RIDDLE BIO PROVIDES ANSWERS, INSIGHT.Byline: - Fred Shuster Although chiefly a back-room guy, Nelson Riddle's breezy, optimistic op·ti·mist n. 1. One who usually expects a favorable outcome. 2. A believer in philosophical optimism. op musical arrangements had much to do with the success of the most popular singers of the Eisenhower era - Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald Noun 1. Ella Fitzgerald - United States scat singer (1917-1996) Fitzgerald , Johnny Mathis, Judy Garland and Nat ``King'' Cole. In jazz publicist pub·li·cist n. One who publicizes, especially a press or publicity agent. publicist Noun a person, such as a press agent or journalist, who publicizes something publicist and Riddle pal Peter Levinson's lively biography, the late arranger is revealed as every bit as talented and flawed as the crooners he helped propel to the top. Perhaps most widely known in pop circles for the three albums he made with Linda Ronstadt in the '80s, Riddle's aching arrangements reached their delirious de·lir·i·ous adj. Of, suffering from, or characteristic of delirium. peak decades earlier on ``In the Wee Small Hours small hours pl.n. The early hours after midnight. small hours Noun, pl the early hours of the morning, after midnight and before dawn Noun 1. ,'' ``Only the Lonely'' and other classic Sinatra albums. Levinson pulls no punches discussing Riddle's pained personal life, including a long affair with the late Rosemary Clooney, the unraveling of his marriage and the depression that haunted him until he died. One of the best music bios in recent memory. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: ``September in the Rain: The Life of Nelson Riddle'' By Peter Levinson 288 pages, Watson-Guptill; $21.95 |
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