Howard Fields
Howard ("Howie") Fields is an American drummer, music teacher, and rock archivist. Howard is best known for his years in the Harry Chapin band.
Contents
Early life
Howard grew up in Brooklyn, NY and attending James Madison High School. He received his BA in Music at Long Island University. Howard played in numerous bands through high school and college. After college, Howard played in a band with Doug Walker, a childhood friend of Harry's. [1]
The Harry Chapin years
Howard was hired by Harry for his 1975 musical The Night That Made America Famous based on recommendation from Doug Walker. When that play finished it's run, he joined the Harry Chapin band as their first and only drummer as the band changed from a four members configuration to six members. He stayed with Harry until his passing in 1981. His years with the band in chronicled on his web site that includes backstage stories and full chronology of concerts with the full band.
Music career after Harry Chapin
After a break, Howard returned to performing with Steve Chapin and John Wallace as a member of the Steve Chapin Band. They play the music of both Steve and Harry. Howard also performs as a member of the large ensemble group The Chapin Family. This group performs the Harry Chapin tribute series titled Harry Chapin: A Celebration in Song. Howard has also lead his talents to other Harry Chapin tribute concerts by other Chapin-influenced artists such as John McMenamin, Satinwood and Scott Sivakoff.[2] Howard also performs with a variety of other bands and projects.
Publishing career
Howard has published articles for Modern Drummer magazine. He has also authored numerous drumming transcription books in addition to his own drumming book for beginners.
Books (partial)
| Year | Book | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| - | The Drum Teacher[3] | self-published |
| 1990 | Heavy Metal Mixed Bag Drum Edition[4] | McGraw-Hill |
| 1990 | Guns N' Roses (Appetite for Destruction)[5] | McGraw-Hill |
| 1990 | The Metallica (Master of Puppets)[6] | Cherry Lane Music |
| 1990 | The Metallica (And Justice for All)[7] | Cherry Lane Music |
| 1991 | Skid: Drum | Cherry Lane Music |
| 1992 | Extreme: Drum Anthology | Alfred Publishing |
| 1994 | Gene Krupa Drum Method[8] | Warner Brothers |
| 1995 | Jim Hendrix (Band of Gypsys)[7] | Hal Leonard |
| 1997 | Buddy Rich:Jazz Legend 1917-1987[7] | Warner Brothers |
| 1998 | The Metallica (Reload)[7] | Cherry Lane Music |
Magazine articles (partial)
| Date | Magazine | Article |
|---|---|---|
| January 1991 | Modern Drummer | The New Breed Drumset Master Class 3 [9] |
Rock archivist career
Howard has served as an rock archivist for projects by MTV, VH1, and CBS News in addition. Howard specializes in the New York area music, Rolling Stone magazine, and Harry Chapin. He also runs the memorabilia business RockPaper.
