Shep Fields

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Shep Fields
RCA Victor
External audio
audio icon You may hear the Shep Fields Orchestra performing "Don't Blame Me" by Dorothy Fields/Jimmy McHugh and "Rippling Rhythm" by Sol Gice in 1948 Here

Shep Fields (born Saul Feldman, September 12, 1910 – February 23, 1981) was an American bandleader who led the Shep Fields and His Rippling Rhythm orchestra during the 1930s. His distinctive Rippling Rhythm sound was featured on big band remote broadcasts from historic hotels nationwide and remained popular with audiences from the 1930s into the early 1960s.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Biography

Early life

Shep Fields was born Saul Feldman in Brooklyn, New York, on September 12, 1910, and his mother's maiden name was Sowalski.

theatrical agent and film producer who helped to establish Creative Management Associates in 1960.[8] Their father died at 39.[9]

Fields began his musical career by playing clarinet and tenor saxophone in bands during college. His "Shep Fields Jazz Orchestra" made frequent appearances at his father's resort hotel, the Queen Mountain House in the Catskill Mountains, which featured such noted singers as Al Jolson and Eddie Cantor.[10][8] Following the death of his father, Fields was forced to become his family's principal provider. Consequently, he abandoned his studies at law school and reformed his orchestra. Appearances on cruise ships and resort hotels soon followed.[11]

Career

Hotels and radio

In 1931, Fields received his first big break when his orchestra was booked at the famed

NBC radio network in his own show Rippling Rhythm Revue.[13][14][15] His highly successful "Rippling Rhythm" society dance band was subsequently featured regularly on the hotel's big band remote concerts, which were transmitted over the radio to audiences throughout the country.[16]

Rippling rhythm sound

Fields was eager to perfect a unique orchestral sound to distinguish his ensemble from other "sweet jazz bands" of his era. With this in mind, he collaborated with his arrangers Sal Gioa and

Mutual Radio Network. A contest was soon held in Chicago for fans to suggest a new name for the Fields band, in keeping with the new sound. The word "rippling" was suggested in more than one entry, and Fields came up with "Rippling Rhythm."[17]

Shep Fields soon attracted national attention, and he was subsequently invited to entertain audiences with Veloz and Yolanda at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. Confident in his success, Fields withdrew from his association with Veloz, Yolanda, and MCA Inc. He decided, instead, to return east to his former position at the Hotel Pierre in New York City. During this return trip to New York, Fields stumbled upon the distinctive sound effect that would serve as the introduction to his "Rippling Rhythm" sound for years to come.[17]

While relaxing between shows during a performance in Rockford, Illinois, Fields was seated at a soda fountain with his wife Evelyn. His attempts to develop a studio sound effect to introduce his music in Los Angeles had not been entirely successful. Struggling to find a solution for her husband, Evy began blowing bubbles into her soda through a straw. Bowing to his wife's inspiration, Fields immediately seized upon the idea and that sound became the trademark which opened each of his shows.[12][18][17] In 1937 he recorded his unique theme song for Eli Oberstein on RCA Victor's Bluebird label (Victor BS-017494, 1937) [19]

Fields' light and elegant musical style remained popular among audiences throughout the 1930s and into the 1950s.

Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel featuring the accordionist John Serry Sr.[26]

As the decade of the 1930s came to a close, Fields remained popular with audiences nationwide. In 1939, he appeared with his orchestra at the Academy Awards ceremony in the historic Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, California.[27]

New music and USO

By 1941, Fields revamped the band into an all-reeds group, with no brass section, known as Shep Fields and His New Music, featuring vocalist

USO tours to entertain the troops during World War II.[17] From February, 1943, to August, 1944, guitarist Joe Negri
also worked with the band.

By the mid 1940s Fields' Rippling Rhythm Orchestra had performed at several of New York City's premier landmark hotel venues including: the

Waldorf Astoria Hotel .[31][32] By 1945, his orchestra was also featured in performances at the famed Copacabana nightclub which were broadcast live on the WOR-Mutual radio network.[33][34][35]

After World War II ended, Fields reverted to his ever popular "Rippling Rhythm" style in 1947 and continued to perform in hotels long after other bands of his era had disappeared.[17] The group disbanded in 1963,[12] and Fields moved to Houston, Texas, where he worked as a disc jockey. He later worked at Creative Management Associates with his brother Freddie Fields in Los Angeles.[12]

Death

Shep Fields died on February 23, 1981, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles from a heart attack.[36][37][38] He was buried in Mount Hebron Cemetery in New York.

