Love imparting and soul replenishing; Lee Fields is simply unstoppable in his sixth decade of music making.

After sixty years, twenty albums, and over forty singles, Fields’ newest cut is set for release on 28 October 2022. Sentimental Fool is a gift from the reunited force of Fields and Daptone records founder and producer Gabriel Roth, AKA Bosco Mann. The pair have created something of beauty and honesty in these less than beautiful and honest times.

Throughout the years, Fields’ discography has stayed true to his soul heritage with a healthy peppering of alternative sounds and genres along the way. His journey has led him from James Brown-esque funk to lo-fi blues and neo-soul, all the way to French house courtesy of collaborations with DJ and producer Martin Solveig. Despite all of the dramatic socio-cultural changes that the music world has experienced since the 1960s, Fields’ inherent soul-man identity has reigned supreme. Fields’ romance with thoughts and emotions is audible on the new album’s title track. Sentimental Fool is a classic display of silky smooth soul that opens with the iconic Hammond organ sound. The archetypal instrument soothes us throughout the track alongside gentle horns characteristic of the Daptone style that contribute to the lovely musical embrace. This sonic comfort blanket is a necessary accessory to the simple but relatable story Fields tells of an adoration that is not wholly requited. The tune is stylistically underpinned by the accompanying music video that oozes a glorious 70s aesthetic; Fields stars in a crisp white suit and white cuban boots with a bouquet of white flowers for his love to match.

Nostalgic sentimentality is essential to the charm of Fields’ music. Yet, the feeling that he draws upon isn’t a sentimentality that whimsically yearns for the past. Fields’ sentimentality takes a different form and makes the past alive in the present. He does this by holding onto and bringing forward shared experiences that are of innate significance to human beings. This immense quality has been respected and reimagined by contemporary hip-hop artists such as J. Cole, Travis Scott, Rick Ross and A$AP Rocky who have all sampled Fields’ old-school soul music to create something new from the past. This act of sampling has somehow made a timeless sound even more timeless. Old soul grooves transposed onto modern hip-hop beats are quite literally without a time; they exist in both the past and the present. What’s more, the birth of modern hip-hop traces back to the exact time and place that Fields’ soul music career was at its first-wave peak - 1970s New York. This music history full circle might be romantic, but it definitely draws on the sweetest kind of sentimentality.

We had the absolute pleasure of catching up with Fields ahead of the release of his new record. Fields’ total enthusiasm for how beautiful a day it was for us both on opposite sides of the Atlantic set the tone for the conversation, and the tone for how he chooses to live his life. The aptly self-defined ‘indigenous blues man’ lives and breathes soul in all possible understandings of the word. The intrinsic linkages between soul, gospel and faith are prominent forces of inspiration to Fields; they frame his very being and inform the way he humbly moves through the world. For instance, rather than dwell sourly on disco rendering soul redundant in 1980s New York, Fields recalls this era as a time of deep reflection and personal growth. He attributes his resultant broadened ambitions, heightened intelligence and increased affinity with the divine as guiding lights through what could have been an extremely dark period. The sentiment of finding light in the dark ran throughout our conversation and ultimately left me feeling a little less pessimistic about life’s woes that can begin to be remedied by channelling a little more love and a little more soul.

It’s a privilege to speak with you Lee. Thank you for taking the time out of your day. Where are you in the world, and what have you been up to?

I’m at home and appreciating the fact of feeling well and enjoying this heavenly opportunity to enjoy this beautiful day.

That’s what we love to hear! I wonder if you can cast your mind back to the 1960s and talk to me about why you decided to move from your home in North Carolina to New York?

I wanted to go to New York because I was a young lad, I was adventurous and I felt like my calling was to go somewhere I felt opportunities would present themselves in more abundance. I was told that New York would be the place to go.

And do you think it was the place for you to go?

Oh absolutely! My life turned out just nice; I wouldn’t change too many things. Actually, I don’t think I would change anything! If I were to change something that means the whole set and scene would be changing. You have to be careful, you know - you change one thing and there’s a possibility that the whole scenario would be totally different. So, I wouldn’t change anything.

Can you tell me what New York was like? I’ve never been.

Oh heavenly child you have to go to New York! It’s just like Frank Sinatra says - New York, New York! It’s a very exciting city. It has this special thing that makes it so unique.

How quickly did you find yourself making music when you arrived?

About a week later. I went to a wedding of a friend who invited me to New York and befriended an individual at the reception and he took me out to some clubs. They let me sing, I got to work and I never really stopped.

New York sounds amazing although I’m aware that the 1980s was a tough decade for you with the arrival of disco.

