Shep Fields
Encyclopedia
Shep Fields was the band leader for the "Shep Fields and His Rippling Rhythm" orchestra during the Big Band
era of the 1930s.
were his brothers. Their father died at the age of 39.
He played the clarinet
and tenor sax in bands during college. In 1931 he played at the Roseland Ballroom
. By 1933 he led a band that played at Grossinger's Catskill Resort Hotel
. In 1934 he replaced the Jack Denny Orchestra at the Hotel Pierre in New York City
. He left the Hotel Pierre to join a roadshow
with the dancers, Veloz and Yolanda
. In 1936 he was booked at Chicago's Palmer House
, and the concert was broadcast on radio
.
Fields was at a soda fountain
when his wife was blowing bubbles into her soda through a straw, and that sound became his trademark that opened each of his shows. A contest was 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."
In 1936 he received a recording contract
with Bluebird Records
. His hits included "Cathedral in the Pines", "Did I Remember?", and "Thanks for the Memory
". In 1937 Fields replaced Paul Whiteman
in his time slot with a radio show called The Rippling Rhythm Revue with Bob Hope
as the announcer. In 1938, Fields and Hope were featured in his first feature-length motion picture, The Big Broadcast of 1938
.
In 1941 Fields revamped the band into an all-reeds group, with no brass section. "Shep Fields and His New Music," featuring band vocalist Ken Curtis
. He reverted to "Rippling Rhythm" in 1947.
The group disbanded in 1963. He 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
. He died on February 23, 1981 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
in Los Angeles
from a heart attack. He was buried in Mount Hebron Cemetery
in New York.
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
era of the 1930s.
Biography
He was born Saul Feldman in Brooklyn, New York on September 12, 1910, and his mother's maiden name was Sowalski. Edward Fields, a carpet manufacturer; and Freddie FieldsFreddie Fields
Freddie Fields , born Fred Feldman, was an American theatrical agent and film producer who was instrumental in the careers of such stars as Judy Garland, Woody Allen, Henry Fonda, Marilyn Monroe, Robert Redford, Peter Sellers, and Steve McQueen. He was the brother of band leader Shep Fields...
were his brothers. Their father died at the age of 39.
He played the clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
and tenor sax in bands during college. In 1931 he played at the Roseland Ballroom
Roseland Ballroom
The Roseland Ballroom is a multi-purpose hall, in a converted ice skating rink, with a colorful ballroom dancing pedigree, in New York City's theatre district, on West 52nd Street....
. By 1933 he led a band that played at Grossinger's Catskill Resort Hotel
Grossinger's Catskill Resort Hotel
Grossinger's Catskill Resort Hotel was a resort in the Catskill Mountains in the Town of Liberty, near the village of Liberty, New York. It is part of the Borscht Belt. After decades of activity and notable guests, it closed its doors in 1986.-History:...
. In 1934 he replaced the Jack Denny Orchestra at the Hotel Pierre in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He left the Hotel Pierre to join a roadshow
RoadShow
RoadShow , formerly known as "資訊娛樂共同睇" [paraphrased as Integrated View of Information and Entertainment]) is the first "Multi-Media On Board" service on transit vehicles in the world. It was launched by Kowloon Motor Bus Company on 26 November 2000...
with the dancers, Veloz and Yolanda
Veloz and Yolanda
Frank Veloz and Yolanda Casazza were a dance team during the 1930s and 1940s.-Biography:They received an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film nomination for their "Cavalcade of Dance with Veloz and Yolanda" in 1943....
. In 1936 he was booked at Chicago's Palmer House
Palmer House
The Palmer House Hilton is a famous and historic hotel in downtown Chicago.-History:There have been three Palmer House Hotels at the corner of State and Monroe Streets in Chicago....
, and the concert was broadcast on radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
.
Fields was at a soda fountain
Soda fountain
A soda fountain is a device that dispenses carbonated drinks. They can be found in restaurants, concession stands and other locations such as convenience stores...
when his wife was blowing bubbles into her soda through a straw, and that sound became his trademark that opened each of his shows. A contest was held in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
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."
In 1936 he received a recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
with Bluebird Records
Bluebird Records
Bluebird Records is a sub-label of RCA Victor Records originally created in 1932 to counter the American Record Company in the "3 records for a dollar" market. Along with ARC's Perfect Records, Melotone Records and Romeo Records, and the independent US Decca label, Bluebird became one of the best...
