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.
Snowbird
Ray Conniff Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The unborn grass lies waiting
For its coat to turn to green
The snowbird sings the song he always sings
And speaks to me of flowers
That will bloom again in spring
When I was young my heart was young then too
That's the thing that I would do
But now I feel such emptiness within
For the thing that I want most in life's
The thing thing that I can't win
Spread your tiny wings and fly away
And take the snow back with you
Where it came from on that day
The one I love forever is untrue
And if I could you know that I would
Fly away with you
The breeze along the river seems to say
That he'll only break me heart again
Should I decide to stay
So little snowbird take me with you
When you go
To that land of gentle breezes
Where the peaceful waters flow
Spread your tiny wings and fly away
And take the snow back with you
Where it came from on that day
The one I love forever is untrue
And if I could you know that I would
Fly away with you
The song "Snowbird" by Ray Conniff is a melancholic tune about the changing of the seasons and the pain of unrequited love. The lyrics describe the cold winter scene where the snow covers the ground and everything seems to be waiting for the warmth of spring. The snowbird sings a song of hope for the future, of flowers that will bloom again, and of better times to come. However, the singer's heart is filled with emptiness and longing, for the thing that he wants most in life, he can't have. He tells the snowbird to fly away and take the snow back to where it came from, and to take him with it. The lyrics are a sad reflection of a broken heart and the desire for escape from the pain.
One interesting fact about the song is that it was originally written and performed by Canadian singer-songwriter Gene MacLellan in 1965. It was later covered by Anne Murray and became a big hit for her in 1970, reaching No. 2 on the Canadian charts and No. 8 in the US. Ray Conniff's version of the song was included on his 1972 album "Love Theme from The Godfather & Other Movie Favorites." The album was nominated for a Grammy award in the Best Pop Instrumental Performance category in 1973.
Another interesting fact is that "Snowbird" has been covered by many artists over the years, including Elvis Presley, Bing Crosby, and Johnny Cash. It has also been featured in several movies and TV shows, including the film "Fargo" and the TV series "Mad Men." The symbol of the snowbird has been used in Canadian literature and popular culture to represent the desire for escape from the harsh winters of the Canadian landscape.
The chords for "Snowbird" are relatively simple and can be played in the key of C. The chords are C, F, G, Am, and Dm. The song has a slow and mournful melody that perfectly captures the mood of the lyrics. Overall, "Snowbird" is a poignant and timeless song that speaks to the universal experience of loss and longing. Its beautiful melody and evocative lyrics have made it a classic that continues to resonate with audiences to this day.
Line by Line Meaning
Beneath this snowy mantle cold and clean
Below the cold, white snow lies the dormant grass waiting to turn green in the spring.
The unborn grass lies waiting
The grass is currently inactive, preparing itself to turn green with new life.
For its coat to turn to green
It is waiting for the weather to warm up so that it can grow and become lush and green.
The snowbird sings the song he always sings
The snowbird is singing the same song he always does, a reminder of the return of spring and new growth.
And speaks to me of flowers
The bird is a symbol of hope and speaks of the beauty and color that will come with the blooming of flowers.
That will bloom again in spring
The flowers will come back to life after the winter season and will bloom again in the springtime.
When I was young my heart was young then too
In my youth, my heart was open and full of hope and possibilities.
Anything that it would tell me
My heart guided my decisions and aspirations.
That's the thing that I would do
I would follow my heart's desires no matter what the risks were.
But now I feel such emptiness within
As I have aged, I have lost that sense of wonder and direction that came with my younger years.
For the thing that I want most in life's
The thing I long for the most in my life is something that I cannot attain.
The thing that I can't win
I am unable to attain the one thing that I desire most in life.
Spread your tiny wings and fly away
The singer addresses the snowbird, urging it to fly away and take the winter snow with it.
And take the snow back with you
The singer wants the snow to go away and for warmth and growth to come.
Where it came from on that day
The singer reflects on the origin of the snow and wishes for it to return there.
The one I love forever is untrue
The artist is heartbroken because the one they love will never be true to them.
And if I could you know that I would
The artist wishes they could leave and fly away with the snowbird.
Fly away with you
The singer wishes they could leave their problems behind and start anew with the snowbird.
The breeze along the river seems to say
The wind whispers to the singer that they will only experience more heartbreak if they stay.
That he'll only break me heart again
If the artist stays, they will only experience more heartbreak and pain.
Should I decide to stay
If the artist chooses to remain, they know that their heart will be broken again.
So little snowbird take me with you
The artist pleads with the snowbird to take them along, to a place where they can escape their heartbreak.
When you go
The singer urges the snowbird to depart and take them away from their troubles.
To that land of gentle breezes
The artist imagines a place with warm, gentle breezes, far from the cold and harshness of winter.
Where the peaceful waters flow
The singer imagines a peaceful place, where they can find tranquility and escape their troubles.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: GENE MAC LELLAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind