File:Arthur Fields - How Ya Gonna Keep'em Down On The Farm, 1919.opus

English: Arthur Fields - How Ya Gonna Keep'em Down On The Farm (After They've Seen Paree?) (W.Donaldson), Victor 1919

NOTE: Arthur FIELDS (1888-1953) was born Abe Finkelstein in Philadelphia to Mortimer and Elizabeth Finkelstein. He spent most of his early years in Utica, New York, singing solos as a boy in church. He was a professional singer by age 11 or so, singing illustrated songs with Ray Walker at Wackie's moving picture house, Coney Island. Around age 17 he toured with the Guy Brothers Minstrel Show. From 1914 onwards he recorded with many bands and for many labels and had a varied career in the recording industry. His first hit was "On The Mississippi" (1912) which he wrote the music for with Harry Carroll. In 1914 he wrote the lyrics to "Aba Daba Honeymoon", 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.

His 1919 recordings with bandleader Ford Dabney 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 and Irving Kaufman, billing themselves as "The Three Kaufields". Fields also often appeared on records under pseudonyms, for example as "Mr X." on Grey Gull Records and related labels. His last records were made in the early 1940s. He suffered a stroke early in 1953 and was killed in a fire at Littlefield Convalescent Home a little later the same year.