Arthur Fields Anthology: Singer, Songwriter, Soldier- Recordings 1914-1951

Give or take a century, Arthur Fields was a neighbor of mine. Though he was born in Philadelphia, he spent much of his childhood and adolescence a mile or so down the street from the offices of The Syncopated Times here in Utica, New York. For that reason, I’m particularly pleased that Archeophone has issued a compilation of a number of his important and rare recordings, all beautifully restored by Richard Martin, and with liner notes by Fields scholar Ryan Barna. Uticans tend to crow about one or two famous people who were born or who passed through here. They revere the memory of Annette Funicello, a talented performer who left town when she was four years old and found fame with the Mickey Mouse Club. They are not shy to mention Dick Clark, who worked at a local radio station as a teen and came back after college to work here in television—until Philadelphia (and Bandstand) drew him away. Forgotten here is Arthur Fields, born Abraham Finkelstein in 1888—a formidable presence in various media: stage, recordings, songwriting, and radio. Young Abe was a melodious singer, and his voice is praised in contemporary Utica newspaper accounts. By 1906, he was on the road with the Guy Brothers Minstrel Company. The usual vicissitudes associated with getting a start in show business beset him for the next few years, but he delved into writing songs, including one enduring hit: “Aba D