Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

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FIELDING, Jerry

(b 17 June 1922, Philadelphia PA; d 17 February 1980) Studio arranger, conductor, composer; also a bandleader. Got a big break at age 26 replacing the conductor on the Groucho Marx TV show at short notice. He wanted to hire musicians regardless of colour, so Buddy Collette found himself playing flute on network TV in the late '40s on a show where the TV audience saw the band at least once on each show; Fielding received hate mail but ignored it. He also helped integrate the musicians' union locals in Hollywood (the musicians were in favour but had to force their own union to co-operate). When Fielding discovered that bassist Red Callender could read anything, Callender became one of the busiest freelances on the West Coast. Perhaps because he wasn't a racist, Fielding got in trouble with the House UnAmerican Activities Committee, refused to say anything at all to them and was blacklisted for a while. He ran an integrated jazz-oriented dance and show band in the early '50s; among the vocalists was Felicia Saunders of 'Song From Moulin Rouge' fame.

The band played at the Crescendo, owned by Gene Norman (disc jockey, producer, promoter b Eugene Nabatoff d 2 November 2015 aged 93; his classic jazz record label was GNP: 'Gene Norman Presents'). Along with other studio work Fielding became a prolific film composer, scoring 49 films '62-79, nominated for Oscars for The Wild Bunch '69, Straw Dogs '71 and The Outlaw Josie Wales '76; other films included Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia '74.