Lee Fields is a soul singer from Wilson, North Carolina, in the United States. Born in 1950, he is the leader of Lee Fields & The Expressions.

Background and early career

Fields grows up singing in church and listening to rhythm and blues, including James Brown, The Temptations, Eddie Floyd, Otis Redding and the 1960s Memphis sound. He is one of four children. As a young singer, he joins several racially mixed groups in the American South and begins performing on college circuits, including at East Carolina University, Duke University and Georgia Tech.

By the late 1960s, he begins a recording career and works with bands that help lay the groundwork for funk, including Kool & The Gang, Sammy Gordon & The Hip Huggers and Little Royal.

Funk and soul recordings

Fields builds a reputation in funk and soul through a run of early 1970s singles and recordings, including She’s a Lovemaker, The Bullis Coming and The Funky Screw. He also records the album Let’s Talk It Over, which becomes a sought-after release among collectors.

Lee Fields & The Expressions

Fields is the current leader of Lee Fields & The Expressions. The group forms after label owners Jeff Silverman and Leon Michels of Truth & Soul record a single with him, Do You Love Me b/w Honey Dove. From that session, The Expressions emerge as a band, and their music develops into a blend of older soul styles and more modern elements. The group releases My World in 2009.

Labels and style

Fields records for Truth & Soul, Desco and Daptone Records. His work is associated with soul and funk, and his singing style is marked by forceful vocal delivery over hard rhythms.