Going Back to T-Town: The Ernie Fields Territory Big Band (Volume 2)

by Carmen Fields

There was a time when countless young people in the Midwest, South, and Southwest went to dances and stage shows to hear a territory band play. Territory bands traveled from town to town, performing jazz and swing music, and Tulsa-based musician Ernie Fields (1904–97) led one of the best. In Going Back to T-Town, Ernie’s daughter, Carmen Fields, tells a story of success, disappointment, and perseverance extending from the early jazz era to the 1960s. This is an enlightening account of how this talented musician and businessman navigated the hurdles of racial segregation during the Jim Crow era.

Because few territory bands made recordings, their contributions to the development of jazz music are often overlooked. Fortunately, Ernie Fields not only recorded music but also loved telling stories. He shared his “tales from the road” with his daughter, a well-known Boston journalist, and his son, Ernie Fields Jr., who has carried on his legacy as a successful musician and music contractor. As much as possible, Carmen Fields tells her father’s story in his own voice: how he weathered the ups and downs of the music industry and maintained his optimism even while he faced entrenched racial prejudice and threats of violence.

After traveling with his band all over the United States, Fields eventually caught the attention of renowned music producer John Hammond. In 1939, Hammond arranged for recording sessions and bookings that included performances in the famed Apollo Theater in New York. Ernie finally scored a top-ten hit in 1959 with his rock-and-roll rendition of “In the Mood.” At a time when most other territory bands had faded, the Ernie Fields Orchestra continued to perform.

A devoted husband and family man, Ernie Fields also respected and appreciated his fellow musicians. The book includes a “Roll Call” of his organization’s members, based on notes he kept about them. Going Back to T-Town is a priceless source of information for historians of American popular music and African American history.
 

238 pages, Hardcover

Published June 8, 2023

Reviews

[Jeff M Millett · Rating 5 out of 5]

An All American Success Story. Carman Fields voice (as writer and reader of audiobook) is a joy to listen to as she tells the beautifully written story of her father’s life as a Big Band leader in the early to mid twentieth century. Though I’m not a musician or a follower of the big band era, I could not put this book down. The final chapters, titled “Roll Call” were a suprisingly interesting and touching listing of the many many many lives the Fields Band touched and lifted during its nearly half century run.

[Gabriel Villani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carmen Fields book about her father's life as a musician during the 30's 40's an on was a work of love and an important book on the history of not only the history of what it was like for blacks during those times but a history of Jazz bands and how musicians lived. Ernie Fields was on par with Count Basie in those days. The same man discovered both bands, he was John Hammond one of the important people in the history of Jazz. Carmen's devotion to the men in her father's band was also a work of love. She mentions them and follows them though out their life. Wonderful Book!

[Lori Fry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I seek out books on topics I want to learn about, and reading this one was a very enjoyable experience. The history of jazz and Tulsa, traveling musicians, and the big band era as experienced by Ernie Fields was eye-opening. Thank you for sharing his story!

[Carmen Fields · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full of wonderful stories about the way it was in the early days of jazz. Fields was more than a musician but a wily entrepreneur as well. He launched an amazing number of careers!

[Naima · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good and I learned so much!