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.
Because of the success of his backings Mitch 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 "Dance The Bop" (1957), "'S Marvelous" (1957, gold album), "'S Awful Nice" (1958), "Concert in Rhythm" (1958, gold album), "Hollywood in Rhythm" (1958), "Broadway in Rhythm" (1959), and "Concert in Rhythm, Volume II" (1959, gold album).
In 1959 he started the Ray Conniff Singers (12 women and 13 men) and released the album "It's the Talk of the Town. This group of word— not just syllable — singing singers brought him the biggest hit he ever had in his career: "Somewhere My Love" (1966). The title track of the album was written to the music of Lara's Theme from the film Doctor Zhivago (1965), and was a top 10 single in the US. The album also reached the US top 20 and went platinum, and Conniff won a Grammy. The single and album reached high positions in the international charts (a.o. Australia, Germany, Great Britain, Japan) as well. Also extraordinarily successful was the first of four Christmas albums by the Singers, "Christmas with Conniff" (1959). Nearly fifty years after its release, in 2004, Conniff posthumously was awarded with a platinum album/CD.
Musically different highlights in Conniff's career are two albums he produced in cooperation with Billy Butterfield, an old buddy from earlier swing days. "Conniff Meets Butterfield" (1960) featured Butterfield's solo trumpet and a small rhythm group; "Just Kiddin' Around" (after a Conniff original composition from the 1940's), released 1963, featured additional trombone solos by Ray himself. Both albums are pure light jazz and did not feature any vocals.
Later in the 1960's he produced an average of two instrumental and one vocal album a year. Among these are (Original albums only):
* "'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)
* "Young at Heart" (1960)
* "Say It with Music (A Touch of Latin)" (1960)
* "Memories Are Made of This" (1960, gold album)
* "Somebody Loves Me" (1961)
* "'S Continental" (1961)
* "So Much in Love" (1962, gold album)
* "Rhapsody in Rhythm" (1962)
* "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" (1962, gold album)
* "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', '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, gold album)
* "Honey" (1968, gold album)
* "Turn Around Look at Me" (1968)
* "I Love How You Love Me" (1968)
* "Live Europa Tournee 1969/Concert in Stereo" (1969)
* "Jean" (1969)
* "Concert In Stereo: Live At 'The Sahara Tahoe'" (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)
* "Love Will Keep Us Together" (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 Lovin'" (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)
* "Musik für Millionen" (partly produced for a German TV show 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)
* "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).
Between 1957 and 1968, he had 28 albums in the American Top 40, the most famous one being "Somewhere My Love" (1966). He topped the album list in Britain in 1969 with "His Orchestra, His Chorus, His Singers, His Sound". He also was the first American popular artist to record in Russia—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. In Brazil and Chile he was treated like a young pop superstar in the 1980s and 1990s when he was in his 70s and 80s. He even played live with his orchestra and eight-person chorus in large football stadiums as well as in Viña del Mar.
Ray Conniff was a quiet, modest sympathetic artist. He always worked in the background so that in the fifties there were rumours that this man didn't even exist and his name was just a name fake as then his orchestral sound was so sensational. Nevertheless he sold about 70 million albums world-wide and continued recording and performing until his death in 2002.
He died in Escondido, California, and is interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.
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. This also features many rare tracks.
Don't Cry For Me Argentina
Ray Conniff Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When I try to explain how I feel
That I still need your love after all that I've done
You won't believe me, all you will see is a girl you once knew
Although she's dressed up to the nines
At sixes and sevens with you
I had to let it happen, I had to change
Couldn't stay all my life down at heel
Looking out of the window, staying out of the sun
So I chose freedom, running around trying everything new
But nothing impressed me at all
I never expected it to
Don't cry for me, Argentina
The truth is, I never left you
All through my wild days, my mad existence
I kept my promise
Don't keep your distance
And as for fortune, and as for fame
I never invited them in
Though it seemed to the world they were all I desired
They are illusions, they're not the solutions they promised to be
The answer was here all the time
I love you, and hope you love me
Don't cry for me, Argentina
Don't cry for me, Argentina
The truth is, I never left you
All through my wild days, my mad existence
I kept my promise
Don't keep your distance
Have I said too much?
