Nelson Riddle
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Nelson Smock Riddle, Jr. (June 1, 1921 – October 6, 1985) was a well-known American bandleader, arranger and orchestrator whose career spanned from the late 1940s until the early 1980s. Riddle is perhaps best known for his 1950s work for Capitol Records, providing jazzy big-band style arrangements to accompany such vocalists as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, Judy Garland, Peggy Lee, Louis Prima and Keely Smith. Later, his arranging talents were also used by Ella Fitzgerald, Shirley Bassey, Matt Monro, Linda Ronstadt, and others. His arrangements are characterized by innovative orchestration with counter melodies and instrumentation that express the emotions of each verse of a song.
[edit] Early years
Riddle was born in Oradell, New Jersey, the only child of Marie Albertine Riddle and Nelson Smock Riddle, Sr. Following his father's interest in music, he began taking piano lessons at age eight and trombone lessons at age fourteen. After his graduation from Ridgewood High School, Riddle spent his late teens and early 20s playing trombone in and occasionally arranging for various local dance bands, culminating in his association with the Charlie Spivak Orchestra.
In 1943, Riddle joined the Merchant Marine where he continued his musical work. After his enlistment term ended, Riddle travelled to Chicago to join the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra in 1944; he remained the orchestra's third trombone for eleven months until drafted by the United States Army in April, 1945.
Just months after Riddle entered the Army, World War II ended and he was discharged in June 1946 after only fifteen months on active duty. Riddle moved shortly thereafter to Hollywood to pursue his career as an arranger, and spent the next several years ghostwriting arrangements for more established names in the music business, and also serving on the arranging staff at NBC.
[edit] The Capitol years
In 1950, Riddle was hired by arranger Les Baxter to write arrangements for a recording session with Nat King Cole; this was one of Riddle's first associations with Capitol Records. Although one of the songs Riddle had arranged, "Mona Lisa," soon became the biggest selling single of Cole's career, the work was credited entirely to Baxter. However, once Cole learned the true identity of the arrangement's creator, he sought out Riddle's work for other sessions, and thus began a fruitful partnership that furthered the careers of both men at Capitol.
During the same year, Riddle also struck up a conversation with Vern Yocum, (born George Vernon Yocum) a big band jazz musician (brother of Pied Piper, Clark Yocum) who had transitioned into music preparation servicing Frank Sinatra. He also worked for Nat King Cole and other entertainers at Capitol Records. A collaboration followed with Vern becoming Riddle's "right hand" as copyist and librarian for the next thirty years.
In 1952, Capitol Records executives viewed the up-and-coming Riddle as a prime choice to arrange for the newly-arrived Frank Sinatra. Sinatra was reluctant however, preferring instead to remain with Axel Stordahl, his long-time collaborator from his Columbia Records years. When success of the first few Capitol sides with Stordahl proved disappointing, Sinatra eventually relented and Riddle was called in to arrange his first session for Sinatra, held on April 30, 1953. The first product of the Riddle-Sinatra partnership, "I've Got The World On A String", became a runaway hit and is often credited with relaunching the singer's slumping career.
Riddle was to stay at Capitol for another decade, during which time he continued to arrange for Sinatra and Cole, in addition to such Capitol artists as Dean Martin, Keely Smith, and Ed Townsend. He also found time to release his own instrumental albums on the label, most notably "Hey...Let Yourself Go" (1957) and "C'mon...Get Happy" (1958), both of which peaked at a respectable number twenty on the Billboard charts.
[edit] Later years
In 1963, Riddle joined Sinatra's newly-established label Reprise Records. Much of his work in the 1960s and 1970s was for film and television, including his hit theme song for Route 66, steady work arranging episodes of Batman and other television series, and the scores of several motion pictures including the Rat Pack features Robin and the Seven Hoods and the original Ocean's Eleven.
In the latter half of the 1960s, the partnership between Riddle and Frank Sinatra grew more distant as Sinatra began increasingly to turn to Don Costa, Billy May and an assortment of other arrangers for his album projects. Although Riddle would write various arrangements for Sinatra until the late 1970s, Strangers In The Night, released in 1966, was the last full album project the pair completed together. The collection of Riddle-arranged songs was intended to expand on the success of the title track, which had been a number one hit single for Sinatra arranged by Ernie Freeman.
