Lee Fields on soul music, Plainfield and the Super Bowl commercial that made him a star

Soul man Lee Fields scored a touchdown at the most recent Super Bowl.

His song “Forever” was featured in the commercial for The Farmer's Dog, a sentimental tear-jerker that made for many misty eyes across the country.

“Let me tell you, I can't describe in words how wonderful of a sensation it was to hear my song on the Super Bowl!” said Fields, a long-time resident of Plainfield.

In the spot, we hear Fields sing as we see a little girl bonding with a puppy, and the two grow through life changes, some sad, most happy. “Forever” is a mid-tempo R&B romp earnestly delivered with heart.

“The Farmer's Dog made everyone cry with its Super Bowl commercial,” said USA Today.

“Everywhere we go, in the last six, seven months since that Super Bowl commercial, the crowds have been just unbelievably supportive,” Fields said.

Case in point, Field and his group the Expressions played the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., last week.

“It was sectioned off for 400 and then I looked around and the whole rotunda was full of people,” Fields said. “The people were standing but they couldn't get in. They could still see the show. It was crowded and it was amazing — it felt very good. They received me well and I'm very thankful for that.”

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Fields plays in person Friday, Oct. 6, at the White Eagle Hall in Jersey City, then heads to Europe for more shows. A documentary on Fields, “Lee Fields: Faithful Man,” will be shown at 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, at the ShowRoom Cinema in Asbury Park, part of the Bread & Roses Film Festival.

Lee, 72, gained notice with the track “Let's Talk It Over” in 1973. He steadily released music for the next 25 years until his 2009 “My World” broadened his horizons. He's been a big hit in Europe, and his latest album, “Sentimental Fool” on Daptone Records, has launched his career into a bigger orbit in the U.S.

“Forever” is the first track on “Sentimental Fool.”

Field's name is among the great musicians of Plainfield, which includes the members of Parliament-Funkadelic, Bill Evans, the Doughboys, Paul Crook and more.

Fields, a showman in the tradition of James Brown and Sam and Dave, moved to town in 1969 from North Carolina.

“When I first came to Plainfield I was intrigued,” Fields said. “Because of wherever I went, no matter what part of town, you walk so far and you'd hear a band practicing. There were bands everywhere.”

Go: Lee Fields and Benny Trokan, 8 p.m. Friday, Oct 6, White Eagle Hall, 337 Newark Ave., Jersey City, $30; whiteeaglehalljc.com.

Go: “Lee Fields: Faithful Man,” part of Bread & Roses Film Festival, 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, Showroom Cinema, 707 Cookman Ave., Asbury Park, $20 or $30; breadrosesfilm.org.

Stand Up for Heroes

There's no Boss, but plenty of yuks and songs at the upcoming Stand Up for Heroes fundraiser for the Bob Woodruff Foundation.

Jon Stewart, John Mellencamp, Tracy Morgan, Jimmy Carr, Ronny Chieng, Shane Gillis, Josh Groban, the War and Treaty, Rita Wilson and more will perform on Monday, Nov. 6, in David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City.

Springsteen has often performed — and told off-color told jokes — at the annual benefit, part of the New York Comedy Festival. The Woodruff Foundation forges partnerships and unites leaders in government, the military, business and philanthropy in support of veterans. Bob Woodruff is the ABC correspondent who was wounded in Iraq.

Visit bobwoodrufffoundation.org/stand-up-for-heroes for more info or tickets.

Springsteen is not included in this year’s lineup as he was scheduled to be on tour with the E Street Band in November. That has changed as he's now being treated for symptoms of peptic ulcer disease, and shows for the rest of the year are postponed.

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Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at @chrisfhjordan; cjordan@app.com

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Lee Fields made a star thanks to Farmers dog commercial in Super Bowl