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.
South of the Border
Ray Conniff Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When chains are torn by courage born of a love that's free
A time when dreams so long denied and flourish
As we unveil the love we now must hide
A time for us at last to see
A life worthwhile for you and me
We will endure as we pass surely through every storm
A time for us someday there'll be
A new world, a world of shining hope for you and me
A time for us some day there'll be
A new world, a world of shining hope for you and me
The song "South of the Border" by Ray Conniff and Billy Butterfield is a romantic and optimistic song that speaks about hope and the power of love to overcome obstacles. The first verse introduces the idea that a day will come when the chains that have been holding us back will be broken by the courage born of a love that is free. This love will allow us to let go of our fears and doubts and allow our dreams to flourish. The second verse continues this theme and suggests that with love we can endure even the toughest times and emerge stronger for it. The final verse speaks of a new world, a world of shining hope for both the singer and the listener.
Overall, the lyrics of "South of the Border" are about hope, perseverance, and the power of love to overcome the obstacles that we face in life. The song is a celebration of the optimism and resilience that are often necessary to overcome adversity, and encourages listeners to hold on to their dreams and never give up. The repetitive refrain of "a time for us some day there'll be" emphasizes this message and invites listeners to join the singer in imagining a better, more hopeful future.
Line by Line Meaning
A time for us some day there'll be
Sometime in the future, there will be a specific moment that belongs to us
When chains are torn by courage born of a love that's free
In that moment, we will courageously break free from any constraints that have been holding us back, freeing ourselves because of love
A time when dreams so long denied and flourish
During that time, our suppressed dreams will finally be allowed to grow and become a reality
As we unveil the love we now must hide
We will expose the love that we have been keeping hidden from others
A time for us at last to see
Finally, the moment we have been waiting for will allow us to see the reality of our situation
A life worthwhile for you and me
This moment will bring a meaningful, fulfilling life for both of us
And with our love through tears and thorns
We will persevere through both happy and difficult times with the strength of our love
We will endure as we pass surely through every storm
We will tough it out through every obstacle or hardship that comes our way because we know our love is strong enough to handle it
A time for us someday there'll be
Once again, we acknowledge that someday in the future there will be a moment that is just for us
A new world, a world of shining hope for you and me
In that special moment, we will enter into a renewed world that brings a bright future filled with hope for both of us
A time for us some day there'll be
Finally, we end with a repetition of the first line to emphasize the importance and anticipation of that moment
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, SHAPIRO BERNSTEIN & CO. INC.
Written by: JIMMY KENNEDY, MICHAEL CARR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Paulo Lisboa Junior
Está musica demostra como o sucesso já andava com eles.Exelente.Trás sdds..
Raúl Sánchez
Dos grandes músicos. Que agradable volver a escuchar el primer simple que compre en mí vida
Victor Lagunes
Grandes músicos de la época dorada en el mundo.
Willian Flores
Maravillosa canción 💓 a mi madre le gustaba mucho 🤩🤩🤩🤩 y la bailaba yo tenía 7años hoy 59años
Eunice Couto
Eu nasci em 1959 minha mãe amava as músicas do Ray Conniff e toda minha infância e até anos 80 tocava muito as músicas deles por isso eu amo Ray Connif obrigada por postar São Paulo Lapa Brasil
Ana Amélia Santos Benetti
Saudades dos bailes que eu dancei!!
enrique beckley
INNOVIDABLE!!!, en el 59 tenía 13 años, un par de años después los escuché, sigo apreciando su formidable interpretación.- Kukú.-
Jorge Otanez
Maravillosa música 🎶
Elder Duarte
Um dos maiores trompetistas de todos os tempos...incontestavelmente...maravilhoso pacas...!
Enrique Nino
Esto es musica, Ray Conniff y Billy Butterfield, grandes los dos.