Following in the footsteps of his father, who led an amateur band, Nelson Riddle
studied piano and trombone before joining Charlie Spivak's orchestra on
graduating. He went on to play with Bob Crosby's and Tommy Dorsey's orchestras,
who commissioned arrangements from him as a bonus. At the end of the Second
World War, he was asked to write arrangements for Nat "King" Cole, with whom he
collaborated for over 10 years and on more than 15 albums for the Capitol label.
On the same label, he later recorded under his own name, but is best known as
one of the most prolific arrangers and...