September in the Rain: The Life of Nelson Riddle

by Peter J. Levinson

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

Genres: Music, Biography

288 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2001

About the author

Peter James Levinson was born on July 1, 1934, in Atlantic City and graduated from the University of Virginia, where he began writing about jazz artists and producing jazz concerts. He continued to produce concerts while serving in the Army in Korea. He then took a job as a music publicist with Columbia Records, after a brief stint as a freelance writer.

He eventually started his own publicity firm in New York and later expanded it to Los Angeles.

Mr. Levinson handled publicity for stars including Dave Brubeck, Rosemary Clooney, Stan Getz, Woody Herman, the Modern Jazz Quartet and Mel Tormé. He publicized the hit television series “Dallas” and the film “Kramer vs. Kramer” (1979), which won an Academy Award for best picture. He helped to orchestrate the campaign to issue a postage stamp honoring Duke Ellington.

In an interview in 2004 with Tom Nolan on the Web site januarymagazine.com, Mr. Levinson said he had never planned to become an author. “I can’t say that I set a path for myself to do this,” he said. “It just occurred to me.”

“If you work as a publicist,” he added, “you’re working not only with artists but with managers and agents and so forth. You get an understanding of what careers are all about.”

Mr. Levinson’s first book was “Trumpet Blues: The Life of Harry James” (1999), a biography of the trumpeter and bandleader. Mr. Levinson mined his reminiscences from 24 years of knowing James, as well as from 200 interviews with musicians and James’s friends, to paint a portrait that pulled few punches.

“Long before there was sex, drugs and rock and roll, there was sex, alcohol and big-band swing,” People magazine said about the book. “And as this surprisingly absorbing biography suggests, trumpet player Harry James could have been the role model for Mick Jagger.”

Mr. Levinson next wrote “September in the Rain: The Life of Nelson Riddle” (2001), about the arranger known for his work with Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and Nat King Cole. Variety praised Mr. Levinson’s detailed description of the artistic and personal relationship between Sinatra and Riddle, again drawing from his experiences with both. But the review also complained that mountains of “mundane detail” got in the way of the Sinatra story.

His next book was “Tommy Dorsey: Livin’ in a Great Big Way” (2005), which told how Sinatra patterned himself after Dorsey, the trombonist and bandleader, in everything from his way of breathing while singing to his wardrobe to his dashing self-assuredness. A fourth book, “Puttin’ on the Ritz: Fred Astaire and the Fine Art of Panache — a Biography,” was published in March, 2009.

Reviews

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have liked a little more technical insight into what arrangers do, and what set Nelson Riddle apart from the crowd. I will seek out Riddle's how-to book on arranging. You learn a fair amount from this book though, particularly about the sort of musical and personal tact Riddle had with singers. There's plenty of good music industry storytelling here, and Riddle's life is laid bare.

[Sam Torode · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved hearing Peter Levinson's interview on "The Sinatra Songbook."

This was mostly a sad story (despite his talent and success, Riddle saw things in terms of failure and rejection), but it was good to learn more about Nelson Riddle.

[Starlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written story about one of the great master of Jazz. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[VPM · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is a bit dry. However, the author's view of Nelson Riddle is clear: gifted arranger and mentor, nice person, bad husband.