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.
Let's Dance
Ray Conniff Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I like what you do when you move it
I like when you move like this
It's time to get out on the dancefloor
I like it when we do it like this
I wanna dance with you baby
Take a chance with me baby
And move to the music, dance to the beat
Let me dance with you
I've been watching you
Let me spin your head into a trance
Let me dance with you
Cause I'm wanting you
It's a vertigo I call romance
I like what I feel boy you move me
I like when I'm feeling like this
It's time to get out on the dancefloor
I like it when we do it like this
I wanna dance with you baby
I wanna move it like this
Take a chance with me baby
And move to the music, dance to the beat
Let me dance with you
I've been watching you
Let me spin your head into a trance
Let me dance with you
Cause I'm wanting you
It's a vertigo I call romance
Let's dance
Let's dance
Let's dance
Let's dance
Let's dance
Baby, baby, baby...
Let's dance
Baby let's dance
Baby let's dance
I wanna dance with you baby
I wanna move it like this
Take a chance with me baby
And move to the music, dance to the beat
Let me dance with you
I've been watching you
Let me spin your head into a trance
Let me dance with you
Cause I'm wanting you
It's a vertigo I call romance
Let me dance with you
I've been watching you
Let me spin your head into a trance
Let me dance with you
Cause I'm wanting you
It's a vertigo I call romance
Let's dance, let's dance, let's dance
It's a vertigo I call romance
Let's dance
The lyrics of Ray Conniff's song "Let's Dance" speak about the invitation to dance with someone and the desire to create a special moment with that person. The first verse talks about the beauty of the person's movement and the enjoyment that they bring while on the dance floor. The chorus repeats the invitation to dance with the person and the desire to move to the music and dance to the beat. The second verse speaks directly about the physical sensation that the person brings about when they dance and the joy that it brings.
The bridge "Let me dance with you, I've been watching you, Let me spin your head into a trance, Let me dance with you, Cause I'm wanting you, It's a vertigo I call romance" emphasizes the desire for a connection with the person and the willingness to lose oneself in the moment. The lyrics describe it as a vertigo or a dizzying feeling, which refers to the feelings of falling in love and being overwhelmed with the experience.
In conclusion, the song "Let's Dance" by Ray Conniff is a romantic invitation to connect with someone through the power of music and movement. The lyrics describe the desire to create special memories and the impact that a connection through dance can have on a person.
Line by Line Meaning
Let me spin your head into a trance
I want to dance with you in a way that mesmerizes you.
I like what you do when you move it
I enjoy the specific movements you make when dancing.
I like when you move like this
I find it pleasing when you dance with these movements specifically.
It's time to get out on the dancefloor
We should start dancing and move to the dancefloor.
I like it when we do it like this
I enjoy the way we've been dancing together.
I wanna dance with you baby
I really want to dance with you.
I wanna move it like this
I want to dance using these specific dance moves.
Take a chance with me baby
Give me a chance and dance with me.
And move to the music, dance to the beat
Let's move our bodies to the rhythm of the music.
Let me dance with you
I really want to dance with you.
I've been watching you
I've been paying attention to your movements.
Cause I'm wanting you
I want to be physically close to you.
It's a vertigo I call romance
The dizzying feeling of dancing with you is romantic to me.
I like what I feel boy you move me
You make me feel good with your movements.
I like when I'm feeling like this
I enjoy feeling this way when I dance with you.
Baby, baby, baby...
A term of endearment used to address the person they are dancing with.
Let's dance
Let's continue dancing together.
Contributed by Parker F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@jessezao
Sensacional!! Realmente muito bem tocado no clarinete. Um instrumento que transforma!!
@michaelknebel1240
The best version I ever heard.
@nemo227
I have always liked that tune, musically and the title; because I primarily played in dance bands. I didn't play with my eyes closed; I liked to watch the people dancing to see how much fun they were having. I was very happy to be a part of helping them enjoy themselves.
The clarinet soloist did a great job and he also seemed to be enjoying himself.
@atlantavison
He's nailed it. Better then the original! Monday both versions are great. I like this one better
@corintomartins467
Muito bom.👏💖
@isaiasgm01
Esse som de clarineta é muito conhecido.
@rustamtabeev125
Bravo!!! Bravissimo!!! Молодец!!!
@drmw13
Tym razem gra świetny klarnecista Fred Cooper ,,,zamiast Krola Swingu Benny Goodmana. (fantastyczne)
@MrPAPAGAYO46
Fred Cooper fue el clarinetista integrante de la Orquesta de Ray Conniff, que en este concierto en vivo realizado en Tokio en Diciembre de 1991, hizo de solista en el tema de Benny Goodman "Let's Dance".
@LuisCalais-1952
Fantásticos...
Gracias a lá vida!