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52-564: 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 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

104-674: 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 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

156-427: 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 Conniff produced similar-sounding records for Columbia's Epic label under the name of Jay Raye (which stood for "Joseph Raymond"), among them

208-461: 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

260-465: A number of themes for the film, however, Lean was dissatisfied with the theme for Lara. Lean suggested to Jarre that, rather than thinking about Zhivago or Russia, he should go to the mountains with his girlfriend and write a love theme for her. Lean said the theme should not be specifically about Russia, rather it should be a universal theme. Jarre spent the weekend in the mountains above Los Angeles, and by Monday, he found "Lara's Theme" when composing on

312-468: A report concluding that although the diagnosis rate for brain and central nervous system (CNS) cancers was higher than expected when compared to statewide data, the increase was determined not to be statistically significant. Scorecard, Environmental Defense 's online database of polluters, lists seven facilities contributing to cancer hazards in Attleboro, including Engineered Materials Solutions Inc.,

364-545: A revolutionary soldier and the new owner of the Garrison House. The city became known for jewelry manufacturing in 1913, particularly because of the L.G. Balfour Company . That company has since moved out of the city, and the site of the former plant has been converted into a riverfront park. Attleboro was once known as "The Jewelry Capital of the World", and jewelry manufacturing firms continue to operate there. One such

416-462: 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 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 ",

468-567: 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,

520-540: 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

572-439: A traditional rivalry with North Attleborough High School , whom they play in their Thanksgiving Day football game . Attleboro Community Academy is a night school for students aged 16–25 to obtain their high school diplomas and could not function in traditional high school. Bishop Feehan High School is a co-educational Roman Catholic high school that opened in 1961 and is named for Bishop Daniel Francis Feehan , second Bishop of

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624-636: 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

676-454: 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 the choir sing along with the big band using wordless lyrics. The women were doubled with

728-529: Is 249-foot (76 m) Oak Hill, in the southern part of the city, north of Oak Hill Avenue. Attleboro is on the border between the Massachusetts and Rhode Island regional dialects of New England English : the eastern part of the city is in the same dialect region as Boston, and the western part in the same dialect region as Providence. Attleboro is part of the Providence metropolitan area . It

780-737: Is a short distance from Boston , and is linked to the Boston metropolitan area . As of the 2010 census , there were 43,593 people, 16,884 households, and 11,212 families living in the city; the population density was 1,626.6 inhabitants per square mile (628.0/km ). There were 18,022 housing units at an average density of 672.5 per square mile (259.7/km ). The racial makeup of the city was 87.1% White , 3.0% African American , 0.2% Native American , 4.5% Asian (1.5% Cambodian ,1.3% Indian , 0.4% Chinese , 0.4% Vietnamese ) 0.1% Pacific Islander , 2.8% some other race , and 2.2% from two or more races. Hispanic and Latino people of any race made up 6.3% of

832-520: Is beside Interstate 95 (which enters the state between Attleboro and Pawtucket, Rhode Island), I-295 (whose northern terminus is near the North Attleborough town line at I-95), US Route 1 , and Routes 1A , 118 , 123 and 152 , the last three of which intersect at Attleboro center. The proposed Interstate 895 was to run through Attleboro and have a junction at the present day I-295/I-95 terminus. When driving from Rhode Island on I-295,

884-912: Is former City Councilor At-Large Cathleen DeSimone . The president of the Municipal Council is Jay DiLisio and the vice president is Todd Kobus. City Clerk Kate Jackson serves as clerk of the Municipal Council and Virginia Stuart is the administrative assistant. Cathleen DeSimone Attleboro is represented in the state legislature by officials elected from the following districts: Elected members: Attleboro's school district has five elementary schools (Hill-Roberts, Hyman Fine, A. Irvin Studley, Peter Thacher and Thomas Willett), three middle schools (Brennan, Coelho and Wamsutta), and two high schools ( Attleboro High School , and Attleboro Community Academy). Attleboro High School has its own vocational division, and its football team (the "Blue Bombardiers") has

936-437: Is land and 0.994 square miles (2.574 km ), or 3.59%, is water. Its borders form an irregular polygon that resembles a truncated triangle pointing west. It is bordered by North Attleborough to the north, Mansfield and Norton to the east, Rehoboth, Seekonk , and Pawtucket, Rhode Island , to the south, and Cumberland, Rhode Island , to the west, as well as sharing a short border with Central Falls, Rhode Island through

988-550: Is the Guyot Brothers Company, which was started in 1904. General Findings, M.S. Company, James A. Murphy Co., Garlan Chain, Leach & Garner, and Masters of Design are jewelry manufacturing companies still in operation. In late 2003, The Sun Chronicle reported that a state investigation had been launched into the deaths of three women in the city from glioblastoma . In 2007, the State of Massachusetts issued