There's nothing more I can think of to say to you
But all you have to do is look at me to know
That every word is true
The lyrics to Ray Conniff's "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" are a reflection on the singer's past experiences and the decisions she has made in life. The first verse speaks to the difficulty in explaining how she feels about still needing love after all that she has done. The singer seems to acknowledge that her past has made her unrecognizable to the person she is speaking to ("Although she's dressed up to the nines, at sixes and sevens with you"). But, she explains that she had to change and take risks to find her true self. Although she may have failed at some attempts at finding herself, the singer still holds her love for the person she is speaking to ("I love you, and hope you love me").
The chorus of the song, "Don't cry for me, Argentina / The truth is, I never left you / All through my wild days, my mad existence / I kept my promise / Don't keep your distance," emphasizes the magnitude of the singer's affection for the person she is addressing. She recognizes that their separation may have been hard on the person, but she wants to reassure them that she has not forgotten about her promise to love them. The song's final verse speaks to the singer's realization that the things she once thought were important, such as fame and fortune, were false promises. In the end, her love for the person she is speaking to was the only thing that made sense to her.
Line by Line Meaning
It won't be easy, you'll think it strange
I know it will be difficult for you to accept what I have to say.
When I try to explain how I feel
I need to express my emotions to you even if it's hard to do so.
That I still need your love after all that I've done
Despite my mistakes, I still require your affection.
You won't believe me, all you will see is a girl you once knew
You will struggle to see me as someone different from before.
Although she's dressed up to the nines
Even though I may appear elegant and fancy.
At sixes and sevens with you
I am feeling confused and uncertain around you.
I had to let it happen, I had to change
I needed to let go of my past and embrace change.
Couldn't stay all my life down at heel
I couldn't spend my entire life feeling miserable and defeated.
Looking out of the window, staying out of the sun
I've been avoiding the limelight and keeping to myself.
So I chose freedom, running around trying everything new
I opted for liberation and decided to experiment with different things.
But nothing impressed me at all
However, none of it made a lasting impression on me.
I never expected it to
I never anticipated any of it to fulfill me.
Don't cry for me, Argentina
Please don't be sad for me, Argentina.
The truth is, I never left you
In reality, I have never abandoned you.
All through my wild days, my mad existence
Throughout my crazy and rebellious days, my existence was still dedicated to you.
I kept my promise
I remained faithful to the commitments I made to you.
Don't keep your distance
Please don't stay away from me.
And as for fortune, and as for fame
Regarding wealth and fame.
I never invited them in
I never actively sought after them.
Though it seemed to the world they were all I desired
Even though it may appear to others that I wanted them more than anything else.
They are illusions, they're not the solutions they promised to be
But they are just illusions and not the answer I was looking for.
The answer was here all the time
The solution was with me all along.
I love you, and hope you love me
I love you and hope that you still love me too.
Have I said too much?
Did I speak too frankly?
There's nothing more I can think of to say to you
I've run out of things to say to you at the moment.
But all you have to do is look at me to know
But if you look at me, you'll see it's all true.
That every word is true
Every word I've said is the truth.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@charlieramella2886
Por Dios, querido Ray, por siempre estarás en mi corazón. Esas mujeres son cuatro angeles ...
@mason7778
What sweet voices 😍😎👏👏👏👏👌👌👌
@claralucia8939
👏👏👏🎼👏👏👏
@xavierverdes4894
Ray Conif. Como siempre perfecto. Añadire, quizas de l'ós grupos de voces que ha tenido estos cuatro y cuatro consiguen una combinacion voz-instrumentos de l'ós mejores tiempos. Muy bien para todos Ellos. Gracias por vuestra música.
@eduardovillagran6053
NO LLORES POR MI...,excelente, donde se lucen cuatro hermosas mujeres, con voces increibles. Como siempre EXCELENTE
@retroman1962
This is outstanding, and the comment from one of the singers below really hits the nail on the head: the unison singing by the ladies is breathtaking, simply superb. A very good arrangement which enables them to showcase their talents.
@sebastiaosalgado7822
Nos anos 60 aqui em S. Paulo, nos grandes bailes de formatura a famosa
orquestra Zezinho de Arruda Paes
tocava igual Rey Conniff.Saudade
@Ricardoaggaldino
Simplesmente magnifico !!!!!
@josephmorin4667
Ray Conniff, Just wonderful.
Everything he did was Great.
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
@zenithibarita2112
for me,the best version of the song🥰