Joseph Raymond Conniff (November 6, 1916 – October 12, 2002) was an American bandleader and arranger best known for his Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s.
Biography
Conniff was born November 6, 1916 in
Attleboro, Massachusetts
Attleboro is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It was once known as "The Jewelry Capital of the World" for its many jewelry manufacturers. According to the 2020 census, Attleboro had a population of 46,461.
Attleboro is ...
, United States,
and learned to play the
trombone
The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...
from his father. He studied music arranging from a course book.
Early career
After serving in the
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
(where he worked under
Walter Schumann
Walter Schumann (October 8, 1913 – August 21, 1958) was an American composer for film, television, and the theater. His notable works include the score for '' The Night of the Hunter'' and the ''Dragnet'' Theme; the latter of which earned Sch ...
), he joined the
Artie Shaw
Artie Shaw (born Arthur Jacob Arshawsky; May 23, 1910 – December 30, 2004) was an American clarinetist, composer, bandleader, actor and author of both fiction and non-fiction.
Widely regarded as "one of jazz's finest clarinetists", Shaw led ...
big band and wrote many arrangements for him.
After his stint with Shaw, he was hired in 1954 by
Mitch Miller
Mitchell William Miller (July 4, 1911 – July 31, 2010) was an American choral conductor, record producer, record-industry executive, and professional oboist. He was involved in almost all aspects of the industry, particularly as a conductor ...
, head of
A&R at
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
, as the label's home arranger, working with several artists including
Rosemary Clooney
Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 – June 29, 2002) was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the song "Come On-a My House", which was followed by other pop numbers such as " Botch-a-Me", " Mambo Italiano", ...
,
Marty Robbins
Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, and NASCAR racing driver. Robbins was one of the most popular and suc ...
,
Frankie Laine
Frankie Laine (born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio; March 30, 1913 – February 6, 2007) was an American Singing, singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned nearly 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to hi ...
,
Johnny Mathis
John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...
,
Guy Mitchell
Guy Mitchell (born Albert George Cernik; February 22, 1927 – July 1, 1999) was an American pop singer and actor, successful in his homeland, the UK, and Australia. He sold 44 million records, including six million-selling singles.
In the fal ...
and
Johnnie Ray
John Alvin Ray (January 10, 1927 – February 24, 1990) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Highly popular for most of the 1950s, Ray has been cited by critics as a major precursor to what became rock and roll, for his jazz and blu ...
.
He wrote a top-10 arrangement for
Don Cherry
Donald Stewart Cherry (born February 5, 1934) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, coach, and television commentator. Cherry played one game in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Boston Bruins, and later coached the team for five se ...
's "Band of Gold" in 1955, a single that sold more than a million copies.
Among the hit singles Conniff backed with his orchestra (and eventually with a male chorus) were "
Yes Tonight Josephine
"Yes Tonight Josephine" was a popular music song from 1957. It was written by Winfield Scott and Dorothy Goodman, and was a hit single for Johnnie Ray.
Chart performance
Ray's recording was produced by Mitch Miller, and in the US, peaked at nu ...
" and "
Just Walkin' in the Rain
"Just Walkin' in the Rain" is a popular song. It was written in 1952 by Johnny Bragg and Robert Riley, two prisoners at Tennessee State Prison in Nashville, after a comment made by Bragg as the pair crossed the courtyard while it was raining. ...
" by Johnnie Ray; "
Chances Are" and "
It's Not for Me to Say
"It's Not for Me to Say" is a 1957 popular song with music by Robert Allen and lyrics by Al Stillman. It was written for the 1957 movie ''Lizzie'' (starring Eleanor Parker), and was sung by Johnny Mathis in the film.
Mathis' recording of the s ...
" by Johnny Mathis; "
A White Sport Coat
"A White Sport Coat" is a 1957 country and western song with words and music both written by Marty Robbins. It was recorded on January 25, 1957, and released on the Columbia Records label, over a month later, on March 4. The arranger and recording ...
" and "
The Hanging Tree" by Marty Robbins; "
Moonlight Gambler
"Moonlight Gambler" is a song written by Bob Hilliard and Phil Springer and performed by Frankie Laine featuring Ray Conniff and His Orchestra. It reached #3 on the U.S. pop chart and #13 on the UK Singles chart in 1957.
