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.
Stranger In Paradise
Ray Conniff Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm a stranger in paradise,
All lost in a wonderland,
A stranger in paradise.
If I stand starry-eyed,
That's a danger in paradise
For mortals who stand beside
An angel like you.
I saw your face, and I ascended
Out of the commonplace
Into the rare.
Somewhere in space I hang suspended
Until I know there's a chance you care.
Won't you answer the fervent prayer
Of a stranger in paradise?
Don't send me in dark despair
From all that I hunger for,
But open your angel arms
To this stranger in paradise
And tell him that he need be
A stranger no more.
The song "Strangers in Paradise" by Ray Conniff tells the story of a person who has fallen in love with someone who is like an angel to them. The singer is filled with wonder and amazement, feeling as if they are lost in a fairytale world where anything is possible. However, they also realize that this love may be dangerous for them, as they are mere mortals standing beside an angel like the person they love.
The lyrics describe the singer's journey from the mundane world to a rare, enchanted place where they feel suspended in time and space until they know if their love might be reciprocated. They plead with their beloved to answer their prayers and not send them into despair, but instead embrace them with their angelic arms and free them from the isolation of being strangers in paradise. The song is a beautiful and emotive portrayal of the feeling of falling in love and speaks to the universal desire to be loved in return.
Line by Line Meaning
Take my hand,
Please accept my gesture of friendship and trust.
I'm a stranger in paradise,
I feel as though I am in a world that is new and surreal to me.
All lost in a wonderland,
I am completely disoriented and fascinated by this new place.
A stranger in paradise.
I feel like an outsider who has somehow stumbled into heaven.
If I stand starry-eyed,
If I seem captivated by everything I see,
That's a danger in paradise
It can be dangerous to be so enamored with something that you lose touch with reality.
For mortals who stand beside
For those who are simply human and not as otherworldly as you.
An angel like you.
You are so perfect that you seem almost divine.
I saw your face, and I ascended
As soon as I saw you, I felt like I was lifted above the everyday world.
Out of the commonplace
Out of the ordinary, mundane world.
Into the rare.
Into a world that is extraordinary and precious.
Somewhere in space I hang suspended
I feel as though I am floating in the vastness of space, waiting for something to happen.
Until I know there's a chance you care.
Until I feel like there is a possibility that you might be interested in me.
Won't you answer the fervent prayer
Can you please respond to my heartfelt request?
Of a stranger in paradise?
I am still a stranger in this wonderful place, and I need some help understanding it.
Don't send me in dark despair
Please don't crush my hopes and leave me feeling hopeless and desolate.
From all that I hunger for,
From all the things that I crave and desire.
But open your angel arms
Please embrace me with love and affection.
To this stranger in paradise
To me, who is still getting used to this amazing place.
And tell him that he need be
And tell me that I don't have to be
A stranger no more.
An outsider or someone who doesn't belong here any longer.
Writer(s): FORREST GEORGE, WRIGHT ROBERT CRAIG
Contributed by Alice S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Maria Brasil
Que grande orquestra tive a felicidade de velos numa apresentação em São Paulo..que maravilha..somos de Piracicaba. Sp .Brasil...um abraço a todos que apreciam essa maravilhosa orquestra.e seus músicos ..encantadores...hoje 05.02.2023.....beijos.....
Beatriz Caja delzo
Bellas melodias...q en la actualidad ya no se oyen....
Higina Suely
Bela música. Grandes recordações. Me sinto flutuando pelas belas maravilhas desse mundo.
tina lara
Excelente melodia!!!! Ray eres musicalmente inmortal!!♡♡♡
jesus daniel rodriguez lopez
No seré de esa época pero
Me facina Esa música es grandiosa nunca pasa de moda
Gabriel Nuñez
Es una de las mejores orquestas en el mundo, felicitaciones siempre me ha gustado su música y su interpretación.
Pindaro Cuesta Ubilla
Vez tras vez oigo todas estas melodías y no dejan de cautivarme. Son magistrales.
José Gomes
PQP QUE MÚSICA LINDA ❤️🤩.
Robson Guimarães dos Santos
Adoro está música. Leva nós a uma viaje aí infinito, com os anjos e os amores. THE BEST SONG.
Maria Altieri
Robson,
isso mesmo…ao ouvir essa música descreveu perfeito!
Muito lindo!
Boa noite🌙