Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Nelson Riddle was born Nelson Smock Riddle, Jr. on June 1, 1921 in Oradell, New Jersey and later moved with his family to Ridgewood. He began taking piano lessons at age eight and trombone lessons by age fourteen. After his graduation from high school Nelson 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 Marines, studied orchestration under Alan Shuman, joined Tommy Dorsey in 1941, drafted into WWII shortly before the end of the war. Upon discharge he moved to Hollywood and started his arranging career for radio and record projects.
In 1950, Riddle was hired by composer Les Baxter to write arrangements for a recording session with Nat King Cole, becoming his first association with Capitol Records. He would go on to work with Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, Kate Smith, Judy Garland, Dean Martin, Keely Smith, Sue Raney, Linda Ronstadt, Johnny Mathis, Rosemary Clooney, Ed Townsend and Frank Sinatra, who reluctantly but successfully re-launched his career with the Riddle arrangement of “I’ve Got The World On A String”.
Riddle would arrange for such films as High Society with Bing Crosby and Paint Your Wagon with Lee Marvin, Clint Eastwood and Jean Seberg, in conjunction to leading his successful orchestra.
Arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator Nelson Riddle, whose career spanned over four decades, passed away on October 6, 1985 of cardiac and kidney failure at age 64.
