September in the Rain: The Life of Nelson Riddle [Hardcover]

Peter Levinson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2001

Nelson Riddle will forever be linked with the music and recordings of such unforgettable vocalists as Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, and dozens of others. Riddle not only helped to establish Nat “King” Cole’s career in the 1950s, but was also a major participant in reviving Frank Sinatra’s musical career. He served as arranger for many of Sinatra’s albums, as well as musical director for many of the singer’s television specials and feature films. Later, this renowned arranger was active in writing the scores for such television shows and feature films as Route 66, The Untouchables, Robin and the Seven Hoods, Paint Your Wagon, and The Great Gatsby, for which he won an Academy Award.



September in the Rain is the first-ever biography of the most highly respected arranger in the history of American popular music. This fascinating book is based on more than 200 personal interviews with Riddle’s closest friends, family, and colleagues. Readers will receive an inside look at his inspirations, his work, and his creative genius...how he revived his own career after the abrupt change in popular music during the ’70s...and the story of his brilliant association with singer Linda Ronstadt, which resulted in three gold and platinum albums, sold a grand total of 6.1 million records, and earned him one of his three Grammy awards.



For readers who are fans of such great stars as Dean Martin, Johnny Mathis, and Judy Garland, September in the Rain provides an exclusive, inside look at the creative genius who helped build these singers into musical legends.



• The first-ever biography of the greatest arranger of American popular music, strongly identified with Frank Sinatra's finest recordings, television appearances, and films

• Based on more than 200 first-hand interviews with Riddle's closest colleagues, family, and friends

• Also features a look at American pop music from the big-band era through the mid-1980s

• Name interest in such stars as Frank Sinatra, Linda Rondstadt, Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat "King" Cole, and Dean Martin

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this entertaining biography, Levinson (Trumpet Blues: The Life of Harry James) highlights Riddle's song-writing accomplishments that had singers topping the charts. By 1953, Levinson writes, "the only thing about Frank Sinatra that sparkled was the superb cap job done on his teeth ten years earlier" record sales plummeted, his TV show was canceled, and MGM dropped him. But his career took on new life and artistic depth after he recorded a series of albums with Riddle, whose intelligent, seductive arrangements have become American classics. Aside from Sinatra, Riddle worked with Nat "King" Cole (on almost all of his most famous singles) and Ella Fitzgerald (in her American Songbook collections), as well as with Judy Garland, Rosemary Clooney and Johnny Mathis. He scored such films as the original Ocean's 11, Can-Can and The Great Gatsby, for which he received an Oscar. Levinson, a longtime friend of Riddle and a respected jazz publicist, meticulously narrates Riddle's often strife-torn personal life and charts the importance and enormous breadth of the arranger's career. While the narrative covers salient aspects of Riddle's life (his relationship with his cold, autocratic mother, his affair with Rosemary Clooney, the disintegration of his once-happy marriage and an underlying depression throughout his life), Levinson's analysis of his work and the music industry give the book both its vitality and enormous value. Always lively and written with a deep understanding of the economic, political and emotional complexities of the music business, this is an important addition to the history of American popular culture.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Levinson (Trumpet Blues: The Life of Harry James) has written the first full-length biography of the man The Encyclopedia of Popular Music calls "probably the finest arranger/leader of modern times." Well rounded and fascinating, the book charts Riddle's evolution from Big Band trombonist to premier arranger to film and TV composer. Much of Nat "King" Cole's and Frank Sinatra's best work was done in collaboration with Riddle. Since he worked with so many pop music icons, the book also serves as an important general history of popular music from the Big Band era to the mid-1980s, when Riddle worked with Linda Ronstadt. Riddle himself emerges as a sad, dour man who, while self-effacing in the main, was capable of viciousness in his relations with those nearest to him. The book is especially valuable for the light it sheds on the place of the arranger in pop music as well as the sometimes murky matter of credit (early in his career, Riddle ghostwrote several hit arrangements and later may have used ghostwriters himself). Recommended for all libraries with an interest in popular culture. Bruce R. Schueneman, Texas A&M Univ. Lib., Kingsville
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Billboard Books (September 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823076725
• ISBN-13: 978-0823076727
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #685,235 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Insightful look into the life of an American pop legend, October 25, 2001

By 

The Fancy One "blackprincess" (Westchester County, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: September in the Rain: The Life of Nelson Riddle (Hardcover)

Being a fan of both Nat King Cole's and Frank Sinatra's work, I was intrigued by this book about the man who was pretty much responsible for their successful run of hits in the 1950s and '60s. Not knowing much about Nelson Riddle other than his association with Cole, Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and other singers he arranged material for, I found this book to be very interesting indeed.