Legacy

During the course of an artistic career, which extended from 1931 through 1963, Shep Fields compiled an extensive musical legacy that has been preserved on such record labels as:

RCA Victor.[39] His discography includes over three hundred arrangements of popular songs from this era and includes such hits as: "It's De-Lovely" (1937), "I've Got You Under My Skin", "The Jersey Bounce" (1942), "Moonlight and Shadows" (Bluebird 6803), "That Old Feeling" (Bluebird 7066), and "Thanks for the Memory" (Bluebird 7318, 1938).[11][40][41] Noted musical arranger and editor Joseph Schillinger observed that over the course of his career, Shep Fields had assembled "one of the most colorful bands" of his time.[30]

Band

External audio
audio icon You may hear the Shep Fields Rippling Rhythm Orchestra performing the fox trot "In the Merry Month of May" with the accordionist John Serry Sr. in 1938 Here
audio icon You may hear the Shep Fields Rippling Rhythm Orchestra performing "This Little Ripple Had Rhythm" in 1937 Here on archive.org

Live broadcasts

External audio
audio icon You may hear the Shep Fields Rippling Rhythm Orchestra in their Big band remote broadcasts during the 1944 and 1953 years
Here on archive.org
  • Palmer House Hotel: Empire Room in Chicago during the late 1930s[48][49]
  • Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles during September 1938 - October 1938 with John Serry Sr. as featured soloist on the NBC radio network[26]
  • Copacabana nightclub in New York City during 1945.[50][34][35]
  • Glen Island Casino in New Rochelle, New York, on May 12, 1947, with Toni Arden, Bob Johnstone, and The Three Beaus and a Peep
  • Ice Terrace Room of the
    New Yorker Hotel
    on March 6, 1948, with Toni Arden, Bob Johnstone, and The Three Beaus and a Peep

Discography

External audio
audio icon You may hear the Shep Fields Rippling Rhythm Orchestra performing "
John Serry performing "With A Smile and A Song" in 1937 Here on Archive.org
audio icon You may hear recordings by Shep Fields and his Rippling Rhythm Orchestra from 1936 - 1944 Here

A partial discography of Shep Fields recordings includes:[51]

  • Any Little Girl, That's a Nice Little Girl - Bluebird (B-7606-A) - Song by
    John Serry
    (1938)
  • Cathedral In the Pines - Bluebird (B-7553-A) - Song by
    John Serry
    (1938)
  • Easy To Love - Bluebird (B-6592-A) - Song by Cole Porter played by the Shep Fields Rippling Rhythm Orchestra (1936)
  • If It Rains Who Cares? - Bluebird ( B-7579-A) - Song performed by the Shep Fields Rippling Rhythm Orchestra with the accordionist John Serry (1938)
  • It's De-Lovely - Montgomery Ward (M-7074-A) - Song by Cole Porter performed by the Shep Fields Rippling Rhythm Orcehstra (1936) [11][52]
  • In The Merry Month Of May - Bluebird (B-7606-B) - Song by Ed Haley played by the Shep Field Rippling Rhythm Orchestra with the accordionist John Serry (1938)
  • I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm - Bluebird (B-6769-A) - Song by Irving Berlin performed by the Shep Fields Rippling Rhythm Orchestra ( (1937)
  • I've Got You Under My Skin - Bluebird (B-6592-B) - Song by Cole Porter performed by the Shep Fields Rippling Rhythm Orchestra (1936)[23]
  • Jersey Bounce - MGM (11552) - Song performed by the Shep Fields Rippling Rhythm Orchestra (1953)[23][11]
  • Let's Call the Whole Thing Off- Bluebird (B-6878-B) - Song by George Gershwin & Ira Gershwin performed by the Shep Fields Rippling Rhythm Orchestra (1937)
  • Moonlight and Shadows - Bluebird (B-6803-A) - Song performed by the Shep Fields Rippling Rhythm Orchestra (1937)[40]
  • Now It Can Be Told - Bluebird (B-7592-A) - Song by Irving Berlin performed by the Shep Fields Rippling Rhythm Orchestra with the accordionist John Serry (1938)
  • Rippling Rhythm - Bluebird (B-6759-A) - Song performed by the Shep Fields Rippling Rhythm Orchestra (1936)
  • September in The Rain - Bluebird (B-6805-A) - Song by Harry Warren performed by the Shep Fields Rippling Rhythm Orchestra (1937)[23]
  • Thanks For The Memory - Bluebird (B-7318-A) - Song by Ralph Rainger performed by the Shep Fields Rippling Rhythm Orchestra (1937)[40]
  • That Old Feeling - Bluebird (B-7066-A)- Song by Sammy Fain performed by the Shep Fields Rippling Rhythm Orchestra (1937) [41]
  • This Little Ripple Had Rhythm - Bluebird (B7304-B) - Song performed by the Shep Fields Rippling Rhythm Orchestra (1937)
  • Whistle While You Work - Bluebird (B-7343-A) - Song by Frank Churchill & Larry Morey performed by the Shep Fields Rippling Rhythm Orchestra with the accordionist John Serry (1937)
  • With A Smile and A Song - Bluebird (B-7343-B) - Song by Frank Churchill & Larry Morey performed by the Shep Fields Rippling Rhythm Orchestra with accordionist John Serry (1937)[53]
  • You're Laughing at Me - Bluebird (B-6769-B) - Song by Irving Berlin performed by the Shep Fields Rippling Rhythm Orchestra (1937)

