by William RuhlmannNilsson was nearly a decade ahead of Linda Ronstadt and other nouveau crooners in hiring a conductor\u002Farranger of the pre-rock era (in this case Gordon Jenkins) and recording an album of standards before a full orchestra. And he did it better than most, proving to be a marvelous interpreter of songs like What'll I Do? and Makin' Whoopee! His version of As Time Goes By became a minor hit.