The Fields Brothers

Bennie Fields (b. 22 January 1941, Kermit, Mingo County, West Virginia, USA; guitar, vocals) and his brother Clancy (b. 11 February 1950, Kermit, Mingo County, West Virginia, USA; bass fiddle, guitar, mandolin, vocals). Inspired by a mandolin-playing uncle, Lundy Fields, Bennie began a singing career at 12 and had his own band at 18. In 1968, Clancy, the youngest of 12 Fields children, joined his brother. In 1970, the Fields Brothers bluegrass band, including Curtis Beck (fiddle, dobro) and banjoist Dave Clark, won a major bluegrass festival at Columbus, Ohio. They recorded their first album for the Jessup label in 1973 but on the second the next year, Clark was replaced by Tom Dew and Orville Dingess joined to play bass. The material was a mixture of self-penned songs, old-time ballads and bluegrass numbers. They proved very popular but disagreements saw the band break up in the mid-70s. Clancy later played with other groups including River Bend, a bluegrass band led by Dave Evans, which also included his uncle Lundy.