36-451: Percy Faith (April 7, 1908 – February 9, 1976) was a Canadian–American bandleader , orchestrator , composer and conductor , known for his lush arrangements of instrumental ballads and Christmas standards. He is often credited with popularizing the " easy listening " or "mood music" format. He became a staple of American popular music in the 1950s and continued well into the 1960s. Although his professional orchestra-leading career began at
72-809: A naturalized citizen of the United States . He made many recordings for Voice of America . After working briefly for Decca Records , he worked for Mitch Miller at Columbia Records , where he turned out dozens of albums and provided arrangements for many of the pop singers of the 1950s, including Tony Bennett , Doris Day , Johnny Mathis for Mathis's 1958 Christmas album titled Merry Christmas , and Guy Mitchell for whom Faith co-wrote with Carl Sigman Mitchell's number-one single, " My Heart Cries for You ". His most famous and remembered recordings are " Delicado " (1952), " The Song from Moulin Rouge " (1953) and " Theme from A Summer Place " (1959), which won
108-560: 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 ’s Marvelous (1957, gold album), ’s Awful Nice (1958), Concert in Rhythm (1958, gold album), Broadway in Rhythm (1958), Hollywood in Rhythm (1959), Concert in Rhythm , Vol. II (1960), Say It With Music (1960), Memories Are Made of This (1960, gold album), and ’s Continental (1962). His second album
144-546: A fire, he turned to conducting, and his live orchestras used the new medium of radio broadcasting. He moved from Canada to Great Neck , New York and became a United States citizen. Beginning with stations CKNC and CKCL , Faith was a staple of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation 's live-music broadcasting from 1933 to 1940, when he resettled in Chicago , Illinois . In the early 1940s, Faith
180-461: 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, The Singles Collection, Vol. 2 in 2007, and Vol. 3 was released in 2009. These collections feature rare singles and previously unissued tracks. His music is also featured prominently in
216-567: A sink, and is buried in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California . His grave marker bears a musical score with the first four notes of "Somewhere My Love". Conniff was survived by his wife Vera, daughter Tamara Conniff, son Jimmy Conniff, and three grandchildren. Jimmy Conniff died in 2015. Vera (April 7, 1944 - January 7, 2018) is buried in the same plot as Ray. In 2004,
252-540: A small rhythm group, and Just Kiddin' Around (after a Conniff original composition from the 1940s), released in 1963, which featured additional trombone solos by Ray himself. Both albums are pure light jazz and did not feature any vocals. Conniff recorded in New York from 1955 to 1961, and mainly in Los Angeles from 1962 through 2000. Later in the 1960s he produced an average of one vocal and two instrumental albums
288-403: A variety of musical skills. A bandleader needs to be a music director who chooses the "setlist" (the list of songs that will be played in a show), sets the tempo for each song and starts each song (often by "counting in"), leads the start of new sections of songs (e.g., signalling for the start of a guitar solo or drum solo ) and leads the endings of each song. The bandleader is also onstage with
324-637: A year. In 1979, Conniff was hired to re-arrange and record a new version of "Those Were The Days" and "Remembering You", the opening and closing themes to All in the Family for Carroll O'Connor 's new spin-off, Archie Bunker's Place on CBS with a small ensemble, trombone solo, and honky-tonk piano. Conniff sold about 70 million albums worldwide, and continued recording and performing until his death in 2002. Ray Conniff died October 12, 2002, in Escondido, California after falling and hitting his head on
360-487: Is the leader of a music group such as a dance band , rock or pop band or jazz quartet . The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band , such as one which plays jazz , blues , rhythm and blues or rock and roll music. Most bandleaders are also performers with their own band, either as singers or as instrumentalists, playing an instrument such as electric guitar, piano, or other instruments. The bandleader must have
396-417: The E Street Band or Elvis Costello and The Attractions ). Some older bands such as The Count Basie Orchestra have continued operating under their bandleaders' names long after the death of the original bandleader. Ray Conniff Joseph Raymond Conniff (November 6, 1916 – October 12, 2002) was an American bandleader and arranger best known for his Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s. Conniff
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#1732787160388432-589: The Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1961. Faith remains the only artist to have the best selling single of the year during both the pop singer era ("Song from Moulin Rouge ") and the rock era ("Theme from A Summer Place "); and he is one of only three artists, along with Elvis Presley and The Beatles , to have the best selling single of the year twice. The B-side of " Song from the Moulin Rouge "
468-476: The Viña del Mar International Song Festival . In Brazil and Chile in the 1980s and 1990s, he was treated like a young pop superstar despite being in his seventies and eighties. He played live with his orchestra and eight-person chorus in large football stadiums as well as in Viña del Mar . Conniff commented, "One time I was recording an album with Mitch Miller – we had a big band and a small choir. I decided to have
504-486: 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; " Moonlight Gambler " by Frankie Laine; " 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
540-559: The US adopt a format change to Christmas music each December, many holiday hits have an annual spike in popularity during the last few weeks of the year and are retired once the season is over. In December 2011, Billboard began a Holiday Songs chart with 50 positions that monitors the last five weeks of each year to "rank the top holiday hits of all eras using the same methodology as the Hot 100, blending streaming, airplay, and sales data", and in 2013
576-735: The album list in Britain in 1969 with His Orchestra, His Chorus, His Singers, His Sound , an album which was originally published to promote his European tour (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) in 1969. 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
612-486: The album's title track were sung to the music of " Lara's Theme " from the film Doctor Zhivago , and it became a US top 10 single. The album reached the US top 20 and went platinum, and Conniff won a Grammy. The single and album also reached high positions in the international charts (a.o. Australia, Germany, Great Britain, Japan), while the first of four Christmas albums by the Singers, Christmas with Conniff (1959)
648-409: The choir sing along with the big band using wordless lyrics. The women were doubled with the trumpets and the men were doubled with the trombones. In the booth Mitch was totally surprised and excited at how well it worked." Because of the success of his backing arrangements, and the new sound Conniff created, Miller allowed him to make his own record, and this became the successful ’s Wonderful! ,
684-544: The day. His Themes for Young Lovers album was a top seller during this era and introduced the Faith sound to a younger generation of listeners. With the success of Columbia record-mate Ray Conniff 's chorus and orchestra during this same time, Faith began using a chorus (usually all female in most of his recordings, but used a mixed chorus on his albums Leaving on a Jet Plane and I Think I Love You , which were released in 1970 and 1971 respectively) in several popular albums from
720-427: The group, particularly if the group is a cover band or a tribute band . In some cases, the bandleader may manage other aspects of the band, such as organizing tours and sound recording sessions. Some bandleaders are also composers and songwriters for their group. Often the bands are named after their bandleaders, or the backing band is given its own name, distinct from the bandleader (e.g., Bruce Springsteen and
756-450: The group, so they have to be a strong performer on lead vocals or an instrument. The bandleader also needs to have a good general knowledge of the different parts played by all the rhythm section instruments (guitar, keyboards, electric bass, drum kit) and solo instruments (e.g., lead guitar, saxophone, etc.), as they have to audition prospective new members of the band and lead rehearsals. The bandleader also typically selects new songs for
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#1732787160388792-532: The height of the swing era , he refined and rethought orchestration techniques, including use of large string sections, to soften and fill out the brass-dominated popular music of the 1940s. Faith was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was the oldest of eight children. His parents, Abraham Faith and Minnie, née Rottenberg, were Jewish . He played violin and piano as a child, and played in theatres and at Massey Hall . After his hands were badly burned in
828-437: The label's home arranger, working 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. Among the hit singles Conniff backed with his orchestra (and eventually with a male chorus) were " Yes Tonight Josephine " and " Just Walkin' in
864-402: The listening and record-buying public, although he continued to release albums as diverse and contemporary as Jesus Christ Superstar and Black Magic Woman . He released one album of country music and two albums of disco-oriented arrangements toward the end of his forty-year career, his last recording being a disco-style reworking of "Theme from a Summer Place", titled "Summer Place '76", which
900-618: The mid-1960s on. Faith's first single with a female chorus, "Yellow Days," was a substantial hit in the MOR (Middle of the Road) easy listening radio format of the mid-1960s. Faith continued to enjoy airplay and consistent album sales throughout the early 1970s, and received a second Grammy award in 1969 for his album Love Theme from 'Romeo and Juliet'. Although best known for his recording career, Faith also occasionally scored motion pictures, and received an Academy Award nomination for his adaptation of