. His hits included "Cathedral in the Pines", "Did I Remember?", and "Thanks for the Memory
Thanks for the Memory
"Thanks for the Memory" is a popular song, with music composed by Ralph Rainger and lyrics by Leo Robin. It was introduced in the 1938 film The Big Broadcast of 1938 by Shep Fields and His Orchestra with vocals by Bob Hope and Shirley Ross...
". In 1937 Fields replaced Paul Whiteman
Paul Whiteman
Paul Samuel Whiteman was an American bandleader and orchestral director.Leader of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s, Whiteman's recordings were immensely successful, and press notices often referred to him as the "King of Jazz"...
in his time slot with a radio show called The Rippling Rhythm Revue with Bob Hope
Bob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
as the announcer. In 1938, Fields and Hope were featured in his first feature-length motion picture, The Big Broadcast of 1938
The Big Broadcast of 1938
The Big Broadcast of 1938 is a Paramount Pictures film featuring W.C. Fields and Bob Hope. Directed by Mitchell Leisen, the film is the last in a series of Big Broadcast movies that were variety show anthologies...
.
In 1941 Fields revamped the band into an all-reeds group, with no brass section. "Shep Fields and His New Music," featuring band vocalist Ken Curtis
Ken Curtis
Ken Curtis was an American singer and actor best known for his role as Festus Haggen on the long-running CBS western television series Gunsmoke.-Early years:...
. He reverted to "Rippling Rhythm" in 1947.
The group disbanded in 1963. He moved to Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
where he worked as a disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
. He later worked at Creative Management Associates with his brother Freddie Fields
Freddie Fields
Freddie Fields , born Fred Feldman, was an American theatrical agent and film producer who was instrumental in the careers of such stars as Judy Garland, Woody Allen, Henry Fonda, Marilyn Monroe, Robert Redford, Peter Sellers, and Steve McQueen. He was the brother of band leader Shep Fields...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. He died on February 23, 1981 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Originally established as Kaspare Cohn Hospital in 1902, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a non-profit, tertiary 958-bed hospital and multi-specialty academic health science centre located in Los Angeles, California, US. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
from a heart attack. He was buried in Mount Hebron Cemetery
Mount Hebron Cemetery
Mount Hebron is a Jewish cemetery located in the Flushing neighborhood of New York City. It was founded in 1903 as the Jewish section of Cedar Grove Cemetery. It is noted for its Yiddish theater section....
in New York.
Band
- Sid GreeneSid GreeneSidney "Sid" Greene was an American comic book artist known for his work for a host of publishers from the 1940s to 1970s, most prominently DC Comics, where as an inker on series including Batman, Green Lantern, Justice League of America and The Atom he helped to define the company's house style...
(1913-2006), drums and percussion, band manager, circa 1932-1943 - Hal Derwin, vocals 1940
- Larry Neill, vocals 1940
- Dorothy AllenDorothy AllenDorothy Allen was an American actress principally active in the 1920s.Allen landed her first roles in 1918 and acted in several Poverty Row films through 1925...
(1896-1970), vocals 1940 - Ken CurtisKen CurtisKen Curtis was an American singer and actor best known for his role as Festus Haggen on the long-running CBS western television series Gunsmoke.-Early years:...
(1916-1991), vocals - The Three Beaus and a Peep, vocals circa 1947-1948
- Bob JohnstoneBob JohnstoneBob Johnstone, born Robert Morton Johnston was an American traditional pop music singer.Johnstone was born Chattanooga, Tennessee, moving with his family to Atlanta, then to the family home town of Nashville, Tennessee, where he grew up...
(1916-1994), singer circa 1947-1948 - Toni ArdenToni ArdenToni Arden is an American traditional pop music singer.-Biography:Arden became a big band singer in the 1940s, singing with Al Trace, Joe Reichman, Ray Bloch and Shep Fields...
, singer, circa 1945 - Carl Frederick TandbergCarl Frederick TandbergCarl Frederick Tandberg , was a bass fiddle musician who recorded with Glen Campbell and Frankie Ortega.-Biography:...
(1910-1988), bass fiddle, circa 1940 - Lou Halmy (1911-2005), trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, music arranger, circa 1935 - Sid CaesarSid CaesarIsaac Sidney "Sid" Caesar is an Emmy award winning American comic actor and writer known as the leading man on the 1950s television series Your Show of Shows and Caesar's Hour, and to younger generations as Coach Calhoun in Grease and Grease 2.- Early life :Caesar was born in Yonkers, New York,...
(born 1922), saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
, circa 1940 - John Serry, Sr.John Serry, Sr.John Serry, Sr. was an accomplished concert accordionist virtuoso, arranger, composer, organist and educator who performed on the CBS Radio and CBS Television networks...
