Background
He was born Saul Feldman in Brooklyn, New York on September 12, 1910, and his mother"s maiden name was Sowalski.
He was born Saul Feldman in Brooklyn, New York on September 12, 1910, and his mother"s maiden name was Sowalski.
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. 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 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 New York 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, Senior (1915–2003), accordion, 1937–1938
Pat Foy, singer 1941
Lew Harris, music arranger 1940
Earl Kramer, bass saxophone 1941
Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, California during September 1938 - October 1938 with John Serry, Senior as featured soloist on the National Broadcasting Company 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.