Filmography

References

  1. ^ Campbell, Al. "That Old Feeling - Shep Fields". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  2. ^ "The Telegraph - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. 24 February 1981. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  3. ^ "SHEP FIELDS, LEADER OF BIG BAND KNOWEN FOR RIPPLING RYTHEM (Published 1981)". The New York Times. 24 February 1981. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  4. ^ Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound. Hoffman, Fred. 2004 Shep Fields at the Empire Room of the Palmer House Hotel on Google Books
  5. ^ America's Music Makers: Big bands and Ballrooms 1912-2011 Jack Behrens.AuthorHouse, Indiana, 2010 p. 95 Shep Fields society band broadcasting on radio from the Palmer House on Books.Google.com
  6. ^ Shep Fields Obituary - United Press International Feb. 23, 1981 on UPI.com/Archive
  7. California Death Index
  8. ^ a b "Obiturary - Freddie Fields, Holywood Talent Agent, Dies at 84: Freddie Fields, brother of bandleader Shep Fields". The New York Times. December 13, 2007.
  9. Milwaukee Sentinel
    . April 5, 1962. Retrieved 2010-05-16.
  10. ^ The New York Times -Archive, February 24, 1981 Obituary - "Shep Fields Leader of Big Band Known for Rippling Rhythm on nytimes.com
  11. ^ a b c d The New York Times -Archive, February 24, 1981 Obituary - "Shep Fields Leader of Big Band Known for Rippling Rhythm on books.google.com
  12. ^
    Eugene Register-Guard
    . February 4, 1981. Retrieved 2010-05-17.
  13. ^
    ISBN 978-0-19-977078-6
    .
  14. ^ a b Strait, Raymond (2016). "Chapter 11. Bob Hope, Shep Fields and The Rippling Rhythm Revue". Bob Hope: A Tribute. Crossroad Press.
  15. ^ Photograph of Bob Hope as master of ceremonies on the "Rippling Rhythm Revue" Show in 1937 on Gettyimages
  16. ^ America's Music Makers: Big bands and Ballrooms 1912-2011 Jack Behrens.AuthorHouse, Indiana, 2010 p. 95 Shep Fields society band on books.google.com
  17. ^
    ISBN 978-0-85712-812-6
    "Shep Fields Biography" on Books.google.com
  18. Washington Post
    . July 12, 1957. Shep Fields admits that his wife, Evelyn, was responsible for the bubbling water through a straw sound that has identified his music for a score of years.
  19. ^ "Shep Fields Theme Song recorded for Mr. Oberstein / Shep Fields Rippling Rhythm Orchestra" -Shep Fields and his Rippling Rhythm Orchestra on the Discography of American Historical Recordings
  20. ^ America's Music Makers: Big bands and Ballrooms 1912-2011 Jack Behrens.AuthorHouse, Indiana, 2010 p. 27 Shep Fields band popular from the 1930s to the 1950s on books.google.com
  21. ^ The Telegraph -Obituraries: Shep Fields - noted bandleader February 24, 1981 "Shep Fields and Paramount Theater" on books.google.com
  22. ^ The Telegraph - Obituaries: Shep Fields Dies -noted bandleader February 24, 1981 "Shep Fields and Waldorf Astoria Hotel" on books.google.com
  23. ^
    The Telegraph
    . February 24, 1981. Retrieved 2010-05-17. Bandleader Shep Fields who recorded "The Jersey Bounce" ...
  24. ^ Photograph of Bob Hope as master of ceremonies on the "Rippling Rhythm Revue" Show in 1937 on Gettyimages
  25. ^
    ISBN 0-634-00765-3
    . To justify the movie's title — and the inclusion in the cast of such diverse talents as Shep Fields and His Rippling Rhythm, ...
  26. ^ a b The Los Angeles Examiner, October 9, 1938, pg. 1
  27. ^ Shep Fields Obituary - United Press International Feb. 23, 1981 on UPI.com/Archive
  28. ^ a b c d e "Shep Fields Makes Decided Hit Here With New Rhythm". Ottawa Citizen. August 26, 1941. Retrieved 2010-05-16.
  29. ^ "Patriotic Notes". Time. November 4, 1941. Archived from the original on September 3, 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-17. Dedicator was Bandleader Shep Fields, who lately gave up his trade-mark "Rippling Rhythm," threw out his brass, concentrated on nine saxophones.
  30. ^
    ISBN 978-0-85712-812-6
    "Shep Fields Biography" on Books.google.com
  31. ^ Who Is Who In Music. Berghan Publishing Co. 1941 p. 93 Biography of Shep Fields on Google Books
