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.
It's the Talk of the Town
Ray Conniff Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We were more than sweethearts,
It's so hard to understand.
Don't know why it happened,
Don't know how it started,
Why should we be strangers,
After all we planned.
I can't show my face,
Can't go anyplace,
People stop an' stare,
It's so hard to bear,
Everybody knows you left me,
It's the talk of the town
Every time we meet,
My heart skips a beat,
We don't stop to speak,
'Though it's just a week,
Everybody knows you left me,
It's the talk of the town
We send out invitations,
To friends and relations,
Announcing our weddin' day
Friends and our relations,
Gave congratulations,
How can you face them?
What can you say?
Let's make up sweetheart,
We can't stay apart,
Don't let foolish pride,
Keep you from my side,
How can love like ours be ended?
It's the talk of the town
How can you face them?
What can you say?
Let's make up sweetheart,
We can't stay apart,
Don't let foolish pride,
Keep you from my side,
How can love like ours be ended?
It's the talk of the town, hm
It's the talk of the town.
The lyrics to Ray Conniff's song "It's the Talk of the Town" tell the story of a relationship that fell apart and how the aftermath of the break-up is affecting the singer. They were more than just lovers and sweethearts, but for some unknown reason, they are now strangers. People stare and talk about the break-up wherever the singer goes, making it hard to bear. Even when they see each other, their hearts still skip a beat, but they don't speak because everyone knows about the break-up. They even had announced their wedding day, and friends and family gave their congratulations, but how can they face them now?
The lyrics reflect the pain and confusion that come with a sudden and unexplained break-up. The singer still loves their partner and wants to reconcile, but foolish pride might get in the way. It's difficult to move on when the whole town is talking about the end of the relationship, and it seems like everyone knows what happened except for the singer. Overall, the song captures the emotional turmoil and heartbreak that come with the end of a relationship, especially when others are involved.
Interesting facts about Ray Conniff's "It's the Talk of the Town":
Line by Line Meaning
We were more than lovers,
Our relationship meant more than just physical intimacy.
We were more than sweethearts,
Our relationship was deeper than just casual dating.
It's so hard to understand.
The reason why we broke up is difficult to comprehend.
Don't know why it happened,
I am unable to fathom the reason behind our separation.
Don't know how it started,
I cannot recall how our relationship began to fall apart.
Why should we be strangers,
It's unfortunate that we have become distant without a valid reason.
After all we planned.
It's a shame that all our plans for the future did not materialize.
I can't show my face,
I feel ashamed to face people who know about our breakup.
Can't go anyplace,
I am uncomfortable going to public places due to people staring at me.
People stop an' stare,
People's curious looks make me uncomfortable.
It's so hard to bear,
I am finding it tough to handle this situation.
Everybody knows you left me,
The news of our breakup seems to have spread everywhere.
Every time we meet,
Whenever we come face to face,
My heart skips a beat,
I still have feelings for you.
We don't stop to speak,
We avoid talking to each other.
Though it's just a week,
It's only been a week since we broke up.
We send out invitations,
We had sent out invites for our upcoming wedding.
To friends and relations,
Our invitations were sent to both friends and family members.
Announcing our weddin' day
The invites informed people about the date of our wedding.
Gave congratulations,
Those who received our invites gave their good wishes.
How can you face them?
It must be difficult for you to face those who had sent their congratulations.
What can you say?
You must be wondering about what to say if someone asks about our wedding.
Let's make up sweetheart,
We should reconcile our differences and get back together.
We can't stay apart,
We are meant to be together and not remain apart.
Don't let foolish pride,
We shouldn't allow our egos to come in the way of our love.
Keep you from my side,
I don't want to be separated from you anymore.
How can love like ours be ended?
Our bond of love shouldn't have diminished.
It's the talk of the town
Our breakup has become a topic of gossip in town.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: AL J NEIBURG, JERRY LEVINSON, MARTY SYMES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@anaelsyaragon3645
Bellisimo Disco del admirable Ray Connif. Toda su Música.. Discos : admirables. Uno de los super mejores Músicos Instrumentistas Compositores. Sus Discos siempre fascinan. Hermosa Música.
@morna45
My Mom and I used to listen to this until we wore it out. We were of different generations, but I could compromise on this kind of easy listening. We sang along with every single song. I miss and love you so much, Mom.
@reubenroo
This is my story too❤️
@paulharmon557
The first Ray Conniff song I ever heard...Talk of the Town....61 years ago. Incomparably great!
@mauriceb53
This is REAL music with beautiful harmony. Compare it to the jungle sounds of today!
@everhard1000
it's an EVERGREEN MUSIC !!! Thank you, Joseph Raymond Conniff, you'll stay in our hearts FOREVER !!!!!!!!!!!
@jorgecatlla4897
Of course!!! I'm sure lt'll be always that way!!!!!!delicious music!!!
@davidgibson9504
Ray conniff had a gift for arranging...his music lives...
@davidgibson9504
Yes the late 1950's and 1960's.... still most enjoyable....
@vigeram6041
IT'S WORLD-LEADING MUSICALLY AND LYRICALLY BY RAY.