Because of changes in musical tastes, Riddle only worked sporadically in the 1970s. During this time, the majority of his work was for film and television, including the score for the 1974 version of The Great Gatsby, which earned Riddle his first Academy Award after some five nominations. In 1973, he served as musical director for the Emmy Award winning The Julie Andrews Hour.
In 1982, Riddle was approached by Linda Ronstadt and producer Peter Asher to write arrangements for an album of pop standards Ronstadt had been contemplating for some time. The end result was a three-album contract which included what were to be the last arrangements of Riddle's career.
1982 also saw Riddle work for the last time with Ella Fitzgerald, on her last orchestral Pablo album, The Best Is Yet to Come. Arrangements for Ronstadt's "What's New" (1983) and "Lush Life" (1984) won Riddle his second and third Grammy Awards (the last was awarded posthumously in 1986).
In 1985, Riddle died at age 64 of liver ailments. He is interred in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Hollywood, California.
Following Nelson Riddle's death, his last three arrangements for Linda Ronstadt's For Sentimental Reasons album were conducted by Terry Woodson; the album was released in 1986.
In February 1986, Riddle's youngest son Christopher, himself an accomplished bass trombonist, assumed the leadership of his father's orchestra. The Nelson Riddle Orchestra continues touring to this day, playing tribute concerts showcasing Riddle's arrangements for Frank Sinatra and others.
Following the death of Riddle's second wife Naomi in 1998, proceeds from the sale of the Riddle home in Bel Air were used to establish the Nelson Riddle Archives at the University of Arizona, which officially opened in 2001. The opening showcased a gala concert of Riddle's works, with Linda Ronstadt as a featured guest performer.
In 2000, Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops released a Nelson Riddle tribute album entitled "Route 66: That Nelson Riddle Sound" on Telarc Records. The album showcases expanded orchestral adaptations of the original arrangements provided by the Nelson Riddle Archives, and is presented in a state-of-the-art digital recording that was among the first titles to be released on multi-channel SACD.
While in the Army, Riddle married his first wife Doreen Moran in 1945. The couple had six children: In 1968, Riddle separated from his wife Doreen; their divorce became official in 1970. A few months later he married Naomi Tenenholtz, then his secretary, with whom he would remain for the rest of his life.
[edit] Notable song arrangements
- "I've Got You Under My Skin" (for Frank Sinatra)
- "One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)" (for Frank Sinatra)
- "The Lady Is A Tramp" (for Frank Sinatra)
- "Mona Lisa" (for Nat King Cole)
- "Night and Day" (for Frank Sinatra)
- "On The Street Where You Live" (for Dean Martin)
- "Unforgettable" (for Nat King Cole)
- "What's New" (for Linda Ronstadt)
- "Witchcraft" (for Frank Sinatra)
[edit] Notable film and television work
- Batman (although Neal Hefti wrote the popular theme song, Riddle scored the actual episodes)
- Li'l Abner (one of Riddle's first film assignments)
- Route 66 (theme song earned Riddle a Top 40 single in 1962)
- The Great Gatsby (earned Riddle a 1974 Academy Award)
- A Man and His Music (1965/1966/1967 award winning television-specials for Frank Sinatra)
- How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying (1967)
- Paint Your Wagon (1969)
- On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970)
- Emergency! (1972)
- The Julie Andrews Hour (1973)
- Bonanza (1959)
[edit] Selected discography
- 1957 Hey... Let Yourself Go
- 1958 C'mon... Get Happy
- 1959 The Joy of Living
- 1962 Love is a Game of Poker
- 1971 Communication
- 1973 Changing Colors
[edit] Orchestrations for Frank Sinatra
[edit] Capitol albums
- 1953 Songs For Young Lovers
- 1954 Swing Easy!
- 1955 In the Wee Small Hours
- 1956 Songs For Swingin' Lovers
- 1957 Close To You
- 1957 A Swingin’ Affair!
- 1958 Sinatra Sings For Only The Lonely
- 1960 Nice 'n' Easy
- 1961 Sinatra's Swingin' Session!!!