  32. ^ The Billboard. Vol 57 No. 34, August 25, 1945 p. 19 "Shep Fields Into Roosevelt" on Google Books
  33. ^ The Billboard. Feb. 24, 1945 p. 34 "New Band for Kelly-Wood" - Shep Fields is set for the Copacabana on Google Books
  34. ^
    ISBN 978-1-5107-2779-3
    .
  35. ^
    ISBN 978-0-7385-4919-4
    .
  36. New York Times
    . February 24, 1981. Retrieved 2008-06-23. Shep Fields, the band leader who made his fame and fortune in the 1930s and '40s with a unique sound he called Rippling Rhythm, died of a heart attack yesterday in Los Angeles. He was 70 years old. Mr. Fields developed the Rippling Rhythm sound in 1936 when he ...
  37. ^ "Shep Fields Dies. Was Bandleader". United Press International in Hartford Courant. February 24, 1981. Bandleader Shep Fields, who rose to fame in the big band era with an orchestra that opened its performances with a sound called Rippling Rhythm, died Monday of a heart attack. He was 70.
  38. ^ "Died". Time. March 9, 1981. Archived from the original on October 15, 2010. Retrieved 2008-06-23. Shep Fields, 70, bandleader who was known during the 1930s and '40s for his Rippling Rhythm, a bubbly blend of light, catchy orchestrations and the sound made by blowing through a straw into a bowl of water near the microphone; of a heart attack; in Los Angeles.
  39. ^ Shep Fields recordings on archive.org
  40. ^
    ISBN 0-415-93877-5
    Shep Fields Rippling Rhythm 1938, Moonlight and Shadows hit song and Thanks for the Memory on books.google.com
  41. ^
    ISBN 0-415-93877-5
    Shep Fields Rippling Rhythm 1938, That Old Feeling on books.google.com
  42. ISBN 0-87000-248-1
    .
  43. ^ "Musician, arranger Lou Halmy dies at 93". The Register-Guard. March 22, 2005. Retrieved 2010-05-16. Halmy was born in Budapest, Hungary, and his family immigrated to the United States when he was 2. He made his mark as a trumpet player with East Coast outfits including Shep Fields and His Rippling Rhythm Orchestra, a society band that played on The Woodbury Hour With Bob Hope and in The Big Broadcast of 1938, a film starring Hope, W.C. Fields and Dorothy Lamour.
  44. Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
    , cheering people up by playing his horn in one of the most popular dance bands of the era: Shep Fields and His Rippling Rhythm ...
  45. Juilliard
    , and later played with nationally famous bands (Charlie Spivak, Claude Thornhill, Shep Fields, Art Mooney).
  46. Washington Post. Retrieved 2010-05-16. Sid Caesar ... He went on to play in a series of big bands, including those of Claude Thornhill, Charlie Spivak, Shep Fields, Art Mooney and Benny Goodman
    . ...
  47. ISBN 0-87000-248-1
  48. ^ Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound. Hoffman, Fred. 2004 Shep Fields at the Empire Room of the Palmer House Hotel on Google Books
  49. ^ America's Music Makers: Big bands and Ballrooms 1912-2011 Jack Behrens.AuthorHouse, Indiana, 2010 p. 95 Shep Fields society band broadcasting on radio from the Palmer House on Books.Google.com
  50. ^ The Billboard. Feb. 24, 1945 p. 34 "New Band for Kelly-Wood" - Shep Fields is set for the Copacabana on Google Books
  51. ^ Shep Fields' recordings on archive.org
  52. ^ "It's De-Lovely" performed by Shep Fields Rippling Rhythm Orchestra on Archive.org
  53. ^ With a Smile and a Song & the Shep Fields Rippling Rhythm Orchesatra on Archive.org

Further reading

  • Washington Post
    ; February 7, 1937 "Shep Fields in Town Wednesday for Dance."
  • Washington Post; May 8, 1937 "'Wings of the Morning,' in Technicolor, And Shep Fields Share Honors at Earle. Racing Picture and Ace Band Divide Top Spots on Bill of General Appeal."
  • Washington Post; January 17, 1939 "
    United Press
    ) Mrs. Myra Wallace, wife of a music publisher, learned tonight the $10,000 banknote which she tossed to Shep Fields, orchestra leader, for playing one her favorite numbers might be legal -- not stage money as she had thought."

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shep Fields.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shep_Fields&oldid=1220904670"