Frank Fields
Frank Nomer Fields (May 2, 1914 – September 18, 2005) was an American double bass player who was involved in many R&B, rock and roll and jazz recordings made in New Orleans. He was born in Plaquemine, Louisiana. In the 1930s, he played with local jazz groups and with bandleader Claiborne Williams. After serving in the US Navy during World War II, he joined Dave Bartholomew's band as bass player, and became one of the key session musicians at Cosimo Matassa's J&M Studios in New Orleans, along with guitarist Ernest McLean, drummer Earl Palmer, pianist Salvador Doucette, and saxophonists Lee Allen and Red Tyler. Fields played on many of the seminal rhythm and blues and early rock and roll records made in New Orleans, including Fats Domino's "The Fat Man" (recorded in 1949), and many of Domino's later hits; Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti" (1955) and his later records on Specialty; and recordings by Professor Longhair, Smiley Lewis, Shirley & Lee, Lloyd Price, Huey "Piano" Smith, Ray Charles and many others. Fields was several years older than most of the other regular musicians. Tyler described him as "about the most steady bass player I've ever worked with.... He plays correct, nothing fancy, very strong and dominant in his bass playing." He worked as a television repair man at the same time as maintaining his career as a musician. He continued to record as a session musician in New Orleans until the early 1990s. He also played with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band until at least 1994. He died in 2005 at the age of 91, and was buried at Port Hudson National Cemetery in Zachary, Louisiana. |
Birth and Death Data: Born Louisiana (state of the United States of America), Died September 18, 2005 (New Orleans (largest city of the state of Louisiana, United States) )
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1949 - 1958
Roles Represented in DAHR: string bass
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 165 records)
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imperial | IM-112 | 10-in. | 11/29/1949 | Boogie woogie mama | Tommy Ridgley | instrumentalist, string bass | ||
| Imperial | IM-113 | 10-in. | 11/29/1949 | Shrewsbury blues | Tommy Ridgley | instrumentalist, string bass | ||
| Imperial | IM-114 | 10-in. | 11/29/1949 | Early dawn boogie | Tommy Ridgley | instrumentalist, string bass | ||
| Imperial | IM-115 | 10-in. | 11/29/1949 | Lonely man blues | Tommy Ridgley | instrumentalist, string bass | ||
| Imperial | IM-118 | 10-in. | 11/29/1949 | Don't marry too soon | Jewel King | instrumentalist, string bass | ||
| Imperial | IM-119 | 10-in. | 11/29/1949 | 3 x 7 = 21 | Jewel King | instrumentalist, string bass | ||
| Imperial | IM-134 | 10-in. | 12/10/1949 | Hide away blues | Fats Domino | instrumentalist, string bass | ||
| Imperial | IM-135 | 10-in. | 12/10/1949 | She's my baby | Fats Domino | instrumentalist, string bass | ||
| Imperial | IM-136 | 10-in. | January, 1950 | Brand new baby | Fats Domino | instrumentalist, string bass | ||
| Imperial | IM-139 | 10-in. | January, 1950 | Hey! la bas boogie | Fats Domino | instrumentalist, string bass | ||
| Imperial | IM-152 | 10-in. | January or February, 1950 | Carnival day | Dave Bartholomew | instrumentalist, string bass | ||
| Imperial | IM-153 | 10-in. | January or February, 1950 | That's how you got killed before | Dave Bartholomew | instrumentalist, string bass | ||
| Imperial | IM-160 | 10-in. | March, 1950 | Tee-nah-nah | Smiley Lewis | instrumentalist, string bass | ||
| Imperial | IM-161 | 10-in. | March, 1950 | Lowdown | Smiley Lewis | instrumentalist, string bass | ||
| Imperial | IM-190 | 10-in. | April, 1950 | Story to tell | Dave Bartholomew Orchestra ; Joe Turner | instrumentalist, string bass | ||
| Imperial | IM-191 | 10-in. | April, 1950 | Jumpin' tonight | Dave Bartholomew Orchestra ; Joe Turner | instrumentalist, string bass | ||
| Imperial | IM-215 | 10-in. | 9/30/1950 | Korea blues | Fats Domino | instrumentalist, string bass | ||
| Imperial | IM-216 | 10-in. | 9/30/1950 | Every night about this time | Fats Domino | instrumentalist, string bass | ||
| Imperial | IM-217 | 10-in. | Early September, 1950 | Careless love | Dave Bartholomew's Band ; Fats Domino | instrumentalist, string bass | ||
| Imperial | IM-274 | 10-in. | April, 1951 | Bee's boogie | Smiley Lewis | instrumentalist, string bass | ||
| Imperial | IM-276 | 10-in. | April, 1951 | My baby was right | Smiley Lewis | instrumentalist, string bass | ||
| Imperial | IM-341 | 10-in. | 9/13/1951 | When night falls | James Wayne | instrumentalist, string bass | ||
| Imperial | IM-343 | 10-in. | 9/13/1951 | Home town blues | James Wayne | instrumentalist, string bass | ||
| Imperial | IM-345 | 10-in. | 9/19/1951 | Ageable woman | James Wayne | instrumentalist, string bass | ||
| Imperial | IM-346 | 10-in. | 9/19/1951 | Vacant pillow blues | James Wayne | instrumentalist, string bass |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Fields, Frank," accessed December 24, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/315287.
Fields, Frank. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 24, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/315287.
"Fields, Frank." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 24 December 2025.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Fields, Frank, 1914-2005 - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no99050708
Wikidata: Frank Fields - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1443242
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/36553021
MusicBrainz: Frank Fields - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/5b29839a-ad3e-4ac7-8d94-071f76ed929f
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