His parents were strong advocates of the arts and his father started teaching Sheldon the violin and Elaine the piano when they were five.
[1][2][3][4] Sheldon continued to be taught by his father, at the Henry Street Settlement and with Ivan Galamian until he entered Juilliard School in New York City, where he was trained as a classical musician.
"[5] The group was a perennial winner of annual "Super Picker Awards", recognizing the musicians who performed on the most number-one records in the previous year.
[6][7] His credits as an arranger included "Half the Way" and "When I Dream" for Crystal Gayle and "I Wouldn't Have Missed It for the World" for Ronnie Milsap.
Other names of musicians he worked with included Johnny Cash, Neil Young, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, George Burns, Jimmy Buffett, Conway Twitty, Eddy Arnold, Amy Grant, Hank Snow, Bobby Bare, Kris Kristofferson, George Hamilton IV and Reba McEntire.