Release Date: 18 September 2015
Label: El / Cherry Red
Packaging Type: Jewel Case
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 5013929329836
Genres: Easy Listening
Description
His breakthrough had come in 1956, with his arrangement for Don Cherry's hit ballad 'Band Of Gold'. Conniff substituted a chorus of voices for a string section; they were wordless, purely instrumental, smooth, and an instant success.
He went on to arrange many hits for the likes of Guy Mitchell, Marty Robbins, Johnnie Ray and Rosemary Clooney before Columbia gave him the chance to record with his own orchestra.
Conniff, in fact, founded two groups: his "Orchestra and Chorus" and his "Singers." The former was a typical big band line-up of saxes, trumpets, trombones, and rhythm section and a chorus of four men and four women. The latter was a chorus of 25 singers - 12 women and 13 men - with minimal instrumental backing.
Originally released as a double album in 1958, 'Hi-Fi Companion' is a perfect little mid-century time capsule, a hip, swinging, urban, yet reassuring showcase of vintage Conniff and his inimitable arrangements of some of the most popular songs of the era.
It has been said that If Mantovani is the epitome of elevator music, Ray Conniff is the epitome of super-market music. For the public who would buy 70 million copies of his albums and give him 25 straight Top 40 LPs during the 1950s and 1960s, the "Ray Conniff Sound" defined easy-listening; a phenomenon which became a fixed star on the horizon of pop music.
Tracklisting
Kevin Ayers
Wrath
Various Artists
Various Artists
Various Artists
Various Artists
Tigertailz
The Fall
Ray Conniff
Ray Conniff and His Orchestra & Chorus
Ray Conniff
Ray Conniff
Ray Conniff
