Sid Feller
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Sidney "Sid" Feller (December 24, 1916 – February 16, 2006) was an American conductor and arranger, best known for his work with Ray Charles. He worked with Charles on hundreds of songs including Georgia on My Mind and worked as Charles' conductor while on tour. Ray Charles once said of him "if they call me a genius, then Sid Feller is Einstein." [1]
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[edit] Early career
Feller learned how to play the trumpet while a member of the Boy Scouts of America and also played the piano. He started playing as a member of local bands around New York City in the late 1930s and his career as an arranger started around that time. Feller worked with Jack Teagarden in 1940 before joining the US Army as a musician.
After the war, he worked with Teagarden again before joining Carmen Cavallaro's band in 1949. He joined Capitol Records where he worked as a conductor and arranger. During this period, he worked on records by Dean Martin, Peggy Lee, Matt Monro, Mel Tormé and Nancy Wilson.
Feller joined a new record label, ABC-Paramount, in 1955 where he worked with Paul Anka, Eydie Gorme and Steve Lawrence. He also recorded two albums of his own Music to Break a Lease By and More Music to Break a Lease By.
[edit] Work with Ray Charles
Feller met Ray Charles when he left Atlantic Records for ABC-Paramount. Their first album together was Genius Hits the Road featuring Georgia on my Mind. He also played a significant role in developing Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music. Charles recalled: "Sid researched the hell out of it and came up with 250 tunes. I picked the ones I liked, and of the ones I picked, they were all new to me except 'Bye Bye, Love.'" [2] Amongst the songs they recorded was I Can't Stop Loving You which would become Charles' biggest hit. Ironically, Feller was sceptical about the market for a pop singer covering country songs. Feller worked with Charles for 30 years, both on record and on tour as a conductor.
[edit] Subsequent career
In 1965, Feller moved to California where he worked as a freelancer. He worked as the musical arranger for The Flip Wilson Show in the early 1970's and on specials for John Denver, Andy Williams and Pat Boone amongst others. He also produced Broadway soundtrack albums. He finally retired after a heart attack in the late 1990s and moved to Ohio to be near his daughter.
