Shep Fields | |
|---|---|
 Shep Fields in 1957 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Saul Feldman |
| Born | (1910-09-12)September 12, 1910 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Died | February 23, 1981(1981-02-23) (aged 70) Los Angeles, California |
| Genres | Jazz, swing |
| Occupation | Bandleader |
| Labels | Bluebird,MGM,RCA Victor |
| External audio | |
|---|---|
 You may hear the Shep Fields Orchestra performing "Don't Blame Me" byDorothy Fields/Jimmy McHugh and "Rippling Rhythm" by Sol Gice in 1948Here |
Shep Fields (bornSaul 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 onbig 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]
Shep Fields was born Saul Feldman in Brooklyn, New York, on September 12, 1910, and his mother's maiden name was Sowalski.[7] His brother, Edward Fields, was a carpet manufacturer, and his younger brother,Freddie Fields, was a respectedtheatrical agent andfilm producer who helped to establishCreative 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 theCatskill Mountains, which featured such noted singers asAl Jolson andEddie 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]
In 1931, Fields received his first big break when his orchestra was booked at the famedRoseland Ballroom in New York City.[12] By 1933, he also led a band that played atGrossinger's Catskill Resort Hotel. In 1934, he replaced the Jack Denny Orchestra at the landmarkHotel Pierre in New York City. He soon left the Hotel Pierre to join aroadshow with the dancersVeloz and Yolanda.[12] In 1936, he was booked at Chicago'sPalmer House Hotel, and the concert was broadcast live on the radio. By 1937, Fields was also featured on theNBC radio network in his own showRippling Rhythm Revue.[13][14][15] His highly successful "Rippling Rhythm" society dance band was subsequently featured regularly on the hotel'sbig band remote concerts, which were transmitted over the radio to audiences throughout the country.[16]
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 andLou Halmy to analyze the performances of his peers. After admiring theglissandos featured by thetrombone inWayne King's orchestra, Fields adapted them to hisviola section. The embellishments for the right hand, which were popularized byEddy Duchin on the piano, became the source of inspiration for the elegant passages to which Fields assigned to hisaccordionist. Fields was also impressed byHal Kemp's use of triplets on the trumpet andTed Fio Rito's distinctive use oftemple blocks. With this in mind, he incorporated the use of triplets by theclarinets,flutes, and temple blocks in his orchestra. After taking note ofFerde Grofe's innovative use of both the trombone and temple blocks in hisGrand Canyon Suite, he adopted a similar stylistic device for mutedtrumpets. The resulting sound impressed radio listeners on theMutual 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 theAmbassador Hotel in Los Angeles. Confident in his success, Fields withdrew from his association with Veloz, Yolanda, andMCA Inc. He decided, instead, to return east to his former position at theHotel 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 asoda 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 forEli 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.[20] Based upon his widespread popularity, Fields received a contract withBluebird Records in 1936. His hits included "Cathedral in the Pines", "Did I Remember?", and "Thanks for the Memory". His performances at Broadway'sParamount Theater consistently broke attendance records.[21] While appearing at the posh "Star-light Roof" atop theWaldorf-Astoria Hotel in 1937,[22] Fields replacedPaul Whiteman with his own radio show,The Rippling Rhythm Revue, which featured a young actor namedBob Hope as the announcer on theNBC network.[23][13][14][24] In 1938, Fields' Rippling Rhythm Orchestra and Hope were featured in his first feature-length motion picture,The Big Broadcast of 1938.[12][25] A series of live remote broadcasts of the orchestra was also transmitted at this time from the landmarkLos Angeles Biltmore Hotel featuring the accordionistJohn 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 theAcademy Awards ceremony in the historicBiltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, California.[27]
By 1941, Fields revamped the band into an all-reeds group, with no brass section, known as Shep Fields and His New Music, featuring vocalistKen Curtis.[28][29] The orchestra's size was increased dramatically to embellish the results, which Paul Whiteman had recorded. Fields now presented an orchestra that blended over 35 instruments, including: onebass saxophone, onebaritone saxophone, sixtenor saxophones, fouralto saxophones, threebass clarinets, 10 standardclarinets, and nineflutes including analto flute and apiccolo.[30] Noted singers such asRalph Young were also engaged. The resulting band produced a rich ensemble sound under the guidance of such arrangers asGlenn Osser, Lew Harris, and Freddy Noble, who also served as the band's musical director. The criticLeonard Feather applauded the new band's beautiful sound, and Shep embarked upon a series ofUSO tours to entertain the troops during World War II.[17] From February, 1943, to August, 1944, guitaristJoe 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: theBiltmore Hotel, the Grill Room in theRoosevelt Hotel and theWaldorf Astoria Hotel .[31][32] By 1945, his orchestra was also featured in performances at the famedCopacabana nightclub which were broadcast live on theWOR-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]
Shep Fields died on February 23, 1981, atCedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles from a heart attack.[36][37][38] He was buried inMount Hebron Cemetery in New York.
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:Bluebird Records,Mercury Records,MGM, andRCA 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", "TheJersey 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 editorJoseph Schillinger observed that over the course of his career, Shep Fields had assembled "one of the most colorful bands" of his time.[30]
| External audio | |
|---|---|
| You may hear the Shep Fields Rippling Rhythm Orchestra performing the fox trot "In the Merry Month of May" with the accordionistJohn Serry Sr. in 1938Here | |
| You may hear the Shep Fields Rippling Rhythm Orchestra performing "This Little Ripple Had Rhythm" in 1937Here on archive.org |
| External audio | |
|---|---|
| You may hear the Shep Fields Rippling Rhythm Orchestra in theirBig band remote broadcasts during the 1944 and 1953 years Here on archive.org |
| External audio | |
|---|---|
| You may hear the Shep Fields Rippling Rhythm Orchestra performing "September in the Rain"with the vocalist Bobby Goday in 1937Here | |
| You may hear the Shep Fields Orchestra andJohn Serry performing "With A Smile and A Song" in 1937Here on Archive.org | |
| You may hear recordings by Shep Fields and his Rippling Rhythm Orchestra from 1936 - 1944Here |
A partial discography of Shep Fields recordings includes:[51]
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.
Bandleader Shep Fields who recorded "The Jersey Bounce" ...
To justify the movie's title — and the inclusion in the cast of such diverse talents as Shep Fields and His Rippling Rhythm, ...
Dedicator was Bandleader Shep Fields, who lately gave up his trade-mark "Rippling Rhythm," threw out his brass, concentrated on nine saxophones.
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 ...
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.
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.
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 onThe Woodbury Hour With Bob Hope and inThe Big Broadcast of 1938, a film starring Hope, W.C. Fields and Dorothy Lamour.
When trumpet star and jazz arrangerLou Halmy looks back on theGreat Depression of the 1930s, it doesn't seem depressing at all. 'I was lucky,' the 91-year-old Eugene musician says. 'I was playing with a band and working all the time. We had a steady job, which was the rarest thing in music.' While many people were standing inbread lines and living inshanty camps, Halmy was inside New York's poshWaldorf-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 ...
He studied saxophone atJuilliard, and later played with nationally famous bands (Charlie Spivak, Claude Thornhill, Shep Fields, Art Mooney).
Sid Caesar ... He went on to play in a series of big bands, including those ofClaude Thornhill,Charlie Spivak, Shep Fields,Art Mooney andBenny Goodman. ...
