Customer Reviews

September in the Rain: The Life of Nelson Riddle

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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.

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.

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.

"He taught me everything I know. Every note I write I learned from that man upstairs. People rave over my arranging today, and I just think to myself, God bless Tommy Dorsey. If it hadn't been for him, I never could have done it." ~ Nelson Riddle (June 21, 1921 - October 6, 1985) ~

In eight days, it will be Nelson Riddle's 87th birth anniversary. Like his legendary musical partner Frank Sinatra, Nelson Smock Riddle, Jr. was born in New Jersey. His father was a lover of popular music who played trombone and ragtime piano. He started taking piano lessons at age eight, but being a pianist was not his cup of tea. Eventually the piano became the instrument that he played while composing and writing arrangements. He was, without a doubt, a gifted artist in the field of arranging, conducting and orchestrating. Every music chart that he laid his creative pen on turned into something beautiful and exquisite. He brought out the very best in every singer he had the opportunity to work with, and this is evident with his long-time collaboration with the legendary Entertainer-of-the-Century, Frank Sinatra, as well as many other artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, Peggy Lee, Margaret Whiting, Johnny Mathis, Rosemary Clooney, Linda Ronstadt, to name a few. It was also noted that Sinatra "always spoke about Riddle with the highest praise." Author Peter J. Levinson acknowledged the fact that it was Sy Oliver, Tommy Dorsey's ace arranger, who was the greatest influence in Riddle's writing artistry. He also idolized Big Band leader/arranger of Sauter-Finegan Orchestra, Bill Finegan and acknowledged the importance of the time he spent under Finegan's guidance and support.

Levinson did an excellent job in writing a biographical sketch of the greatest arranger ever lived. To bring credibility and truth to this book, "September In The Rain: The Life of Nelson Riddle," Levinson interviewed a bunch of people who provided accurate information to ensure the approval and appreciation from its readers. Some of the sources of information include the Riddle children: Chris Riddle (leader of Nelson Riddle Orchestra), Skip Riddle, Tina Bellini, Dr. Maureen Riddle, Cecily Finnegan and Rosemary Acerra; his fellow arrangers Johnny Mandel, Billy May, Alan Broadbent and Bob Mann; Alan Bergman, Ray Brown, Bill Miller, Benny Carter, Larry Elgart, Herb Ellis, Johnny Mathis, Julie Andrews, Natalie Cole, Linda Ronstadt and Monica Mancini, among many others. The book chronicles Riddle's stages of his musical career beginning in 1940s.

Here are a few remarkable quotes found in this book from the arranger himself and some artists who have worked with Riddle. I totally concur with their sentiments.

"I wanted to be a jazz trombone player, but I didn't have the coordination. I only had the ideas." ~ Nelson Riddle ~

"I always admired quality, and Nelson Riddle was my idea of the best there was of what he did." ~ Stephen Paley, Producer of "A Tribute To Nelson Riddle," a comprehensive interview that aired over L.A.'s KCRW. ~

"I think Nelson's book was one of the best ever written on the subject. There really wasn't any arrangement of Nelson's that I didn't like." ~ Benny Carter ~

"Nelson was a sweet, quiet and hardworking guy. In a thousand years, you would never have thought he'd become NELSON RIDDLE." ~ Jack Lawrence ~

"When you're young, you always have somebody you'd like to be like. Well, I always wanted to be like Nelson Riddle. It's that simple." ~ Ralph Carmichael, Arranger/Conductor (for some of Nat King Cole's remarkable recordings) ~

"Nelson could be very tough with anybody he worked with [except Frank and Nat Cole]. He wanted it letter perfect." ~ Margaret Whiting ~

"Staggeringly emotional. Nelson did such a brilliant job with his arrangements that they were almost transparent." ~ Linda Ronstadt ~

Riddle brought out the very best in Linda Ronstadt's artistry. I believe her most beautiful recordings were done with Riddle. Here's an interesting account from the arranger and the singer during one of their recording sessions.

Riddle: "I just couldn't do it. You can't just put something like that in the middle of a bunch of other things. The mood comes and then it changes. It's like putting a picture in a bad frame."

Ronstadt: "I thought to myself...here's a man of integrity. He knows where his music belongs."

"You know, all those years, I never saw Nelson smile or laugh. He just seemed to be an unhappy kind of guy." ~ Emil Richards, Vibraharpist/Percussionist, Nelson Riddle Orchestra ~

According to Levinson, "Richards was not alone in feeling that way - his sentiment is shared by many others who recall the gloom and unhappiness that characterized Nelson Riddle's life."

This has really surprised me... despite his pristine reputation in orchestration, admirable quality of being an impeccable arranger and many awards and honors given to him, he was still unhappy. I wonder what he was unhappy about and how did he define happiness.

This 2005 edition with its 320 pages is a must-read to anyone who loves biographies of musical legends and icons. Multi-Grammy award winner Nelson Riddle was one brilliant musical figure who had earned his special place in the history of American popular music for his exquisite body of work and his remarkable contribution to the enhancement and beautification of the art of arranging and conducting. He had also earned his star at the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1974. "September In The Rain" is a fitting title to this book since it was the song that was instrumental in Nelson Riddle's development from a trombone player in a band to band leader and ultimately the greatest arranger/conductor that he became. And the rest is history.

An interesting read. A must for those who appreciate the incredible brilliance of Nelson Riddle and his outstanding, beautiful and exquisite body of work.

Few may recall Nelson Riddle, but he produced the music which made Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, and other vocalists famous. Peter Levinson's September In The Rain is based on over two hundred personal interviews with Riddle's friends and family and discusses his life and many contributions.

Nelson Riddle's life in music is well worth reading about, and this biography was drawn from a wealth of research. However, what makes this an especially interesting "read" is that it also serves as an overview of American popular music from the 40s through to the 80s. If you lived during those times (as have I) it will bring back marvelous memories. If you are younger, it will introduce you to a time in American popular music when melody and lyrics reigned supreme.

Levinson has written several bios on notables from the big band era, and I recommend them all. Great writing style and insights into the folks behind all that great music.

Optimist = the glass is half full. Pessimist = the glass is half-empty. Publicist = the glass is overflowing!! I barely made it through this bio - Nelson Riddle comes off as a selfish, philandering, self-pitying and self-important jerk, which isn't unthinkable, but makes you wonder why you're wasting so much time trudging through 303 pages about his life. As a professional musician, composer and arranger, I have to admire many of his charts but I found his choice of the role as a Victim of Life to be troubling - here is a man who got to work with the best of the best in pop music of the 40s - 60s and he's NEVER happy. There are a few surface-y analyses of certain sections of Riddle's ouevre, but nothing truly insightful, and certainly nothing to address the psychological makeup of the subject. The biggest trouble is that there apparently isn't that much to SAY about Mr. Riddle, so Levinson repeats the same anecdotes over and over, voiced by this colleague and then that one. It's regrettable, but not every life of accomplishment is worth reading about: angry, embittered and filled with entitlement issues, Nelson Riddle is poor subject matter for a bio and Levinson's writing style reveals his actual profession of publicist. No September Rain here - the glass is virtually empty of sludgy water, with smears around the brim.

The book was delivered quickly and in excellent condition, except for a black dot marked on the side (made with a black marker pen), which I assume is a certain code for the overstock books they buy to re-sell. If you are planning to give as a gift - it was my case - it might not look too good.

They sent me the WRONG book !!!!!! How can I rate the item when I never received it ???????