936-487: The more successful easy listening acts in terms of sales. 1963's Themes for Young Lovers was by far his biggest seller, peaking at No. 32 on the chart and followed by three sequel albums "for young lovers". Throughout his career he was associated with Columbia Records. Occasionally he had albums released on the Columbia imprint Harmony Records . Faith produced the following singles: Bandleader A bandleader
972-565: The movie There's Something About Mary . In 2022, "Bah Bah Conniff Sprach (Zarathustra)", from Conniff's 1973 album You Are the Sunshine of My Life , was featured in a Salesforce TV commercial starring Matthew McConaughey . In 1959, Conniff started The Ray Conniff Singers (12 women and 13 men). From 1962 through 2001, membership in the Ray Conniff Singers included: Bass and Baritone Soprano Alto Ray Conniff
1008-548: The song score for the Doris Day musical feature, Love Me or Leave Me . His other film scores included romantic comedies and dramatic features such as Tammy Tell Me True (1961), I'd Rather Be Rich (1964), The Third Day (1965) and The Oscar (1966). Faith also composed the theme for the NBC series The Virginian . With the advent of harder rock sounds in the 1970s, Faith's elegant arrangements fell out of favour with
1044-619: The tracks of The Big Beat by Johnnie Ray. In these early years Conniff produced similar-sounding records for Columbia's Epic label under the name of Jay Raye (which stood for "Joseph Raymond"), among them a backing album and singles with the American male vocal group Somethin' Smith and the Redheads . Between 1957 and 1968, Conniff had 28 albums in the American Top 40, the most famous one being Somewhere My Love (1966). He topped
1080-566: Was Dance the Bop! (1957). It was an experiment by one of the senior managers at Columbia to cash in on a new dance step, but from the outset, Conniff disliked it. When it sold poorly, he had it withdrawn. In 1959, Conniff started The Ray Conniff Singers (12 women and 13 men) and released the album It's the Talk of the Town. This group brought him his biggest hit: Somewhere My Love (1966). The lyrics of
1116-468: Was " Swedish Rhapsody " by Hugo Alfvén . In 1961 his fame in Sweden rose exponentially as his work Mucho Gusto became the theme music for the sports broadcasts of Sveriges Radio . Although Faith initially mined the worlds of Broadway, Hollywood and Latin music for many of his top-selling 1950s recordings, he enjoyed popularity starting in 1962 with his orchestral versions of popular rock and pop hits of
Percy Faith - Misplaced Pages Continue
1152-673: Was a minor and posthumous hit. Faith died of cancer in Encino, California , and was interred in the Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California . Faith had two children, Marilyn and Peter, with his wife Mary (née Palange), whom he married in 1928. She died in Los Angeles in 1997. Percy Faith placed 21 albums on the Billboard Hot 200 best sellers chart through 1972, making him one of
1188-803: Was also successful. Nearly 50 years after its release, in 2004, Conniff was posthumously awarded a platinum album/CD. Other well-known releases by the Singers included Ray Conniff's Hawaiian Album (1967), featuring the hit song "Pearly Shells," and Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970), which included Conniff's original composition "Someone", and remakes of such hits as "All I Have to Do is Dream", "I'll Never Fall in Love Again", and "Something". Musically different highlights in Conniff's career are two albums he produced in cooperation with Billy Butterfield , an old friend from earlier swing days. Conniff Meets Butterfield (1959) featured Butterfield's solo trumpet and
1224-628: Was born November 6, 1916, in Attleboro, Massachusetts , United States, and learned to play the trombone from his father. He studied music arranging from a course book. After serving in the U.S. Army in World War II (where he worked under Walter Schumann ), he joined the Artie Shaw big band and wrote many arrangements for him. After his stint with Shaw, he was hired in 1954 by Mitch Miller , head of A&R at Columbia Records , as
1260-468: Was one of the most successful easy listening artists on the Billboard magazine album chart, placing 30 albums on their Billboard Hot 200 charts to 1973. The group went on to record over 90 albums. A special version of the song "Happiness Is" was recorded for use in a TV commercial for Kent cigarettes, prior to the ban on TV advertising of tobacco products . Since many radio stations in
1296-531: Was orchestra leader for the Carnation Contented program on NBC . From 1948 to 1949 he also served as the orchestra leader on the CBS radio network program The Coca-Cola Hour (also called The Pause That Refreshes ). The orchestral accordionist John Serry Sr. collaborated with Faith in these broadcasts. He also led the orchestra on The Woolworth Hour on CBS radio (1955–1957). In 1945, he became
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