (2011). ''Encyclopedia of Television S ...

'', hosted by

Ilona Massey Ilona Massey (born Ilona Hajmássy, June 16, 1910 – August 20, 1974) was a Hungarian-American film, stage and radio performer. Early life and career She was born in Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary (now in Hungary). Billed as "the new Die ...

Career

Fields' most famous album is ''Bagels & Bongos'' (1959), recorded for

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

with his trio, which sold two million copies. The next year he released the sequel ''More Bagels & Bongos'', which was reissued on CD in 2009 by Roman Midnight Music under the direct creative advisement of 94-year-old Fields, the only reissue commissioned directly by Irving. Fields claimed to have recorded nearly 100 albums featuring trios, quartets, orchestras and solo. His most known work is the 1960s output that directly followed ''Bagels & Bongos'' and fused international music with Latin, including: ''Bikinis and Bongos'', featuring Hawaiian music, ''Pizza and Bongos'' featuring Italian music and ''Champagne and Bongos'' featuring French music. He also did an album of songs done in a Twist style called ''Twistin!''. Fields' sister was Peppy Fields, often called the Sophie Tucker of

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 ...

, who hosted celebrity radio and TV shows for 35 years. Fields wrote, upon a fan's request, a

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

theme song. The song, "YouTube Dot Com Theme Song", which he wrote within fifteen minutes, has subsequently received over 800,000 views and was released on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

. In July 2012 Roman Midnight Music, a Manhattan indie book publisher/music label owned by music critic and author Aaron Joy published ''The Pianos I Have Known: The Autobiography Of Irving Fields''. The book was created via conversations between 94 year old Fields with Tony Sachs, who writes regularly for ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

''. As of 2015, Fields played six nights a week at Nino's Tuscany, an Italian restaurant in New York City. Fields turned 100 in August 2015. He was featured in the

Carl Reiner Carl Reiner (March 20, 1922 – June 29, 2020) was an American actor, stand-up comedian, director, screenwriter, and author whose career spanned seven decades. He was the recipient of many awards and honors, including 11 Primetime Emmy Awards, ...

documentary "If You're Not In the Obit, Eat Breakfast", released in 2017. He died on 20 August 2016 in Manhattan at the age of 101.

Partial discography

Irving Fields Trio

* ''The Fabulous Fingers'', Fiesta FLP-1228 * ''Plays Irving Berlin in Fabulous Hi-Fi'', Tops L1562 * ''At the Latin Quarter'', 20th Century Fox 1010 * ''Broadway Hits in Hi-Fi'', ABC-Paramount ABC-154 * ''At the Saint Moritz'', ABC-Paramount ABC-187 * ''More Bagels and Bongos'', Decca DL-74114 (reissued on CD by Roman Midnight Music) * ''Pizzas and Bongos'', Decca DL-74175 * ''Champagne and Bongos'', Decca DL-74238 * ''Bikinis and Bongos'', Decca DL-74323 * ''Bagels and Bongos'', Decca DL-78856 (reissued on CD by Reboot Stereophonic) * ''Irving Fields and his Trio at the Emerald Room'', Decca DL-78901 * ''Latin Dance Date'', RCA Camden CAL-350 * ''Melody Cruise to Hollywood'', Oceanic OCP 510 * ''Year Round Party Fun'', Oceanic OCP 511 * ''Melody Cruise to Paris'', Oceanic OCP 512 * ''Melody Cruise to Italy'', Oceanic OCP 513 * ''Melody Cruise to Latin America'', Oceanic OCP 514 * ''Melody Cruise to Vienna'', Oceanic OCP 515 * ''Melody Cruise To Israel'', Oceanic OCP 516 * ''Melody Cruise to Spain and Mexico'', Oceanic OCP 517 * ''Melody Cruise To Havana'', Oceanic OCP 518 * ''Cha-Cha-Cha to America's Favorite Melodies'', Oceanic OCP 519

The Irving Fields Orchestra

* ''Twistin''' (reissued 2010)

Solo releases

* ''50 Songs You'll Always Love'', SMI 6 * ''38 Romantic Favorites'' * ''The Irving Fields Novelty Songs'' EP, Roman Midnight Music * ''At Carnegie Hall'' * ''Round The World Cruise'' * ''My Yiddishe Mama's Favourites'',

Tzadik Tzadik ( he, צַדִּיק , "righteous ne, also ''zadik'', ''ṣaddîq'' or ''sadiq''; pl. ''tzadikim'' ''ṣadiqim'') is a title in Judaism given to people considered righteous, such as biblical figures and later spiritual masters. The ...

TZ8117 * ''Nisht Far Di Kinder! (Not For The Children!) Jewish Comedy Songs! Live At The Fallsview, New York'', Roman Midnight Music * ''Merry Christmas from Irving Fields'' * ''Irving Fields Live in New York City'' * ''The Classics Go Latin''

References

External links

* Kilgannon, Corey (April 17, 2012).
"His Best Friend at His Fingertips, a Pianist, 96, Plays On"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''; retrieved April 18, 2012.
Obituary
nytimes.com' accessed December 26, 2016. {{DEFAULTSORT:Fields, Irving 1915 births 2016 deaths American centenarians American jazz pianists American male pianists American pianists Decca Records artists Jewish American musicians King Records artists Songwriters from New York (state) American male jazz musicians Men centenarians 21st-century American Jews American male songwriters