See 8 more photos
Ray Conniff
95,612 plays (13,449 listeners)
instrumental, easy listening, ray conniff, orchestra, vocal… see all
Joseph Raymond Conniff (November 6, 1916 - October 12, 2002) was an American musician. He was born in Attleboro, Massachusetts, and learned to play the trombone from his father. He studied music arranging from a course book.
After serving in the U.S. Army in World War II (where he worked under Walter Schumann), he was hired by Mitch Miller, then head of A & R at Columbia Records as their home arranger, and he worked with several artists, including Rosemary Clooney, Marty Robbins, Frankie Laine, Johnny Mathis, Guy Mitchell and Johnnie Ray. He wrote a top 10 arrangement for Don Cherry’s “Band of Gold” in 1955, a single that sold more than a million copies.
Amongst the hit singles he backed with his orchestra (and eventually with a male chorus) were “Yes Tonight Josephine” and “Just Walkin’ in the Rain” by Johnnie Ray; “Chances Are” and “It’s Not for Me to Say” by Johnny Mathis; “A White Sport Coat” and “The Hanging Tree” by Marty Robbins; “Up Above My Head,” a duet by Frankie Laine and Johnnie Ray, and “Pet Me, Poppa” by Rosemary Clooney. He also backed up the albums “Tony” by Tony Bennett, “Blue Swing” by Eileen Rodgers, “Swingin’ for Two” by Don Cherry. and half the tracks of “The Big Beat” by Johnnie Ray.
In these early years he also produced some similar sounding records for Columbia’s Epic label under the name of Jay Raye (which stands for “Joseph Raymond”) amongst them a backing album and singles with Somethin’ Smith & The Redheads, an American male vocal group.
After serving in the U.S. Army in World War II (where he worked under Walter Schumann), he was hired by Mitch Miller, then head of A & R at Columbia Records as their home arranger, and he worked with several artists, including Rosemary Clooney, Marty Robbins, Frankie Laine, Johnny Mathis, Guy Mitchell and Johnnie Ray. He wrote a top 10 arrangement for Don Cherry’s “Band of Gold” in 1955, a single that sold more than a million copies.
Amongst the hit singles he backed with his orchestra (and eventually with a male chorus) were “Yes Tonight Josephine” and “Just Walkin’ in the Rain” by Johnnie Ray; “Chances Are” and “It’s Not for Me to Say” by Johnny Mathis; “A White Sport Coat” and “The Hanging Tree” by Marty Robbins; “Up Above My Head,” a duet by Frankie Laine and Johnnie Ray, and “Pet Me, Poppa” by Rosemary Clooney. He also backed up the albums “Tony” by Tony Bennett, “Blue Swing” by Eileen Rodgers, “Swingin’ for Two” by Don Cherry. and half the tracks of “The Big Beat” by Johnnie Ray.
In these early years he also produced some similar sounding records for Columbia’s Epic label under the name of Jay Raye (which stands for “Joseph Raymond”) amongst them a backing album and singles with Somethin’ Smith & The Redheads, an American male vocal group.
Similar Artists
James Last, Richard Clayderman, Ronnie Aldrich, Franck Pourcel, Billy Vaughn, Bert Kaempfert, Martin Böttcher… see all
See moreVideos
See more
Top Tracks
| 1 |
 |
|||
| 2 |
|
Besame Mucho
full track
|
||
| 3 |
|
Brazil
full track
|
||
| 4 |
|
O Little Town of Bethlehem
full track
|
||
| 5 |
|
|||
| 5 |
|
Memories Are Made of This
full track
|
||
| 7 |
|
Moon river
full track
|
||
| 7 |
|
Red Roses for a Blue Lady
full track
|
||
| 7 |
|
Invisible Tears
full track
|
||
| 10 |
|
|||
| 11 |
|
's Wonderful
full track
|
||
| 12 |
|
Alexander's Ragtime Band
full track
|
||
| 12 |
|
|||
| 12 |
|
|||
| 15 |
|
Top Albums
Shoutbox
-
jrgarciao wrote:
Creci oyendo la musica de Ray Conniff ya que mis padres los escuchaban constantemente... Nunca pasara de moda... Saludos desde Maracaibo, Venezuela
-
inemar wrote:
ray conniff es para mi el maximo exponente de la musica de orquesta porque tiene un estilo muy personal que a mi me fascina
-
pyramid_head wrote:
I love Ray Conniff! If anyone knows where I can find his German language album, please let me know!
Listeners
-
Deskonect
Top Listener
-
brunovargas
Top Listener
-
vanjulio
Top Listener
-
Marhuner
Top Listener
-
r_esser
Top Listener
-
gruenlichrosa
Top Listener
Recent Activity
- adolfhs, edelsuess, MBCMF and 5 other people added Ray Conniff to their libraries. 4 hours ago
- RAKOTONAVALONA tagged Ray Conniff with ‘instrumental’. Wednesday morning
- RAKOTONAVALONA, Pedrokamalta, rpmully and 2 other people added Ray Conniff to their libraries. Wednesday morning
- izabelka1 tagged Ray Conniff with ‘instrumental’. last month
- MA1944, Francisco2491, uggero and 1 other person added Ray Conniff to their libraries. last month
- Mozilla-Fan and fredy_ongtangco tagged Ray Conniff with ‘ray conniff’. last month
- ClementinaBrero, aljanon, willita and 2 other people added Ray Conniff to their libraries. last month
- kowhei tagged Ray Conniff with ‘golden oldies’. last month
- Meerkat2008, etaegeun001, fredy_ongtangco and 7 other people added Ray Conniff to their libraries. last month
Related Journals
-
Evolução Musical.
by RapJohnson |
6 Dec 2007 | 
Add comment
-
My Musical Week'ness (Nov 20, 2007)
by Televiper |
21 Nov 2007 | Add comment
-
My Wishing Tracklist
by kirillkosarev |
8 Jul 2007 | Add comment
More Information
- Links
- Labels
Email Newsletter
Get exclusive tour, release & promotion updates on Ray Conniff from Universal Music.
