September in the Rain: The Life of Nelson Riddle

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Summary: Insightful look into the life of an American pop legend
Review: 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.

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Summary: Based on over two hundred personal interviews
Review: 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.

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Summary: Disappointing
Review: 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.

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Summary: A Long Overdue Tribute to the Greatest Arranger
Review: 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.