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1 of 1- tedn
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Nelson Riddle
I'll always be disappointed that Bing didn't record more with Nelson Riddle - I think he could have given Bing the inspiration for some great singing in the later '50s and the '60s with the right arrangements.
However, I know their paths crosses a number of times beyond the obvious (Return to Paradise Islands). The Giddins book mentions Riddle doing a few ghost arrangements for John Scott Trotter during the Decca years, and we have now occasionally gotten official releases of Riddle's arrangements on Bing's TV shows.
Does anyone have a complete list of which specials Riddle scored for Bing over the years? The recent discovery of pristine tapes for the Vince Guaraldi "Peanuts" soundtracks has given me hope that those TV pre-recordings could yield a quasi-album of Bing and Riddle somewhere in the archives...
- David Lobosco
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Re: Nelson Riddle
I agree. Bing would have benefitted for more work with Nelson Riddle.
- jeremyrose
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Re: Nelson Riddle
Archiefit wrote:
So right. And can you imagine with that minimalist piano style of Gordon Jenkins if Bing had made some beautiful recordings with him. I think if Bing had made an album similar in style to Godon's "Jimmy Durante's Way of Life". What a fine Bing album it would be.
I agree with Archiefit. One of my favourite ever albums - Bing or otherwise - is Harry Nilsson's 1973 release A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night, a selection of 'Golden Age' standards with wonderfully lush arrangements by the great Gordon Jenkins. Although Nilsson very occasionally brings a contemporary 70s 'pop' touch to a couple of the tracks, I nevertheless think that the whole concept of the album would have suited Bing to a tee and a similar project would have made a wonderful addition to that amazing late flowering of his recording career.
- ModernBingFan0377
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Re: Nelson Riddle
So right. And can you imagine with that minimalist piano style of Gordon Jenkins if Bing had made some beautiful recordings with him. I think if Bing had made an album similar in style to Godon's "Jimmy Durante's Way of Life". What a fine Bing album it would be.
I agree with Archiefit. One of my favourite ever albums - Bing or otherwise - is Harry Nilsson's 1973 release A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night, a selection of 'Golden Age' standards with wonderfully lush arrangements by the great Gordon Jenkins. Although Nilsson very occasionally brings a contemporary 70s 'pop' touch to a couple of the tracks, I nevertheless think that the whole concept of the album would have suited Bing to a tee and a similar project would have made a wonderful addition to that amazing late flowering of his recording career.
I agree to a tee, though I don’t think Bing would’ve ever made an album like that without ample persuasion. As noted in one of his letters to Ken Barnes about “Seasons,” he liked having a couple more swinging numbers to offset ballads, he thought listeners would get bored with him singing ballads for a whole album. Evidently he was wrong in that respect, and I’m very sad we never got a fully solemn contemplative album.
Sing a song of sunbeams, let the notes fall where they may, sing a song of sunbeams in a light fantastic way.
- jeremyrose
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Re: Nelson Riddle
I agree to a tee, though I don’t think Bing would’ve ever made an album like that without ample persuasion. As noted in one of his letters to Ken Barnes about “Seasons,” he liked having a couple more swinging numbers to offset ballads, he thought listeners would get bored with him singing ballads for a whole album. Evidently he was wrong in that respect, and I’m very sad we never got a fully solemn contemplative album.
That's a very good point. I had forgotten about the correspondence with Ken Barnes. I still think it's a shame Bing wasn't coaxed out of his comfort zone - rather in the way he had been nearly 20 years earlier with Bing Sings Whilst Bregman Swings.