Going Back to T-Town: The Ernie Fields Territory Big Band

Greenwood Cultural Center Series in African Diaspora History and Culture, Book 2

By: Carmen Fields

Narrated by: Carmen Fields

Countless young people in the Midwest, South, and Southwest went to dances and stage shows in the early to mid-20th century 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-10 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.

©2023 Carmen Fields (P)2023 Carmen Fields

great level of detail

Carmen Fields has done stunning research & documentation, all the while delivering an objective account of social forces from the 30s to 70s. Valuable addition to any study of Black history and music history in the US.

An uplifting All American Success Story, beautifully read by Ernie Field’s daughter.

Carman Fields voice is a joy to listen to as she tells the beautifully written story 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” was a suprisingly interesting and touching listing of the many many many lives the Fields Band touched and lifted during its nearly a half century run.