1040-444: The 2020 census , Attleboro had a population of 46,461. In 1634, English settlers first arrived in the territory that is now Attleboro. The deed that granted them the land was written by Native American Wamsutta . The land. It included the towns of Cumberland, Rhode Island , until 1747 and North Attleborough, Massachusetts , until 1887. In 1697 in response to an unwanted amount of disturbances, mainly from nearby tribes of natives,

1092-475: 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 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,

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1144-687: The Blackstone River . It includes the areas known as City Center, Briggs Corner, West Attleboro, East Corner, East Attleboro, North Corner, Maple Square, Camp Hebron, Oak Hill, Dodgeville, East Junction, Hebronville, Park Square, and South Attleboro . Waterways in the city include the Ten Mile River , fed by the Bungay River , the Manchester Pond Reservoir, and several small ponds. Attleboro's highest point

1196-498: The Diocese of Fall River . The city also has a satellite branch of Bristol Community College , formerly housed in the city's former high school building but since relocated to an old Texas Instruments site. Bridgewater State University opened a satellite site in Attleboro in 2009, sharing space with Bristol Community College . The former high school building was built in the 1960s, and added wings in several renovations throughout

1248-628: The "Top 5" in territories such as Scandinavia and Asia . In the UK Mike Sammes Singers released a vocal version in 1966, which peaked at number 14 on the British chart in 1967. Various other versions of the song have since been released, including many in different languages. Six different French language versions (and 16 French orchestral versions) of "La Chanson de Lara" were released in France and Belgium in 1966–1967, with

1300-616: The Antony Lawrence Preserve, Coleman Reservation, Attleboro Springs, and the Bungay River Conservation Area in the north of the city. Attleboro has a mayor-council government. The city council acts as the legislative body, and the mayor handles traditional day-to-day chief executive functions. City councilors can run as either a representative of a city ward or at large. There are 11 councilors: five at-large and six ward councilors. The mayor

1352-620: The Native American insurgency in the colonial era, Nathaniel Woodcock, the son of an Attleborough resident, was murdered, and his head was placed on a pole in his father's front yard. His father's house is now a historical site. It is rumored that George Washington once passed through Attleborough and stayed near the Woodcock Garrison House at the Hatch Tavern, where he exchanged a shoe buckle with Israel Hatch,

1404-557: 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

1456-891: The best-selling ones by Ivorian-French singer John William (over 260,000 copies) and the French group Les Compagnons de la chanson (nearly 300,000 sold), and all versions sold a total of over a million copies in France. In Italy, 44 different versions were released, among them were vocal versions titled "Dove non so" recorded by Orietta Berti , Rita Pavone and Connie Francis. Other languages included German, "Schiwago Melodie (Weißt du wohin?)" by Karel Gott ; Swedish, "Nå'nstans, nå'ngång" ("Somewhere Sometime") by Country Four and Marianne Kock ; and Danish, "Et Sted Min Ven" ("Somewhere My Friend") by Poul Bundgaard . Vocal versions include recordings by: Instrumental versions include: In 1967, "Somewhere, My Love" won Grammy Award for Best Performance by

1508-478: The castle on November 5, 1999. A new welcome center opened in 2007 which includes a 600-seat concert hall. In addition to the Christmas Festival, the shrine offers programs, concerts, workshops and events throughout the year. The grounds also include Our Lady's Chapel of Lights, an outdoor chapel, and a church. There are over 20 conservation areas amounting to more than 600 acres of walkable woods:

1560-510: The city include: In 2017, Attleboro began hosting the annual Jewelry City Steampunk Festival . In 1942, the Missionaries of La Salette purchased 135 acres (0.55 km ) and a castle in Attleboro for use as a seminary . The shrine opened to the public in 1953 with a Christmas manger display. The annual Christmas Festival of Lights has grown to 300,000 lights and attracts about 250,000 visitors each year. A devastating fire destroyed

1612-786: The city was $ 63,647, and the median income for a family was $ 71,091. Male full-time workers had a median income of $ 52,558, females $ 40,954. Per capita income was $ 30,039. About 4.2% of families and 6.8% of the population were below the poverty line , including 6.4% of those under 18 and 7.8% of those aged 65 or over. In 2011, Attleboro was awarded $ 5.4 million in state and federal funding to support revitalization efforts in its historic downtown area. The funds were intended to transform underutilized industrial and commercial parcels into areas of mixed use that included commercial, recreational, and residential space, as well as improvements to MBTA rail and GATRA bus services, and road improvements. Attleboro has four museums. Other places of interest in

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1664-488: 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) was also successful. Nearly 50 years after its release, in 2004, Conniff