Mr. Levinson's "September In The Rain" is a candid look at the life and career of Riddle, which certainly had its ups and downs. Riddle was able to create great music, but he suffered immensely in both his personal and professional life: one wife who turned to alcoholism to cope with her husband's indiscretions, and sometimes reacting with physical violence, and another, who was domineering and had no love for Riddle's children from his previous marriage, and isolated Riddle from people she didn't like; an overbearing and snobbish mother, a weak but loving father, various affairs (most notable was his torrid love affair with singer Rosemary Clooney), not being given credit when it was due, his complex relationship with Sinatra and his children, and much more. Riddle, as talented as he was, was at times doubtful of his abilities, and rarely ever smiled, because he was almost always saddened by SOMETHING and this was true throughout his life.

Reading this book, I found myself bordering between distain and sympathy for Riddle, reading about how he related to his children, the musicians in his orchestra, and the singers who worked with him. But it is my general feeling that Riddle was just like any other person who had a dysfunctional upbringing: it would carry over to his adult life, and ultimately shape who he was to become in later years. But one thing above all must be said: Nelson Riddle was indeed a musical genius, and created some of the most memorable musical arrangements ever of popular standards of the mid to late 20th century. For fans of this type of music, it is worth reading. Find out just what made this man a legend in his own time.

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Long Overdue Tribute to the Greatest Arranger, December 3, 2001

By 

M. Barnes "Geraldo" (England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: September in the Rain: The Life of Nelson Riddle (Hardcover)

This is a long-overdue biography of the greatest of the musical arrangers of the great period of adult pop music in the 1950s and 1960s. Much has been made of Riddle's contribution to the careers of Sinatra, Cole, Fitzgerald in re-issued album liner notes, but little has been said about Riddle the man and musician independently in his own right. This book goes a long way to redressing the balance.

Unfortunately, arrangers are often the unsung heroes of pop music. They received little public recognition for their outstanding work which is often as intrinsically important to the interpretation of a song as the sheet music, lyrics and the singer themselves. It is nice that Riddle receives a lot of praise here.

The information in the book is mostly cogent and informative. Levinson unfortunately makes some errors that indicates that he (and the editor) is not familiar with all Riddle's work i.e. he says that Riddle's arrangement of "When You're Lover Has Gone" for Sue Raney is upbeat in contrast to Keely Smith's 'downer' arrangement. In fact, the opposite is true; mistakes like this are annoying to a music fan as these works are great Riddle arrangements.

Levinson also glosses over certain pieces of work; Nelson's arrangements for Shirley Bassey and Danny Williams are hardly mentioned. Nelson's arrangement of "What Now My Love" played a big part in Bassey's first breakthrough into pop's top echelon.

Generally, however, this book is a good overview of Riddle's life and career. A detailed discography (LP and CD-reissues) would have been a nice touch and certain areas would have benefitted from more detail but on the whole this is a very worthy endeavour.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, October 28, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: September in the Rain: The Life of Nelson Riddle (Hardcover)

In comparison with Levinson's book on Harry James (superb) this is disappointing. Levinson admittedly has a problem with Riddle himself, who comes across as a dour, insecure, often bitter, man. He turns-out not to be a great subject, which is a pity, given his undeniable influence on some of the best American popular music of the century. There are some interesting insights into his work with Dorsey, Cole and Sinatra in particular, though I felt the book concentrated too much on the difficulties of his relationship with Sinatra. I don't think any Sinatra fan would deny Riddle's enormous influence on Sinatra's work. Without Sinatra, however, it seems unlikely Riddle would be remembered as he is today. Sinatra, probably more than any other performer, took pains to compliment the work of his arrangers, especially on stage. Riddle and Peter Levinson, unfortunately, appear to have undervalued this. It's certainly worth a read as a contribution to the, fortunately, growing body of literature on the swing era and the big bands, but Trumpet Blues is far superior.