Grammy Mystery: Arranger Nelson Riddle Died 40 Years Ago: How Can He Be Nominated for a 2026 Grammy? | By Paul Grein, Billboard | Nelson Riddle was one of the finest arrangers in music history. He received Grammy nominations for arranging Frank Sinatra’s “Witchcraft,” “Nice ‘n’ Easy” and “Call Me Irresponsible” and won two Grammys for arranging the title tracks of Linda Ronstadt’s albums What’s New and Lush Life, in which she explored the Great American Songbook. And that just scratches the surface of Riddle’s vast discography. Riddle died in October 1985 at age 64, amid his career resurgence working with Ronstadt.
So, the fact that Riddle was nominated for a Grammy on Nov. 7 was surprising, to say the least. He’s up for best arrangement, instruments and vocals for his arrangement of “How Did She Look?” from Seth MacFarlane’s Lush Life: The Lost Sinatra Arrangements.
The Recording Academy doesn’t allow recordings by artists who have been dead for more than five years on the grounds that those recordings aren’t, by definition, “new recordings.” (From the academy’s Rules & Guidelines handbook: “New recordings’ is defined as material that has been recorded within five years of the release date and not previously released.”)
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Go here to read how this happened:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/grammy-mystery-arranger-nelson-riddle-died-40-years-ago-how-can-he-be-nominated-for-a-2026-grammy/
DSE Early Bird Registration is Open for Ventura, CA Expo!
Hello Durango-ites!!
We are happy to let you know that registration is now open for the next Durango Songwriters Expo, scheduled for Feb 19-21 2026 in Ventura, California!
Now through Monday, December 1, you can get registered at our Early Bird rate of $375.
Visit our website at https://www.durango-songwriters-expo.com to view the schedule and get registered. Note that registration is limited to 200 attendees, so it will sell out at some point!
Thank you!!
We look forward to seeing you all soon,
The DSE Team