(1915-2003), accordionAccordionThe accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, 1937-1938 - Pat Foy, singer 1941
- Lew Harris, music arranger 1940
- Earl Kramer, bass saxophoneBass saxophoneThe bass saxophone is the second largest member of the saxophone family. Its design is similar to that of the baritone saxophone, with a loop of tubing near the mouthpiece. It was the first type of saxophone presented to the public, when Adolphe Sax exhibited a bass saxophone in C at an exhibition...
1941
Recordings
- That Old FeelingThat Old Feeling (song)"That Old Feeling" is a popular song.The music was written by Sammy Fain, the lyrics by Lew Brown. The song was published in 1937.The song first appeared in the movie Vogues of 1938, actually released in 1937. It was immediately a hit in a version recorded by Shep Fields and His Rippling Rhythm...
- The Jersey Bounce
- I've Got You Under My SkinI've Got You Under My Skin"I've Got You Under My Skin" is a song by Cole Porter.I've Got You Under My Skin may also refer to:* "I've Got You Under My Skin" , a 1998 episode of the television series Charmed...
- September In The RainSeptember in the Rain"September in the Rain" is a popular song by Harry Warren and Al Dubin, published in 1937. The song was introduced by James Melton in the film Melody for Two...
- Shep Fields and His Rippling Rhythm, 1940, Volumes 1 and 2
Live broadcasts
- Biltmore HotelMillennium Biltmore HotelThe Millennium Biltmore Hotel, originally named the Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel of the Biltmore Hotels group, is a luxury hotel located on Pershing Square in Downtown Los Angeles, California. Upon its grand opening in 1923, the Los Angeles Biltmore was the largest hotel west of Chicago, Illinois in...
in Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
during September 1938 - October 1938 with John Serry, Sr.John Serry, Sr.John Serry, Sr. was an accomplished concert accordionist virtuoso, arranger, composer, organist and educator who performed on the CBS Radio and CBS Television networks...
as featured soloist on the NBCNBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
radio network . - Glen Island Casino in New Rochelle, New YorkNew Rochelle, New YorkNew Rochelle is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state.The town was settled by refugee Huguenots in 1688 who were fleeing persecution in France...
on May 12, 1947 with Toni ArdenToni ArdenToni Arden is an American traditional pop music singer.-Biography:Arden became a big band singer in the 1940s, singing with Al Trace, Joe Reichman, Ray Bloch and Shep Fields...
, Bob Johnstone, and The Three Beaus and a Peep. - Ice Terrace Room of the New Yorker HotelNew Yorker HotelThe New Yorker Hotel, is a hotel located 481 Eighth Avenue in New York City. The 43-story Art Deco hotel opened in 1930.-General:The New Yorker Hotel is a 900 room, mid-priced hotel. It is located in Manhattan's Garment Center, central to Pennsylvania Station, Madison Square Garden, Times Square...
on March 6, 1948 with Toni ArdenToni ArdenToni Arden is an American traditional pop music singer.-Biography:Arden became a big band singer in the 1940s, singing with Al Trace, Joe Reichman, Ray Bloch and Shep Fields...
, Bob Johnstone, and The Three Beaus and a Peep.
Filmography
- Various Soundies (1941-1946)
- You Came To My Rescue]' (1937) - Director Dave FleischerDave FleischerDavid "Dave" Fleischer was an American animator film director and film producer, best known as a co-owner of Fleischer Studios with his two older brothers Max Fleischer and Lou Fleischer...
- The Big Broadcast of 1938The Big Broadcast of 1938The Big Broadcast of 1938 is a Paramount Pictures film featuring W.C. Fields and Bob Hope. Directed by Mitchell Leisen, the film is the last in a series of Big Broadcast movies that were variety show anthologies...
(1938) - Director Mitchell LeisenMitchell LeisenMitchell Leisen was an American director, art director, and costume designer.-Film career:He entered the film industry in the 1920s, beginning in the art and costume departments...
with W.C. Fields, Martha RayeMartha RayeMartha Raye was an American comic actress and standards singer who performed in movies, and later on television....
, Dorothy LamourDorothy LamourDorothy Lamour was an American film actress. She is best remembered for appearing in the Road to... movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope .-Early life:Lamour was born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton in New Orleans, Louisiana, the daughter of Carmen Louise Dorothy...
and Bob HopeBob HopeBob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
. - Kreisler Bandstand (1951) - TV series director Perry Lafferty.
External links
- Shep Fields at Find A GraveFind A GraveFind a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...