1716-424: The motif. The orchestration is varied, most notably with balalaika and orchestra. One of the main reasons the theme is featured in so many tracks is that an impromptu balalaika orchestra was hired from several Russian Orthodox Churches in Los Angeles; the musicians could only learn 16 bars of music at a time and could not read written music. Edgar Stanistreet, a street musician from Philadelphia, claimed that he

1768-564: 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

1820-578: The number of positions on the chart was doubled, resulting in the Holiday 100. Two recordings by Conniff and The Singers have made appearances on the Holiday 100 and are noted below according to the holiday season in which they charted there. Attleboro, Massachusetts Attleboro is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts , United States. It was once known as "The Jewelry Capital of the World" for its many jewelry manufacturers. According to

1872-536: The piano in an hour. In editing Zhivago , Lean and producer Carlo Ponti reduced or outright deleted many of the themes composed by Jarre; Jarre was unhappy because he felt that an over-reliance on "Lara's Theme" would ruin the soundtrack. On the Doctor Zhivago soundtrack album , there is no track listed as "Lara's Theme". A variation of the piece appears in numerous sections, however. Some tracks briefly include it, while others are composed entirely from

1924-518: 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 was Dance the Bop! (1957). It was an experiment by one of

1976-528: 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 the album's title track were sung to the music of " Lara's Theme " from

2028-516: The song nonetheless, but by then Ray Conniff had also recorded a version of his own, and his version reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1966 . Conniff's version of the song also topped the " Easy listening " chart in the U.S. for four weeks. Despite Conniff's success, Francis also had her version released as a single, and although it failed to chart in the US, it became one of her biggest successes internationally, becoming one of

2080-685: The stub exits before the half-cloverleaf exit to I-95. The city is home to two MBTA commuter rail stations: one in the downtown area and one in the South Attleboro district , near the Rhode Island border. Attleboro and Taunton are both served by the Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority , or GATRA, which provides bus transit between the two cities and the surrounding regions. Lara%27s Theme Maurice Jarre

2132-402: The theme became an instant success and gained fame throughout the world. Paul Webster took the theme and added lyrics to it to create "Somewhere, My Love". Connie Francis was initially interested in recording the song, but withdrew from the project when the lyrics were presented to her because she thought of them as too "corny". A few weeks later, Francis reconsidered her position and recorded

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2184-589: The total (2.0% Puerto Rican , 1.7% Guatemalan , 0.5% Mexican , 0.4% Salvadoran , 0.3% Dominican , 0.2% Colombian ). Most of the Hispanic and Asian populations were concentrated in the eastern portion. Of the 16,884 households, 33.3% had someone under the age of 18 living with them, 50.1% were headed by married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.6% were non-families, 26.4% were individuals, and 9.8% were people aged 65 or older living alone. The average size of household

2236-531: The town had a meeting and ended up deciding that selectmen would keep tabs on strangers and foreigners as well as banning certain ones from entering the town. The town was reincorporated in 1914 as the City of Attleboro, with the "-ugh" removed from the name, although North Attleborough kept it. Like many towns in Massachusetts, it was named after a British town , in this case a market town in Norfolk, England. During

2288-468: 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! , 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

2340-567: The worst offender in Massachusetts. In 2002, the Massachusetts Public Health Department was asked to evaluate the former Shpack Landfill , on the border of Norton and Attleboro, for its cancer risks. The investigation continued at least through 2004. The informal landfill included uranium fuel rods , heavy metals, and volatile organic compounds . Attleboro has an area of 27.772 square miles (71.930 km ), of which 26.779 square miles (69.356 km )

2392-431: The years. The city of Attleboro voted on whether to build a new school or renovate the building, and "reached an agreement to put proceeds from the sale toward the cost of a new high school before the $ 260 million was approved by voters last spring." The sale of the first Attleboro High School built in 1912 on County Street gave the city funds for the new building. The new Attleboro High School opened in 2022. Attleboro

2444-407: Was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.11. The age distribution in the city was: 22.7% under 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 28.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% over 64. The median age was 39.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.5 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 93.3 males. For the period 2009–2011, the estimated median annual income for a household in

2496-434: Was asked by director David Lean to write the score for Doctor Zhivago , including a theme for the character of Lara, played by Julie Christie . Initially Lean had desired to use a well-known Russian song but could not locate the rights to it, and delegated responsibility to Jarre. Lean informed Jarre he was working under time constraint and that the score needed to be composed and recorded in around ten weeks. Jarre wrote

2548-491: Was asked to play the song over the telephone to an MGM executive and was later taken into the studio to record. He was not credited, however. Tracks which feature it include (from the 1995 Extended Soundtrack release): This soundtrack also includes jazz, rock 'n' roll, and swing versions of "Lara's Theme" which were performed by the MGM Studio Orchestra between takes. Jarre's aesthetic fears notwithstanding,

2600-468: 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

2652-728: 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

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2704-577: 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 in the 1980s and 1990s, he was treated like

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