The single ranked #32 ...
" by Frankie Laine; "
Up Above My Head
"Up Above My Head" is a gospel song of traditional origin, first recorded in 1941 (as "Above My Head I Hear Music In The Air") by The Southern Sons, a vocal group formed by William Langford of the Golden Gate Quartet. In the version that is now th ...
", a duet by Frankie Laine and Johnnie Ray; and "Pet Me, Poppa" by Rosemary Clooney. He also backed up the albums ''
Tony
Tony may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer
* Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...
'' by
Tony Bennett
Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birth ...
, ''Blue Swing'' by
Eileen Rodgers
Eileen Rodgers (July 10, 1930 – July 13, 2003) was an American singer and Broadway performer.
Career
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1930, she began her career as a nightclub performer, later singing as lead vocalist with Charlie Spivak ...
, ''Swingin' for Two'' by Don Cherry, and half the tracks of ''The Big Beat'' by Johnnie Ray. In these early years Conniff produced similar-sounding records for Columbia's
Epic label under the name of Jay Raye (which stood for "Joseph Raymond"), among them a backing album and singles with the American male vocal group
Somethin' Smith and the Redheads
Somethin' Smith and the Redheads were an United States, American vocal group, doing mostly pop standards in the 1950s. Their biggest hit single was "It's a Sin to Tell a Lie" in 1955, which reached #7 in the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 1 ...
.
Between 1957 and 1968, Conniff had 28 albums in the American Top 40, the most famous one being ''Somewhere My Love'' (1966).
He topped the album list in
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
in 1969 with ''
His Orchestra, His Chorus, His Singers, His Sound,''
an album which was originally published to promote his European tour (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) in 1969. He also was the first American popular artist to record in
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
—in 1974 he recorded ''Ray Conniff in Moscow'' with the help of a local choir.
His later albums like ''Exclusivamente Latino,'' ''Amor Amor,'' and ''Latinisimo'' made him very popular in Latin-American countries, even more so after performing in the
Viña del Mar International Song Festival
, image =
, caption =Overture to the closing night of LI Viña del Mar International Song Festival (2010)
, location =Viña del Mar, Chile
, years_active =1960-present
, founders =
, dates =3rd week of February
, ...
. In Brazil and Chile in the 1980s and 1990s, he was treated like a young pop superstar despite being in his seventies and eighties. He played live with his orchestra and eight-person chorus in large football stadiums as well as in
Viña del Mar
Viña del Mar (; meaning "Vineyard of the Sea") is a city and commune on central Chile's Pacific coast. Often referred to as ("The Garden City"), Viña del Mar is located within the Valparaíso Region, and it is Chile's fourth largest city w ...
.
Conniff commented, "One time I was recording an album with Mitch Miller – we had a big band and a small choir. I decided to have the choir sing along with the big band using wordless lyrics. The women were doubled with the trumpets and the men were doubled with the trombones. In the booth Mitch was totally surprised and excited at how well it worked." Because of the success of his backing arrangements, and the new sound Conniff created, Miller allowed him to make his own record, and this became the successful
''’s Wonderful!'', a collection of standards that were recorded with an orchestra and a wordless singing chorus (four men, four women).
He released many more albums in the same vein, including ''’s Marvelous'' (1957, gold album), ''’s Awful Nice'' (1958), ''Concert in Rhythm'' (1958, gold album), ''Broadway in Rhythm'' (1958), ''Hollywood in Rhythm'' (1959), ''Concert in Rhythm'', Vol. II (1960), ''Say It With Music'' (1960), ''Memories Are Made of This'' (1960, gold album), and ''’s Continental'' (1962).
His second album was ''Dance the Bop!'' (1957). It was an experiment by one of the senior managers at Columbia to cash in on a new dance step, but from the outset, Conniff disliked it. When it sold poorly, he had it withdrawn.
The Ray Conniff Singers
![Ray Conniff (1967)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Ray_Conniff_%281967%29.png)
In 1959, Conniff started The Ray Conniff Singers (12 women and 13 men and released the album ''It's the Talk of the Town.''
This group brought him his biggest hit: ''Somewhere My Love'' (1966). The lyrics of the album's title track were sung to the music of "
Lara's Theme
"Lara's Theme" is the name given to a leitmotif written for the film ''Doctor Zhivago'' (1965) by composer Maurice Jarre. Soon afterward, the leitmotif became the basis of the song "Somewhere, My Love". Numerous versions, both orchestral and voc ...
