Irving Fields

Irving Fields (born Yitzhak Schwartz; August 4, 1915 – August 20, 2016) was an American pianist and lounge music artist who was born in New York City. Some of his most noteworthy compositions include "Miami Beach Rhumba"; "Managua, Nicaragua"; and "Chantez, Chantez," covered by Dinah Shore in 1957. From November 1, 1954 to January 3, 1955, he and his orchestra appeared on the DuMont Television Network series The Ilona Massey Show, hosted by Ilona Massey.
Career
Fields' most famous album is Bagels & Bongos (1959), recorded for Decca Records 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, who hosted celebrity radio and TV shows for 35 years.
Fields wrote, upon a fan's request, a YouTube 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. 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. 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 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 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; retrieved April 18, 2012.
Obituary, nytimes.com' accessed December 26, 2016.
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