17 Facts About Shep Fields

Shep Fields's distinctive Rippling Rhythm sound was featured on big band remote broadcasts from historic hotels nationwide and remained popular with audiences from the 1930s into the early 1960s.

Shep Fields was born Saul Feldman in Brooklyn, New York, on September 12,1910, and his mother's maiden name was Sowalski.

Shep Fields's brother, Edward Fields, was a carpet manufacturer, and his younger brother, Freddie Fields, was a respected theatrical agent and film producer who helped to establish Creative Management Associates in 1960.

In 1931, Shep Fields received his first big break when his orchestra was booked at the famed Roseland Ballroom in New York City.

Shep Fields soon left the Hotel Pierre to join a roadshow with the dancers Veloz and Yolanda.

Shep Fields was eager to perfect a unique orchestral sound to distinguish his ensemble from other "sweet jazz bands" of his era.

The embellishments for the right hand, which were popularized by Eddy Duchin on the piano, became the source of inspiration for the elegant passages to which Shep Fields assigned to his accordionist.

Shep Fields was impressed by Hal Kemp's use of triplets on the trumpet and Ted Fio Rito's distinctive use of temple blocks.

Shep Fields soon attracted national attention, and he was invited to entertain audiences with Veloz and Yolanda at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.

Confident in his success, Shep Fields withdrew from his association with Veloz, Yolanda, and MCA Inc He decided, instead, to return east to his former position at the Hotel Pierre in New York City.

In 1938, Shep Fields' Rippling Rhythm Orchestra and Hope were featured in his first feature-length motion picture, The Big Broadcast of 1938.

Shep Fields now presented an orchestra that blended over 35 instruments, including: one bass saxophone, one baritone saxophone, six tenor saxophones, four alto saxophones, three bass clarinets, 10 standard clarinets, and nine flutes including an alto flute and a piccolo.

The critic Leonard Feather applauded the new band's beautiful sound, and Shep Fields embarked upon a series of USO tours to entertain the troops during World War II.

The group disbanded in 1963, and Shep Fields moved to Houston, Texas, where he worked as a disc jockey.

Shep Fields later worked at Creative Management Associates with his brother Freddie Fields in Los Angeles.

Shep Fields died on February 23,1981, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles from a heart attack.

Shep Fields was buried in Mount Hebron Cemetery in New York.