Fields was born in Wilson, North Carolina, United States, the son of Emma Jean Fields and John Fields. He was the second child of six children.
Fields had an interest in music from an early age. He decided to go to New York, at the age of 17 to pursue a music career. Although his mother (whom he later named an album in honor of) tried to convince him not to go, she ended up giving him her last 20 dollars. With moves and style inspired by James Brown, Fields soon had the nickname "Little JB".[5][6] He moved to Plainfield, New Jersey at the time of his marriage, in his late teens.[7]
Career
Early career (1969–1981)
In 1969, Fields released his first single on the Bedford label, "Bewildered" b/w "Tell Her I Love Her". He recorded "Gonna Make Love" on London Records in 1973. That same year, Fields released the popular single, "Let's Talk It Over" b/w "She's a Love Maker". Fields released "Everybody Gonna Give Their Thing Away to Somebody (Sometime)" b/w "East Coast Rapper," on SoundPlus in 1975. Most of the second half of the 1970s Fields spent cutting singles for Angle 3 Records, including "The Bull Is Coming" b/w "Funky Screw". In 1979 he released a full-length album with Angle 3 called Let's Talk It Over.[8]
In the 1980s, disco became increasingly popular, at the expense of soul. Venues that had previously booked Fields now booked DJs instead.[5] Fields moved into real estate in Newark, New Jersey, in order to provide for his family.[5][6]
Blues and dance music (1990s–2008)
In the 1990s, Fields returned singing soul-blues on the Southern circuit. He signed with Mississippi-based Ace Records and debuted Enough Is Enough. On Ace, Fields released Coming to Tear the Roof Down in 1995 and Dreaming Big Time in 1996 in which he played keyboards and synthesizers.[8]
Later that year Fields signed to Desco Records founded by Gabriel Roth and Phillip Lehman.[9][10]Sharon Jones, who was signed to Desco also at that time, sang backup for Fields on an early single.[10] Fields was featured on the debut album Gimmie the Paw by the label's band The Soul Providers in 1997. He released several singles with Desco and in 1999, released a full-length album Let's Get a Groove On. Desco later split into Daptone Records and Soul Fire, and Fields eventually recorded for them both. "Give Me a Chance" and "Shot Down" were two 7" singles he released on Daptone over 2001-2002 and in late 2002, the album Problems, on Soul Fire.[8] In early 2005 he performed on "Stranded In Your Love" included on Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings' Naturally' LP.[4] Another duet, "Will You Be True", was included on the 2014 remaster of Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings' debut album, Dap Dippin' with Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings.
Truth and Soul Records recorded a single with Fields that later became "Honey Dove". Lee Fields & The Expressions released "My World" for Truth and Soul in 2009.[12] In 2011 he followed up with the album titled Treacherous. After releasing Faithful Man in 2012 with Truth and Soul, the singer toured globally. He then released two albums Emma Jean in 2014 and Special Night in 2017 (on Big Crown Records by former Truth and Soul co-founder Leon Michels).[8]
In January 2019, Lee Fields & The Expressions released their latest single, "It Rains Love". Fields released an album, also entitled It Rains Love, in April 2019.[13]
In 2022, Fields released Sentimental Fool, his full-length debut for Daptone Records. In 2023, Daptone released Fields' single "Waiting on the Sidelines".[14]
In 2025, Fields was listed among the special guests for Alabama Shakes' 2025 reunion tour.[15]
Fields' music can be found on various movies, TV shows and video games. In 2008 he performed "You Don't Know What You Mean (To a Love Like Me)" for the soundtrack of the movie Soul Men.[18] Fields's track "Honey Dove" was featured during Law & Order: Special Victims Unit's thirteenth season in 2011 (Episode 10, "Spiraling Down").[19] The track "Honey Dove" was featured in Season 6 of American Dad in 2011 (Episode 12, "You Debt Your Life").[20] The song "Wish You Were Here" featured in the second season of the legal dramaSuits in 2012 (Episode 8, "Rewind"). In 2014, Fields provided additional vocals for the James Brown biographical movie, Get On Up.[21] The song "Ladies" was played in the movie Magic Mike XXL in 2015. In 2016, the song "Could Have Been" was featured on the TV series Atlanta, he was featured as the musical guest on CBS This Morning, and the song "I'll Be Around" was on the soundtrack of the movie Keeping Up with the Joneses.[18] A brief excerpt of "It Rains Love" can be heard during the end titles of the 2020 BBC series Trigonometry. In 2023, the song "Forever" was featured in highest rated Super Bowl LVII commercial, also titled "Forever," for the dog food company The Farmer's Dog.[22] Fields' recordings were referenced in several episodes of the 2023 American Arnold Schwarzenegger television series, FUBAR.
A feature documentary about Fields, Lee Fields: Faithful Man, directed by Jessamyn Ansary and Joyce Mishaan, screened at DOC NYC.[23] The film was set for TVOD release in February 2024.[24]
Lee Fields and The Expressions released the album Special Night in 2017 with Big Crown Records.
No.
Title
Length
1.
"Special Night"
5:54
2.
"I'm Coming Home"
3:13
3.
"Work To Do"
3:48
4.
"Never Be Another You"
4:25
5.
"Lover Man"
3:13
6.
"Make The World"
3:40
7.
"Let Him In"
3:45
8.
"How I Like It"
2:55
9.
"Where Is The Love"
3:43
10.
"Precious Love"
4:38
It Rains Love (2019)
Lee Fields and The Expressions released the album It Rains Love in 2019 with Big Crown Records.
No.
Title
Length
1.
"It Rains Love"
3:55
2.
"Blessed With The Best"
3:49
3.
"Two Faces"
3:43
4.
"You're What's Needed In My Life"
3:38
5.
"Wake Up"
3:44
6.
"Will I Get Off Easy"
3:29
7.
"Love Prisoner"
4:08
8.
"A Promise Is A Promise"
3:06
9.
"God Is Real"
3:19
10.
"Love Is The Answer"
3:35
Sentimental Fool (2022)
Lee Fields released the album Sentimental Fool in 2022 with Daptone Records.
No.
Title
Length
1.
"Forever"
3:15
2.
"I Should Have Let You Be"
3:00
3.
"Sentimental Fool"
3:05
4.
"Two Jobs"
3:22
5.
"Just Give Me Your Time"
3:08
6.
"Save Your Tears For Someone New"
2:51
7.
"The Door"
3:01
8.
"What Did I Do"
3:44
9.
"Without A Heart"
3:59
10.
"Ordinary Lives"
3:16
11.
"Your Face Before My Eyes"
1:58
12.
"Extraordinary Man"
3:14
References
↑Tina, Benitez-Eves (18 August 2022). "Lee Fields Replenishes the Soul on 'Sentimental Fool'". Americansongwriter.com. Retrieved 10 September 2022. Sentimental Fool spans Fields' soulful roots in R&B and features members of the Daptone family members, including guitarist Thomas Brenneck, bassist Benny Trokan, drummer Brian Wolfe, keyboardists Victor Axelrod and Jimmy Hill, saxophonists Neal Sugarman and Ian Hendrickson-Smith, and trumpeter Dave Guy..
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