" from the film ''
Doctor Zhivago
''Doctor Zhivago'' is the title of a novel by Boris Pasternak and its various adaptations.
Description
The story, in all of its forms, describes the life of the fictional Russian physician and poet Yuri Zhivago
Yuri Andreievich Zhivago is the ...
,'' and it became a US top 10 single.
The album reached the US top 20 and went platinum, and Conniff won a Grammy. The single and album also reached high positions in the international charts (a.o. Australia, Germany, Great Britain, Japan), while the first of four Christmas albums by the Singers, ''
Christmas with Conniff
''Christmas with Conniff'' is a 1959 album from Ray Conniff of mostly secular holiday songs. The lone exception is the inclusion of "Greensleeves", also one of the few ballads on this album. For the most part, the album relies on uptempo songs li ...
'' (1959) was also successful.
Nearly 50 years after its release, in 2004, Conniff was posthumously awarded a platinum album/CD. Other well-known releases by the Singers included ''Ray Conniff's Hawaiian Album'' (1967), featuring the hit song "Pearly Shells," and ''Bridge Over Troubled Water'' (1970), which included Conniff's original composition "Someone", and remakes of such hits as "All I Have to Do is Dream", "I'll Never Fall in Love Again", and "Something".
Musically different highlights in Conniff's career are two albums he produced in cooperation with
Billy Butterfield, an old friend from earlier swing days. ''Conniff Meets Butterfield'' (1959) featured Butterfield's solo trumpet and a small rhythm group, and ''Just Kiddin' Around'' (after a Conniff original composition from the 1940s), released in 1963, which featured additional trombone solos by Ray himself. Both albums are pure light jazz and did not feature any vocals.
Later years
Conniff recorded in New York from 1955 to 1961, and mainly in Los Angeles from 1962 through 2000. Later in the 1960s he produced an average of two instrumental and one vocal album a year.
In 1979, Conniff was hired to re-arrange and record a new version of "Those Were The Days" and "Remembering You", the opening and closing themes to ''
All In The Family
''All in the Family'' is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS for nine seasons, from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. Afterwards, it was continued with the spin-off series '' Archie Bunker's Place'', which picked up where ''All in ...
'' for
Carroll O'Connor
John Carroll O'Connor (August 2, 1924 – June 21, 2001) was an American actor, producer, and director whose television career spanned over four decades. He became a lifelong member of the Actors Studio in 1971. O'Connor found widespread fame a ...
's new spin-off, ''
Archie Bunker's Place'' on
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
with a small ensemble, trombone solo, and honky-tonk piano. Conniff sold about 70 million albums worldwide, and continued recording and performing until his death in 2002.
Death
Ray Conniff died October 12, 2002 in
Escondido, California
Escondido is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. Located in the North County region, it was incorporated in 1888, and is one of the oldest cities in San Diego County. It has a population of 151,038 as of the 2020 census.
Et ...
after falling and hitting his head on the sink, and is buried in the
Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park & Mortuary is a cemetery and mortuary located in the Westwood Village area of Los Angeles. It is located at 1218 Glendon Avenue in Westwood, with an entrance from Glendon Avenue.
The cemetery was ...
in
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. His grave marker bears a musical score with the first four notes of "Somewhere My Love". Conniff was survived by his wife Vera, daughter Tamara Conniff, son Jimmy Conniff, and three grandchildren. Jimmy Conniff died in 2015.
Legacy
In 2004, a memorial two-CD compilation set, ''The Essential Ray Conniff,'' was released, featuring many rare and previously unreleased tracks. ''The Singles Collection, Vol. 1'' was released on the Collectables label in 2005, ''The Singles Collection, Vol. 2'' in 2007, and Vol. 3 was released in 2009. These collections feature rare singles and previously unissued tracks. His music is also featured prominently in the movie ''
There's Something About Mary
''There's Something About Mary'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly. It stars Cameron Diaz as the title character with Ben Stiller, Matt Dillon, Lee Evans, and Chris Elliott all playing men w ...
''.