[edit] Reprise albums
- 1963 The Concert Sinatra
- 1963 Sinatra’s Sinatra
- 1964 Sinatra Sings Days of Wine and Roses, Moon River, and Other Academy Award Winners
- 1966 Moonlight Sinatra
- 1966 Strangers in the Night
[edit] Orchestrations for Ella Fitzgerald
[edit] Verve albums
- 1959 Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook
- 1962 Ella Swings Gently with Nelson
- 1962 Ella Swings Brightly with Nelson
- 1962 Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Jerome Kern Songbook
- 1964 Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Johnny Mercer Songbook
[edit] Pablo albums
- 1972 Ella Loves Cole (re-released in 1978 under the title Dream Dancing with two new Fitzgerald-Riddle tracks)
- 1982 The Best Is Yet to Come
[edit] Selected orchestrations for Nat King Cole
(All Capitol albums.)
- 1953: Nat King Cole Sings for Two In Love
- 1955: The Piano Style of Nat King Cole
- 1956: Ballads of the Day
- 1958: St Louis Blues
- 1959: To Whom It May Concern
- 1960: Wild Is Love
- 2001: Night Lights — posthumous release for both Cole and Riddle; recorded in 1955/56
[edit] Orchestrations for other artists
- Judy Garland, Judy (Capitol Records, 1956)
- Phil Silvers, Phil Silvers And Swinging Brass' (Columbia Records, 1956)
- Peggy Lee, The Man I Love (Capitol Records, 1957) (conducted by Frank Sinatra)
- Keely Smith, I Wish You Love (Capitol Records, 1958)
- Judy Garland, Judy In Love (Capitol Records, 1958)
- Peggy Lee, Jump for Joy (Capitol Records, 1958)
- Mavis Rivers, Take A Number (Capitol Records, 1959)
- Keely Smith, Swingin' Pretty (Capitol Records, 1959)
- Sue Raney, When Your Lover Has Gone (Capitol Records, 1959)
- Dean Martin, This Time I'm Swingin'' (Capitol Records, 1960)
- Rosemary Clooney, Rosie Solves The Swingin' Riddle (RCA Records, 1961)
- Dean Martin, Cha Cha De Amor' (Capitol Records, 1962)
- Johnny Mathis, I'll Buy You A Star' (Columbia Records, 1962)
- Shirley Bassey, Let's Face The Music (EMI, 1962)
- Danny Williams, Swinging For You (HMV Records, 1962)
- Keely Smith, Little Girl Blue/Little Girl New (Reprise Records, 1962)
- Rosemary Clooney, Love (Reprise Records, 1962)
- Shirley Bassey, Shirley Bassey Sings The Hit Song From Oliver!, "As Long As He Needs Me" (United Artists Records, 1963)
- Bing Crosby, Return To Paradise Islands (Reprise Records, 1964)
- Oscar Peterson, Oscar Peterson And Nelson Riddle (Verve Records, 1964)
- Jack Jones, There's Love And There's Love And There's Love (Kapp Records, 1965)
- Antonio Carlos Jobim, The Wonderful World of Antonio Carlos Jobim (Warner Bros. Records, 1965)
- Frank Sinatra, Jr., Spice (Daybreak Records, 1971)
- Linda Ronstadt, What's New? (Asylum Records, 1983)
- Linda Ronstadt, Lush Life (Asylum Records, 1984)
- Kiri Te Kanawa, Blue Skies (Decca Records, 1985)
- Linda Ronstadt, For Sentimental Reasons (Asylum Records, 1986) (posthumous Riddle)
[edit] Tributes to Riddle by other artists
- Erich Kunzel, Route 66 - That Nelson Riddle Sound (Telarc Records, 2000)
[edit] Further reading
- September in the Rain: The Life of Nelson Riddle by Peter J. Levinson, 2001 ISBN 0-8230-7672-5
- Arranged by Nelson Riddle 1985, Warner Bros. Publications. (A textbook on arranging by Riddle. Includes biography and "Personal and Musical observations")
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
Categories: American bandleaders | American composers | Grammy Award winners | Best Original Music Score Academy Award winners | Arrangers for Nat "King" Cole | Arrangers for Frank Sinatra | Arrangers for Ella Fitzgerald | Arrangers for Bing Crosby | Batman music | New Jersey musicians | Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery | 1921 births | 1985 deaths | Hollywood Walk of Fame
