Original Albums

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 Vi?a 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 Vi?a 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 that his name was as fake as his orchestral sound was 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 and The Singles Collection, Vol. 2 was released in 2007. These collections also feature rare singles and previously unissued tracks.

Ray's music is also featured prominently in the movie, There's Something About Mary.