Ray Conniff

Ray Conniff, who has died aged 85, was a highly successful popular musician who defied rock 'n' roll and lived to talk about it. Equally well known as a bandleader and an arranger, he blended together sweet choruses and soothing strings, creating an easy listening sound that encouraged his audiences to sit back with eyes closed, and allow the orchestra to do the work. It made him, year after year, one of the most influential music men of his age.

And what an age it was. The man who began his career as a trombonist in the 1930s was still playing 70 years later. Well into his 80s, he was conducting orchestras, sitting in and substituting for his own artists - and collecting award after award. In the last decade of the century, he sold almost 20m records; for the previous 10 years, he had been selling an average of 2m discs a year all around the world.

Born in Attleboro, Massachusetts, Conniff came from a musical family; his father was a trombonist, and his mother played the piano. He formed a small dance band and subscribed to a mail-order course on arranging. Later, he did a course at the Juilliard School of Music in New York.

As a trombonist, he worked for such great names as Bunny Berigan, Bob Crosby and Artie Shaw between 1937 and 1941, the year he formed his own octet. This did not always enjoy the success he hoped for, which was why he went to work for Harry James, and then, once more, for Artie Shaw. By the 1950s, he was resident bandleader at ABC radio in New York. He then moved to CBS.

Conniff gave up the trombone to concentrate on arranging - and giving his particular sound to a veritable Who's Who of popular music; Don Cherry, Guy Mitchell, Johnnie Ray and Johnny Mathis all shared label credits with him, and, with the growing success of the long-playing album, he became an easy bestseller. These were velvet-sounding recordings that sold out as soon as they appeared, to people who could not stand rock 'n' roll, and wanted the kind of swing music that had all but died - music that literally was nice 'n' easy.

Conniff recycled many of those standards, and reaped the rewards. Between 1957 and 1973, he had 37 albums in the Billboard Top 100. Of those, 28 were in the top 40, a phenomenal achievement. Between 1960 and 1972, 11 albums were in the British charts.

Among his most famous recordings was the theme from the film Dr Zhivago, Somewhere My Love, which became an American hit single in 1966. Other great successes included Unchained Melody, Music To Watch Girls By, Always In My Heart, Bridge Over Troubled Waters, Hawaiian Album, various discs entitled The Greatest Hits and The Nashville Connection.

In 1997, at the age of 81, Conniff made his 92nd album, I Love Movies, which he launched himself in Hollywood, having just returned from a concert tour of South America, one of his most popular regions, where En Español had been a big hit.

But so was his record issued for German audiences, Musik Für Millionem. Indeed, the Germans honoured him year after year, as did Mexico, Peru, Brazil, Australia and Britain. There were Grammy and Golden Globe awards to line his home.

Conniff always said he loved film music. "Movie music has always been a great constant over the years. Whether the prevailing style was the Beatles or disco or rap, you could always guarantee that, somewhere along the line, a great piece of melodic music from a soundtrack would come along. And they become part of people's memories."

The movie album was notable for Conniff taking up his old instrument once more. When the trombonist failed to turn up for the session at which they were recording their first song, La Bamba, he sat in for him.

He always knew his great talent. But what was it? "Just lounge music," he once said.

He was married, twice, with a son, a daughter, and a daughter who predeceased him.

· Ray Conniff, arranger, bandleader and trombonist, born November 6 1916; died October 12 2002

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