In the 80s I was confronted with a lot of decisions to make regarding my mere survival for my family. Things had changed; clubs were using less bands and using more DJs. Where they would have a band before, they would put a DJ in there and the DJ would be just as sufficient as a whole band would be. DJs would draw people in and they were coming out to support the DJs in great numbers. It left working musicians in a bit of trouble trying to find new work.

I also appreciate the 80s because it gave me time to dig deep within and I did a lot of reading. The 80s gave me a broader perspective on what I could do. It gave me more choices because you know, the more a person reads, the more intellectual a person becomes, the more opportunities a person is able to seek. Therefore, the 80s enhanced my ability to recognise my opportunities; it made my life much, much better. The less a person knows, the less opportunities. Reading in the 80s… I truly attribute everything that happened to me after the 80s to my ability to comprehend things I wouldn’t have known prior to that.

What was it that you read that inspired you so much?

The Bible without a doubt. I don’t knock people, people believe what they believe. I believe that The Bible is the most scientific book, I think of it like a computer. The word, the translator, the interpreter, the image, the script - it’s all there… It’s all about the beginning, the big explosion and the light!

After that period of reading and learning, how did it feel to return to music in the 90s?

Well, I had abandoned my band and was reading 24/7 - my wife thought I was going totally insane! At that time we didn’t have the computer to look up words so to find word etymology and derivatives I had to go through dictionaries - two of them because back then they had the A-L and the M-Z. They were in shambles when I was finished! It was all worth it though because since then from the 90s, I’ve been all over the planet, met people I never thought I would meet, I have a beautiful family and my wife is still with me after all of these years. It’s just been beautiful! And people still come out to see me?! Wow, it makes me so happy.

It’s truly incredible! Your music career spans a huge six decades. Can you talk to me about how the music world has changed around you as a soul artist from the 1960s to 2022?

Digital music uses synthesisers and altered sounds which is great! I’ve been lucky enough to feature on all kinds of tracks, all kinds of music. I mean, I consider myself an indigenous blues man, I’m a soul blues man. But, I was singing in the early 2000s with the French producer Martin Solveig and we had some success with a couple records that introduced me to a whole new audience. I’ve figured out a way for me to fit in. Truly what I like is what I’m doing at the minute with Daptone because it’s truly what I am but bringing it to today. I had a great time also with Truth & Soul and Big Crown. It's truly been a life filled with wonderful experiences!

On that note, how does it feel to have young artists such as J. Cole, Travis Scott and A$AP Rocky sampling your soul tunes and creating something new?

It feels great knowing that these great artists think enough of what I did to somehow do something new with it. It’s a great honour that they sample my music and I’m very appreciative.

Your new record, Sentimental Fool, is due for release on 28 October and was produced by the brilliant Daptone Records founder Gabriel Roth (Bosco Mann). After decades of collaboration, how was the experience of cutting this album?

It was very pleasant! Bosco Mann is a very hard worker. He’s very astute, he has a great understanding of music. Although when I met him when he was just a kid, I appreciate what he has learnt with respect. When we go into the studio, I become his student although he was my student in the beginning. It was very interesting and very exciting. We would work all day, every day and weren’t wasting any time. He had a cascade of ideas just flowing. He’s unlimited. I’m truly amazed and proud to have the chance to work with him with all of this experience; it’s like the same guy, but a new guy! I thought to just go where he wanted to go. Sometimes you gotta be the passenger - can’t drive all the time!

So, you feel that a lot has changed since you started working together?

No doubt because of the experience that both of us have learned over the years. We’ve applied it to the new album and we’re hoping that the people receive it well. We’re trying to create a connection from the beginning to now. We’re trying to incorporate the past and the future together. The person that forgets the past is setting up to repeat.

You can hear that in the title single off the album; it's a timeless soul tune. You are a total master at ushering the golden age into the contemporary moment. I wonder, what is the true meaning of soul music to you?

Soul music to me is from the spirit. There's a very thin line between gospel and soul. Gospel is about the wonders, the glory and the stories of The Bible. Soul music, with that same feeling, sings about what is happening in our lives today, here, on this planet. I hope that my story could be some sort of pillow to comfort others in the situation of whatever I’m singing about; sharing compassion and letting people know that they’re not alone. I’m also very careful of what I say. It’s so easy to say something that one may regret but once you put that on record, you can’t take that back. I’m not gonna do that criticising and cussing on records, regardless of how much money someone wants to pay me. I believe that we can be interesting without going down that route. The record exists to the end of time and I’m glad that I don’t regret a thing.

It’s been a pleasure talking to you Lee. Is there anything else you’d like to add?

I’d like everyone to know I love them but let's take care of this planet. But I do think people are actually starting to make positive moves to preserve this planet! In America, since they put a restriction on plastic bags, I see very few plastic bags around the highways today. I’m very optimistic that this planet might just pull through!

Article by Meg Sweeney originally written for Bad Luck Magazine.