In 2022, "Bah Bah Conniff Sprach (Zarathustra)" from Conniff's 1973 album, You Are the Sunshine of My Life, was featured in a Salesforce TV commercial starring
Matthew McConaughey
Matthew David McConaughey ( ; born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. He had his breakout role with a supporting performance in the coming-of-age comedy '' Dazed and Confused'' (1993). After a number of supporting roles, his first succes ...
.
Ray Conniff Singers membership
In 1959, Conniff started The Ray Conniff Singers (12 women and 13 men).
From 1962 through 2001, membership in the Ray Conniff Singers included:
Original albums
Ray Conniff was one of the most successful easy listening artists on the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' magazine album chart, placing 30 albums on their
''Billboard'' Hot 200 charts to 1973.
The group went on to record over 90 albums.
*''
'S Wonderful!'' (1956)
*''
Dance the Bop!
''Dance the Bop!'' is a 1957 album by Ray Conniff. All the tracks were written by Conniff with a "solid rock and roll beat" to appeal to the teenage audience of the time. The album was produced in February, 1957. Released by Columbia Records, the a ...
'' (1957)
*''
'S Marvelous
''S Marvelous'' is an album by Ray Conniff and His Orchestra. It was released in mono in 1957 on the Columbia label (catalog no. CL 1074) and in stereo (catalog no. CS 8037) in 1958.
The album debuted on ''Billboard'' magazine's popular album ch ...
'' (1957, gold album)
*''
'S Awful Nice'' (1958)
*''
Concert in Rhythm, Vol.1'' (1958, gold album)
*''
Broadway in Rhythm'' (1958)
*''Hollywood in Rhythm'' (1958)
*''It's the Talk of the Town'' (1959)
*''
Conniff Meets Butterfield
''Conniff Meets Butterfield'' is an album by band leader Ray Conniff and trumpeter Billy Butterfield. It was released in 1959 on the Columbia label (catalog no. CS-8155).
The album debuted on '' Billboard'' magazine's popular albums chart on D ...
'' (1959), with
Billy Butterfield
*''
Christmas with Conniff
''Christmas with Conniff'' is a 1959 album from Ray Conniff of mostly secular holiday songs. The lone exception is the inclusion of "Greensleeves", also one of the few ballads on this album. For the most part, the album relies on uptempo songs li ...
'' (1959, platinum album)
*''Concert in Rhythm, Vol.2'' (1959)
*''
Young at Heart'' (1960)
*''
Say It with Music (A Touch of Latin)
''Say It with Music (A Touch of Latin)'' is an album by Ray Conniff, His Orchestra and Chorus. It was released in 1960 on the Columbia Records, Columbia label (catalog no. CL-1490).
The album debuted on ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine ...
'' (1960)
*''
Memories Are Made of This
"Memories Are Made of This" is a popular song about nostalgia, written in 1955 by Terry Gilkyson, Richard Dehr, and Frank Miller. They were the members of a three-pieced group called " The Easy Riders", who served as a backing band for Dean Martin ...
'' (1960, gold album)
*''Somebody Loves Me'' (1961)
*''
'S Continental'' (1962)
*''
So Much in Love
"So Much in Love" is a song written by George Williams and Bill Jackson, and arranged by Roy Straigis. It was originally performed by the Tymes and was the group's first hit single, topping the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart on August 3, 19 ...
'' (1962, gold album)
*''Rhapsody in Rhythm'' (1962)
* ''
We Wish You a Merry Christmas
"We Wish You a Merry Christmas" is an English Christmas carol, listed as numbers 230 and 9681 in the Roud Folk Song Index. The famous version of the carol is from the English West Country
The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is ...
'' (1962, platinum album)
*''The Happy Beat of Ray Conniff, His Orchestra and Chorus'' (1962)
*''Just Kiddin' Around'' (1962), with Billy Butterfield #85 Hot 200
*''You Make Me Feel So Young'' (1963) #73 Hot 200
*''Speak to Me of Love'' (1963) #50 Hot 200
*''Friendly Persuasion'' (1964) #141 Hot 200
*''Invisible Tears'' (1964) #23 Hot 200
*''Love Affair'' (1965) #54 Hot 200
*''Music From '
Mary Poppins It may refer to:
* ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character.
* Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers.
* ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film sta ...
', '
The Sound of Music
''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. Se ...
', '
My Fair Lady
''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons f ...
