Joseph Raymond "Ray" 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 in Attleboro, Massachusetts, 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 then hired by Mitch Miller, then head of A&R at Columbia Records, as their 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 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; "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 the tracks of The Big Beat by Johnnie Ray.
16 Most Requested Songs may refer to:
16 Most Requested Songs is a compilation album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released in 1986 by Columbia Records and features 12 tracks representing his time with the label from 1956 to 1963, including his Billboard top 10 hits "Chances Are", "It's Not for Me to Say", "The Twelfth of Never", "Gina", and "What Will Mary Say" as well as his signature song, "Misty". The remaining four selections ("Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born)", "Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet (A Time for Us)", "(Where Do I Begin) Love Story", and "Didn't We") were recorded with Columbia between 1969 and 1977. On August 4, 2000, the album received Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of 500,000 copies.
16 Most Requested Songs is a 1995 compilation album of songs recorded by American female singer Jo Stafford.
One night it was dark and 'twas stormy
And along came a tramp in the rain
He was making his way to some station
To catch a long distance train.
May I sleep in your barn tonight mister
It is cold lying out on the ground
And the cold north wind it is blowing
And I have no place to lie down.
Oh I have no tobacco or matches
And I'm sure that I'll do you no harm
I will tell you my story kind mister
For it runs through my heart like a thorn.
It was three years ago last summer
I shall never forget that sad day
When a stranger came out from the city
And said that he wanted to stay.
One night as I came from my workshop
I was whistling and singing with joy
I expected a kind hearted welcome
From my sweet loving wife and my boy.
But what should I find I find but a letter
It was placed in the room on the stand
And the moment my eyes fell upon it
I picked it right up in my hand.
Now this note said my wife and the stranger
They had left and had taken my son
Oh I wonder if God up in Heaven
Only knows what this stranger has done