His 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.

[1][2][3][4][5][6] Shep Fields was born Saul Feldman in Brooklyn, New York, on September 12, 1910, and his mother's maiden name was Sowalski.

[16] 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 Fields assigned to his accordionist.

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

After taking note of Ferde Grofe's innovative use of both the trombone and temple blocks in his Grand Canyon Suite, he adopted a similar stylistic device for muted trumpets.

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

[21] While appearing at the posh "Star-light Roof" atop the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in 1937,[22] Fields replaced Paul Whiteman with his own radio show, The Rippling Rhythm Revue, which featured a young actor named Bob Hope as the announcer on the NBC network.

[12][25] A series of live remote broadcasts of the orchestra was also transmitted at this time from the landmark Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel featuring the accordionist John Serry Sr.[26] As the decade of the 1930s came to a close, Fields remained popular with audiences nationwide.

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

[33][34][35] After World War II ended, Fields reverted to his ever popular "Rippling Rhythm" style in 1947 and continued to perform in hotels long after other bands of his era had disappeared.

[11][40][41] Noted musical arranger and editor Joseph Schillinger observed that over the course of his career, Shep Fields had assembled "one of the most colorful bands" of his time.