' & Other Great Movie Themes'' (1965) #34 Hot 200
*''
Here We Come A-Caroling'' (1965, platinum album)
*''
Happiness Is'' (1965) #80 Hot 200
*''
Somewhere My Love and Other Great Hits
''Somewhere My Love and Other Great Hits'' is an album by Ray Conniff and The Singers. It was released in 1966 on the Columbia label (catalog no. CS-9319). The title track reached No. 9 on the singles chart.
The album debuted on '' Billboard'' m ...
'' (1966, platinum album) #3 Hot 200
* ''Ray Conniff's World of Hits'' (1966) #78 Hot 200
*''En Español (The Ray Conniff Singers Sing It in Spanish)'' (1966) #180 Hot 200
*''
This Is My Song'' (1967) #30 Hot 200
*''Ray Conniff's Hawaiian Album'' (1967) #39 Hot 200
*''
It Must Be Him'' (1967, gold album) #25 Hot 200
*''
Honey
Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...
'' (1968, gold album) #22 Hot 200
*''Turn Around Look at Me'' (1968) #69 Hot 200
*''I Love How You Love Me'' (1969) #101 Hot 200
*''Ray Conniff's Greatest Hits'' (1969) #158 Hot 200
*''Live Europa Tournee 1969/Concert in Stereo'' (1969)
*''Jean'' (1969) #103 Hot 200
*''Concert In Stereo: Live at 'The Sahara Tahoe (1969) #177 Hot 200
*''Bridge Over Troubled Water'' (1970) #47 Hot 200
*''We've Only Just Begun'' (1970) #120 Hot 200
*''Love Story'' (1970) #98 Hot 200
*''Great Contemporary Instrumental Hits'' (1971) #177 Hot 200
*''I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing'' (1971) #138 Hot 200
*''Love Theme from "
The Godfather
''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, ...
"'' (1972) #114 Hot 200
*''Alone Again (Naturally)'' (1972) #180 Hot 200
*''I Can See Clearly Now'' (aka ''Clair'') (1973) #165 Hot 200
*''Ray Conniff in Britain'' (1973)
*''You Are the Sunshine of My Life'' (1973) #176 Hot 200, #41 AUS
*''Harmony'' (1973) #194 Hot 200, #61 AUS
[
*''The Way We Were'' (1973)
*''"Ray Conniff Plays Carpenters"'' (1974)
*''The Happy Sound of Ray Conniff'' (1974)
*''Ray Conniff in Moscow'' (1974)
*''Laughter in the Rain'' (1975)
*''Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song'' (1975)
*''Love Will Keep Us Together'' (1975)
*''"Ray Conniff Plays The Beatles"'' (1975)
*''I Write the Songs'' (1975)
*''Live in Japan'' (1975)
*''Send in the Clowns'' (1976)
*''Theme from ']SWAT
In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...
' and Other TV Themes'' (1976)
*''After the Lovin (1976)
*''Exitos Latinos'' (1977)
*''Ray Conniff Plays the Bee Gees
The Bee Gees
were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in the disco music era in ...
and Other Great Hits'' (1978)
*''I Will Survive'' (1979)
*''The Perfect '10' Classics'' (1980)
*''Exclusivamente Latino'' (1980)
*''Siempre Latino'' (1981)
*''The Nashville Connection'' (1982)
*''Musik für Millionen'' (partly produced for a German TV show in 1982)
*''Amor Amor'' (1982)
*''Fantastico'' (1983)
*''Supersonico'' (1984)
*'' Christmas Caroling'' (1984)
*''Campeones'' (1985)
*''Say You Say Me'' (1986)
*''30th Anniversary Edition'' (1986)
*''Always in My Heart'' (1987)
*''Interpreta 16 Exitos De Manuel Alejandro'' (1988)
*''Ray Conniff Plays Broadway'' (1990)
*S Always Conniff'' (1991)
*''Latinisimo'' (1993)
*''40th Anniversary'' (1995)
*''Live in Rio (aka Mi Historia)'' (1997)
*''I Love Movies'' (1997)
*''My Way'' (1998)
*S Country'' (1999)
*S Christmas'' (1999)
*''Do Ray Para O Rei'' (2000)
*''Three volumes of "The Singles Collection"''.
