Shep Fields

Shep Fields
File:Shep Fields 1957.JPG Shep Fields in 1957
Born	Saul Feldman (1910-09-12)September 12, 1910 Brooklyn, New York, United States
Died	Los Angeles, California, United States
Cause of death	Heart attack
Occupation	Bandleader
Employer	Bluebird Records
Known for	Shep Fields and His Rippling Rhythm Orchestra
Spouse(s)	Zook Klein
Relatives	Freddie Fields, brother

Shep Fields (September 12, 1910 – February 23, 1981) was the band leader for the "Shep Fields and His Rippling Rhythm" orchestra during the Big Band 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 Fields 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.

Band

• Sid Greene (1913–2006), drums and percussion, band manager, c. 1932-1943
• Hal Derwin, vocals 1940
• Larry Neill, vocals 1940
• Dorothy Allen (1896–1970), vocals 1940
• Ken Curtis (1916–1991), vocals
• The Three Beaus and a Peep, vocals c. 1947-1948
• Bob Johnstone (1916–1994), singer c. 1947-1948
• Toni Arden, singer, c. 1945
• Bob Shapley, accordion, c. 1948-1950
• Carl Frederick Tandberg (1910–1988), bass fiddle, c. 1940
• Lou Halmy (1911–2005), trumpet, music arranger, c. 1935
• Sid Caesar (1922–2014), saxophone, c. 1940
• John Serry, Sr. (1915–2003), accordion, 1937–1938
• Pat Foy, singer 1941
• Lew Harris, music arranger 1940
• Earl Kramer, bass saxophone 1941

Recordings

• That Old Feeling
• The Jersey Bounce
• I've Got You Under My Skin
• September In The Rain
• Shep Fields and His Rippling Rhythm, 1940, Volumes 1 and 2

Live broadcasts

• Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, California during September 1938 - October 1938 with John Serry, Sr. as featured soloist on the NBC radio network.
• Glen Island Casino in New Rochelle, New York on May 12, 1947 with Toni Arden, Bob Johnstone, and The Three Beaus and a Peep.
• Ice Terrace Room of the New Yorker Hotel on March 6, 1948 with Toni Arden, Bob Johnstone, and The Three Beaus and a Peep.

Filmography

• Various Soundies (1941-1946)
• You Came To My Rescue (1937) - Director Dave Fleischer
• The Big Broadcast of 1938 (1938) - Director Mitchell Leisen with W.C. Fields, Martha Raye, Dorothy Lamour and Bob Hope.
• Kreisler Bandstand (1951) - TV series director Perry Lafferty.

Further reading

• Washington Post; February 7, 1937 "Shep Fields in Town Wednesday for Dance."
• Washington Post; May 8, 1937 "'Wings of the Morning,' in Technicolor, And Shep Fields Share Honors at Earle. Racing Picture and Ace Band Divide Top Spots on Bill of General Appeal."
• Washington Post; January 17, 1939 "Los Angeles, January 16, 1939 (United Press) Mrs. Myra Wallace, wife of a music publisher, learned tonight the $10,000 banknote which she tossed to Shep Fields, orchestra leader, for playing one her favorite numbers might be legal -- not stage money as she had thought."

External links

• Shep Fields at Solid!
• Shep Fields at Find A Grave