Nelson Riddle › Similar Artists

Billy May - 91% match to Nelson Riddle

Edward William May, 10 November 1916, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, d. 22 January 2004, San Juan Capistrano, California, USA. Although May is best known to international audiences for his arranging and conducting work with Frank Sinatra in the late 50s, he had already been a professional musician for nearly 20 years prior to his first session with Hoboken’s favourite s Read more

Si Zentner - 82% match to Nelson Riddle

Simon H. Zentner, 13 June 1917, New York City, New York, USA, d. 31 January 2000, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. After learning to play the trombone as a child, Zentner played in and around New York before joining Les Brown in 1940. During the 40s he played in a number of bands, including those led by Harry James and Jimmy Dorsey, and at the end of the decade entered a long period Read more

Al Caiola - 65% match to Nelson Riddle

Alexander Emil Caiola, 7 September 1920, Jersey City, New Jersey, USA. A highly respected studio guitarist, Caiola played with many renowned musical directors such as Percy Faith, Hugo Winterhalter and André Kostelanetz. After serving as musical arranger and conductor for United Artists Records, Caiola released several singles on RCA Records during the 50s, including Read more

Henry Jerome - 63% match to Nelson Riddle

12 November 1917, New York, USA. Jerome formed his dance band orchestra in 1932 in Norwich, Connecticut, USA. Comprising eight to ten musicians, with vocalists Frank Warren and David Allen, their greatest impact came through frequent radio exposure on the Dinner At The Green Room show on the ABC network. This was broadcast remote from the Green Room of the Hotel Edison in Ne Read more

Plas Johnson - 63% match to Nelson Riddle

John Johnson Jnr., 21 July 1931, Donaldsonville, Louisiana, USA. After being taught soprano saxophone by his father, Johnson took up the tenor as well. Resident on the west coast in the 50s he worked in the studios but played jazz dates with artists including Benny Carter. His film and television work increased and his work (though not his name) became known to millions when Read more

Ray Anthony - 63% match to Nelson Riddle

Raymond Antonini, 20 January 1922, Bentleyville, Pennsylvania, USA. After playing in local bands in Cleveland, Anthony spent brief spells in the trumpet sections of the Al Donahue, Glenn Miller and Jimmy Dorsey orchestras. Following a four-year period in the US Navy, where he led a services orchestra, Anthony formed his own band in 1946 and signed with Capitol Records. The b Read more

Don Costa - 59% match to Nelson Riddle

10 June 1925, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, d. 19 January 1983, New York, USA. The youngest of five children, Costa taught himself to play the guitar by the age of eight, and at 15 was a member of the CBS radio orchestra in Boston. In his spare time he loved to dance the jitterbug. After starting as a musical arranger in radio in the 40s, Costa moved into the recording busines Read more

Frank Chacksfield - 51% match to Nelson Riddle

9 May 1914, Battle, Sussex, England, d. 9 June 1995. After early training on the piano and organ, Chacksfield led small groups in the late 30s before becoming arranger for the Stars In Battledress entertainment unit in World War II. His first radio broadcast was Original Songs At The Piano from Glasgow, and during the late 40s he worked with comedian Charlie Chester’s S Read more

Sam Butera - 50% match to Nelson Riddle

Stanley Black - 50% match to Nelson Riddle

14 June 1913, London, England, d. 26 November 2002, London, England. This highly talented pianist, arranger, composer and conductor was one of the leading figures in UK light and popular music. At the age of seven, Black began learning the piano and later studied at the Matthay School of Music. His first composition, when he was aged 12, was broadcast by the BBC Symphony Orc Read more

Bill Perkins - 47% match to Nelson Riddle

William Reese Perkins, 22 July 1924, San Francisco, California, USA, d. 9 August 2003, Sherman Oaks, California, USA. Having started out on a career as an electrical engineer, tenor saxophonist Perkins was in his mid-twenties before he made an appearance in Jerry Wald’s band in 1950. The following year he was with Woody Herman’s Third Herd and by 1953 was in Stan K Read more

Georgie Auld - 46% match to Nelson Riddle

John Altwerger, 19 May 1919, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, d. 7 January 1990, Palm Springs, California, USA. Originally an alto saxophonist, Auld found work in the early 30s in New York, where his family had recently moved. In 1936 he switched to tenor saxophone under the influence of Coleman Hawkins and, after leading a small group, joined the big band of Bunny Berigan. In 193 Read more

Dave Pell - 43% match to Nelson Riddle

26 February 1925, New York City, New York, USA. Pell played clarinet at the age of 13, later switching to tenor saxophone. In the 40s he was with Bobby Sherwood and Tony Pastor, then settled in Los Angeles playing with Bob Crosby and Les Brown. Although active in the studios, in 1953 he formed an octet for jazz dates. Among many leaders, he recorded with Chet Baker, Shorty R Read more

Percy Faith - 43% match to Nelson Riddle

7 April 1908, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, d. 9 February 1976, Ericino, California, USA. During the 30s Faith worked extensively on radio in Canada, and moved to the USA in 1940 to take up a post with NBC. During the 50s he was musical director for Columbia Records, for whom he made a number of popular albums, mostly of mood music. He worked with Tony Bennett, with whom he had Read more

Les Baxter - 41% match to Nelson Riddle

14 March 1922, Mexia, Texas, USA, d. 15 January 1996, Palm Springs, California, USA. Baxter studied piano at the Detroit Conservatory before moving to Los Angeles for further studies at Pepperdine College. Abandoning a concert career as a pianist he turned to popular music as a singer, and at the age of 23 he joined Mel Tormé’s Mel-Tones, singing on Artie Shaw re Read more