Ray Conniff

Ray Conniff ( November 6, 1916 in Attleboro, Massachusetts, † October 12, 2002 in Escondido, California ) was an American composer, arranger, band leader and trombonist.

Life

Conniff was born into a musical family. Arranging he learned through a correspondence course. His musical career began as an arranger and trombone player in the 1930s in the then famous big bands (including with Artie Shaw, Harry James and Bunny Berigan ). In the early 1950s brought him the then repertoire chief of Columbia Records in New York, Mitch Miller, as so-called Staff Arranger into the house and left him the music of the singing stars of the label, including Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, Johnnie Ray, Frankie Laine and Marty Robbins arrange. The result was also in Germany known top hits such as "Just Walking In The Rain " and "Yes Tonight Josephine " for Johnnie Ray, " A White Sport Coat" for Marty Robbins, " Chances Are " for Johnny Mathis and " Moonlight Gambler " for Frankie Laine.

Work

The very unusual for that time arrangements bestowed on him in 1957 the chance to produce their own LP, whose title song, " ' S Wonderful " written by George Gershwin, his career was the signature tune. Conniffs recipe for success was already his distinctive " sound ", which was made up of two components: a reinforced by strong echo rhythm section, in which the guitar was mostly used in parallel with the drums, and a wordless s ( w) ingender choir. This was used so that the singers the trumpet sounds, the singers sang along with the trumpets and saxophone tones. The fusion of instruments and voices succeeded Conniff doing so well that the listener got the impression of a common sound body.

Ray Conniff made ​​1969 one more week tour through Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In the 1980s and 1990s, he toured regularly through South America, where he still has many fans today. He died in 2002 after a fall caused by a stroke in Escondido.

Work

Conniff published about 100 LPs and sold more than 70 million worldwide it. His biggest hit was the title of " Somewhere My Love" (1966 ), the theme of Lara from Dr. Zhivago the film. The single reached the U.S. Top 10, as well as the eponymous LP.

The trademark " Conniff sound " stood since the late 1950s to the late 1970s for the music that is now called Easy Listening.

  • "'s Wonderful" (1956 )
  • " Dance the Bop! " (1957)
  • "'s Marvelous " (1957)
  • "'s Awful Nice" (1958 )
  • "Concert in Rhythm, Vol.1 " (1958)
  • "Broadway in Rhythm " (1958)
  • "Hollywood in Rhythm " (1958)
  • " It's The Talk of the Town " (1959)
  • " Conniff Meets Butterfield " (1959)
  • " Christmas with Conniff " (1959)
  • "Concert in Rhythm, Vol.2 " (1959)
  • " Say It with Music (A Touch of Latin) " (1960)
  • "Memories Are Made of This " (1960)
  • " Somebody Loves Me" (1960 )
  • " ' S Continental " (1961)
  • " So Much in Love" (1962 )
  • " Rhapsody in Rhythm " (1962)
  • " We Wish You a Merry Christmas" (1962 )
  • "The Happy Beat" (1962 )
  • "You Make Me Feel So Young " (1963)
  • " Speak to Me of Love" (1963 )
  • " Friendly Persuasion " (1964)
  • "Invisible Tears" (1964 )
  • "Love Affair" (1965 )
  • " Music From ' Mary Poppins (film )', ' The Sound of Music ', ' My Fair Lady ' & Other Great Movie Themes " (1965)
  • "Here We Come A - Caroling " (1965)
  • " Happiness Is " (1965)
  • " Ray Conniff 's World of Hits " (1966)
  • "En Español ( The Ray Conniff Singers Sing It in Spanish) " (1966)
  • "This Is My Song " (1967)
  • " Ray Conniff 's Hawaiian Album " (1967)
  • " It Must Be Him" (1967 )
  • "Honey" (1968 )
  • "I Love How You Love Me " (1968)
  • "Live European tour 1969/Concert in Stereo" (1969 )
  • " Jean " (1969)
  • " Bridge Over Troubled Water " (1970)
  • " We've Only Just Begun " (1970)
  • "Love Story" (1970 )
  • "Great Contemporary Instrumental Hits" (1971 )
  • " I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing " (1971)
  • "Love Theme From The Godfather " (1972)
  • "Alone Again (Naturally )" ( 1972)
  • " I Can See Clearly Now" (1972 )
  • " Ray Conniff in Britain" (1973 )
  • "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" (1973 )
  • " Harmony " (1973)
  • "The Way We Were " (1973)
  • "The Happy Sound of Ray Conniff " (1974)
  • " Ray Conniff In Moscow " (1974)
  • " Laughter in the Rain" (1975 )
  • "Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song" ( 1975)
  • " I Write the Songs " (1975)
  • "Live in Japan" (1975 )
  • " Send in the Clowns " (1976)
  • " Theme from ' SWAT ' and Other TV Themes " (1976)
  • "After the Loving" (1976 )
  • " Exitos Latinos " (1977)
  • " Ray Conniff Plays the Bee Gees and Other Great Hits " (1978)
  • " I Will Survive " (1979)
  • "The Perfect '10 'Classics " (1980)
  • " Exclusivamente Latino " (1980)
  • " Siempre Latino " (1981)
  • " The Nashville Connection" (1982 )
  • "Music for Millions " (partly produced specifically for a ZDF TV show that aired in 1982 )
  • "Amor Amor" (1982 )
  • "Fantastico" (1983 )
  • " Supersonico " (1984)
  • " Campeones " (1985)
  • " Say You Say Me " (1986)
  • " 30th Anniversary Edition " (1986)
  • "Always in My Heart" (1987 )
  • " Interpretation 16 Exitos De Manuel Alejandro" (1988 )
  • " Ray Conniff Plays Broadway " (1990)
  • " " Always Conniff S "(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).
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