Hit records
Spinoffs
A special version of the song "Happiness Is" was recorded for use in a TV commercial for Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
cigarettes, prior to the ban on TV advertising of tobacco products.
Holiday 100 chart entries
Since many radio stations in the US adopt a format change to Christmas music each December, many holiday hits have an annual spike in popularity during the last few weeks of the year and are retired once the season is over. In December 2011, ''Billboard'' began a Holiday Songs chart with 50 positions that monitors the last five weeks of each year to "rank the top holiday hits of all eras using the same methodology as the Hot 100, blending streaming, airplay, and sales data", and in 2013 the number of positions on the chart was doubled, resulting in the Holiday 100. Two recordings by Conniff and The Singers have made appearances on the Holiday 100 and are noted below according to the holiday season in which they charted there.
Songs composed by Conniff
*"I Don't Love Nobody but You" (1956)
*"Unwanted Heart" (1956)
*"A Girl Without a Fella" (1956)
*"Please Write While I'm Away" (1956)
*"Love Her in the Morning" (1956)
*"No Wedding Today" (1956; under pseudonym, "Engberg")
*"There's a Place Called Heaven" (1956; under pseudonym, "Engberg")
*"Three Way Love" (1957)
*"Walkin' and Whistlin" (1957)
*"Grown Up Tears" (1957)
*"Steel Guitar Rock" (1957)
*LP ''Dance the Bop!'' (1957; all titles)
*"Ann's Theme" (1957; under pseudonym, "Engberg")
*"(If 'n' You Don't) Somebody Else Will" (1957)
*"Just a Beginner in Love" (1957)
*"Window Shopping" (1957)
*"Soliloquy of a Fool" (1957; co-written)
*"When We're All Through School" (1957)
*"Make It Baby" (1957/58)
*"Let's Walk" (1957/58)
*"Lonely for a Letter" (1958)
*"Early Evening (Theme from the Ray Conniff Suite)" (1958)
*"Let's Be Grown Up Too" (1958)
*"Pacific Sunset" (1958)
*"A Love is Born" (1959)
*"Stay" (1959; co-written)
*"Will You Love Me" (1959; co-written)
*"African Safari" (1961)
*"To my Love" (1962)
*"Just Kiddin' Around" (1963; composed in the 1930s)
*"Scarlet" (1963)
*"Love Has No Rules" (1963)
*"The Real Meaning of Christmas" (1965)
*"Midsummer in Sweden" (1966)
*"The Power of Love" (1969)
*"Everybody Knows" (1970)
*"Someone" (1970)
*"With Every Beat of My Heart" (1971)
*"A Man Without a Vision" (1972; co-written with Robert Pickett and Fred Sadoff)
*" Here Today and Gone Tomorrow" (1973)
*"Frost Festival" (1973)
*"Ecstasy" (1974)
*"Ray Conniff in Moscow" (1974)
*"I Need You Baby" (1975)
*"Love Theme from an X-Rated Movie", also titled "Duck Walk" and "Love Dance" (1975)
*" Vera's Theme" (1976)
*"Dama Latina" (1977)
*"The 23rd Psalm" (1979)
*"Exclusivamente Latino" (1980)
*"Fantastico" (1983; co-written)
*"Supersonico" (1984)
*"Campeones" ("The Champions") (1985)
*"The Lord's Prayer
The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...
" (1985)
*"I Can Do All Things (Through Christ Which Strengthenth Me)" (1986)
*"Tamara's Boogie" (1996)
*"Turn to the Right" (1996)
See also
* List of jazz arrangers
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or develo ...
References
External links
All About Ray Conniff
discography and reference
Ray Conniff recordings
at the Discography of American Historical Recordings
The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The DAHR provides some of these original recordings, free of charge, via audio streaming, along with ...
.
The Ray Conniff Page – News
The Collector's Guide to the Works of Ray Conniff
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conniff, Ray
1916 births
2002 deaths
American trombonists
Male trombonists
Easy listening musicians
United States Army personnel of World War II
People from Attleboro, Massachusetts
Grammy Award winners
American male composers
American music arrangers
Accidental deaths from falls
Accidental deaths in California
People from Escondido, California
Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
Jazz arrangers
Columbia Records artists
20th-century trombonists
20th-century American composers
20th-century American male musicians
American male jazz musicians