Nelson Smock Riddle, Jr. (June 1, 1921 – October 6, 1985) was an American
arranger,
composer, bandleader and
orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid-1980s. His work for
Capitol Records kept such
vocalists as
Frank Sinatra,
Ella Fitzgerald,
Nat King Cole,
Judy Garland,
Dean Martin,
Peggy Lee,
Johnny Mathis,
Rosemary Clooney and
Keely Smith household names. He found commercial and critical success again in the 1980s with a trio of
Platinum albums with
Linda Ronstadt.