In 1955, Conniff was responsible for arranging “Band of Gold,” a Top 10 hit single performed by Don Cherry (the singer, not the jazz trumpeter of the same name).ĭuring his stint with Columbia, Conniff and his orchestra (later added with a male chorus) were also behind hits of other artists such as Johnny Mathis’ “Chances Are” and “It’s Not For Me To Say ” Johnnie Ray’s “Yes Tonight Josephine” and “Just Walkin’ In The Rain ” “Up Above My Head” by Ray and Frankie Laine, and so many others. He worked with several contract artists such as Johnny Mathis, Marty Robbins, Frankie Laine, Guy Mitchell, Johnny Ray and Rosemary Clooney. After the war, Conniff was hired by Columbia’s A&R man Mitch Miller as the label’s resident arranger. During the 1930s, he felt he was experienced enough and went to New York, where he finally landed a job as a player/arranger with Bunny Berrigan, a renowned jazz trumpeter who rose to fame during the peak years of the swing era.ĭuring the Second World War, Conniff joined the US Army where he worked for the Armed Forces Radio as an arranger. In his early career, he moved to the neighboring city of Boston and worked for Dan Murphy’s Musical Skippers as a player and arranger.
He also studied music arranging on his own. During his high school days, he led his own band and played the trombone. Coming from a musically-inclined family, he learned to play the trombone from his father. The famed easy listening/pop tunesmith Ray Conniff was born Joseph Raymond Conniff on Novermin Atteboro, Massachusetts. From an esteemed arranger to a prominent recording artist He had released over 70 albums, netting over 50 millions of sales. By the 1970s, although his chart performance began to slip, he continued to record and produced albums. During his peak years (1957-1968), Conniff produced his biggest hit with “Somewhere, My Love” in 1966, his only Top 10 single. Columbia was so satisfied with his work that it allowed Conniff to work and record an instrumental album that was to become ‘S Wonderful in 1956. He also did arrangements for hit singles by Johnny Mathis, Frankie Laine and Marty Robbins. Singer Don Cherry’s “Band of Gold” became a hit in 1955, thanks to Conniff’s arrangements. While there he worked with several contract artists such as Johnny Mathis and Rosemary Clooney. After the war he was hired by Columbia’s A&R man Mitch Miller as the label’s resident arranger. During the war, Conniff had a job with the US Army as an arranger for the Armed Forces Radio. Ray Conniff (1916-2002) was an American composer, arranger and bandleader known for his easy listening treatments of old, as well as contemporary, music during his time.
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