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Ray Ellis (28 July 1923 – 27 October 2008) was an American record producer
Record producer

In the music industry, a record producer has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, Audio mixing and audio mastering processes....
, arranger and conductor
Conducting

Conducting is the act of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. Orchestras, choirs, concert bands and other musical ensembles often have conductors....
. The orchestration for Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter.Nicknamed Lady Day by her loyal friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday was a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing....
's Lady in Satin
Lady in Satin

Lady in Satin is an LP album by jazz singer Billie Holiday released in 1958 in music on Columbia Records, catalogue CL 1157 in monaural and CS 8048 in stereo....
 (1958) is probably his best known work in the jazz vein.

s was born in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population city in the United States. It is the fifth-largest metropolitan area and fourth-largest urban area by population in the United States, the nation's fourth-largest consumer media market as ranked by the Nielsen Media Research, and the 49th-most...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , often colloquially referred to as PA by natives and Northeasterners, is a U.S. state located in the Northeastern United States and Mid-Atlantic States regions of the United States....
. He arranged many hit records in the 1950s and 1960s. Included are classics such as "A Certain Smile" by Johnny Mathis
Johnny Mathis

Johnny Mathis is an United States singer of popular music.One of the last in a long line of traditional male vocalists who emerged before the 1960s, Mathis concentrated on romantic jazz and pop standards for the adult contemporary audience through to the 1980s....
, "Broken Hearted Melody
Broken Hearted Melody

"Broken Hearted Melody" is a popular song first published in 1958 in music. The words were written by Hal David and the music by Sherman Edwards....
" by Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Vaughan

Sarah Lois Vaughan was an United States jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century"....
, and "Standing on the Corner
Standing on the Corner (show tune)

"Standing on the Corner" is a popular music song written by Jimmy Arnold and Frank Loesser and published in 1956 in music. It was introduced by Shorty Long, Alan Gilbert, John Henson, and Roy Lazarus in the Broadway theatre musical theater, The Most Happy Fella....
" by the Four Lads
The Four Lads

The Four Lads is a Canada male singing quartet. They grew up together in Toronto, Ontario, and were members of St. Michael's Choir School, where they learned to sing....
. In 1970, he produced Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris

Emmylou Harris is an United States Country music singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other highly successful, well-known artists....
' debut LP Gliding Bird
Gliding Bird

Gliding Bird is an album by Emmylou Harris, released in 1970.Before she met mentor Gram Parsons and became a famous country music singer, Harris began singing folk music; yet Gliding Bird, her obscure d?but album, displays an eclecticism that is found in her later work....
.

Ellis' work encompassed all areas of music, from records to film, commercials, and television.






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Ray Ellis (28 July 1923 – 27 October 2008) was an American record producer
Record producer

In the music industry, a record producer has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, Audio mixing and audio mastering processes....
, arranger and conductor
Conducting

Conducting is the act of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. Orchestras, choirs, concert bands and other musical ensembles often have conductors....
. The orchestration for Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter.Nicknamed Lady Day by her loyal friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday was a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing....
's Lady in Satin
Lady in Satin

Lady in Satin is an LP album by jazz singer Billie Holiday released in 1958 in music on Columbia Records, catalogue CL 1157 in monaural and CS 8048 in stereo....
 (1958) is probably his best known work in the jazz vein.

Biography

Ellis was born in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population city in the United States. It is the fifth-largest metropolitan area and fourth-largest urban area by population in the United States, the nation's fourth-largest consumer media market as ranked by the Nielsen Media Research, and the 49th-most...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , often colloquially referred to as PA by natives and Northeasterners, is a U.S. state located in the Northeastern United States and Mid-Atlantic States regions of the United States....
. He arranged many hit records in the 1950s and 1960s. Included are classics such as "A Certain Smile" by Johnny Mathis
Johnny Mathis

Johnny Mathis is an United States singer of popular music.One of the last in a long line of traditional male vocalists who emerged before the 1960s, Mathis concentrated on romantic jazz and pop standards for the adult contemporary audience through to the 1980s....
, "Broken Hearted Melody
Broken Hearted Melody

"Broken Hearted Melody" is a popular song first published in 1958 in music. The words were written by Hal David and the music by Sherman Edwards....
" by Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Vaughan

Sarah Lois Vaughan was an United States jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century"....
, and "Standing on the Corner
Standing on the Corner (show tune)

"Standing on the Corner" is a popular music song written by Jimmy Arnold and Frank Loesser and published in 1956 in music. It was introduced by Shorty Long, Alan Gilbert, John Henson, and Roy Lazarus in the Broadway theatre musical theater, The Most Happy Fella....
" by the Four Lads
The Four Lads

The Four Lads is a Canada male singing quartet. They grew up together in Toronto, Ontario, and were members of St. Michael's Choir School, where they learned to sing....
. In 1970, he produced Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris

Emmylou Harris is an United States Country music singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other highly successful, well-known artists....
' debut LP Gliding Bird
Gliding Bird

Gliding Bird is an album by Emmylou Harris, released in 1970.Before she met mentor Gram Parsons and became a famous country music singer, Harris began singing folk music; yet Gliding Bird, her obscure d?but album, displays an eclecticism that is found in her later work....
.

Ellis' work encompassed all areas of music, from records to film, commercials, and television. His television theme music
Theme music

The phrase theme music usually refers to that of a radio programming, television program, or movie. It is a Musical composition that is often written specifically for that show, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits....
 credits include NBC News At Sunrise with Connie Chung
Connie Chung

Constance Yu-Hwa "Connie" Chung Povich is an American journalism who has been an anchor and reporter for several U.S. television news networks....
 and the original cartoon series Spider-Man
Spider-Man

Spider-Man is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character First appearance in Amazing Fantasy #15 , and was created by scripter-editor Stan Lee and artist-plotter Steve Ditko....
. In the early 1960s, Ellis had a contract to produce his own easy listening record albums with RCA Victor, MGM, and Columbia
Columbia Records

Columbia Records is an American record label founded in 1888.Columbia is the oldest surviving brand name in pre-recorded sound, being the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders....
, the most popular probably being Ellis in Wonderland.

Ellis also composed two extended themes for The Today Show, the first in 1971. It was used as the Friday closing theme (and eventually the show's full-time theme) until the end of the decade. Ellis composed a second Today Show theme based on the trademark NBC chimes
NBC chimes

The NBC chimes of the National Broadcasting Company radio network in the United States were the first ever audio trademark to be accepted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office....
. That theme was the NBC show's signature from 1978 to 1985 and has appeared irregularly on the morning program ever since.

Using the name of his wife Yvette Blais as a pseudonym
Pseudonym

A pseudonym, , is a fictitious alternative to a person's legal name. In some cases, pseudonyms are adopted because it is part of a cultural or organizational tradition, as in the case of Religious names used by members of some religious orders and "cadre names" used by Communist party leaders such as Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin....
, Ellis composed nearly all of the background music for cartoon
Cartoon

The word cartoon has various meanings, based on several very different forms of visual art and illustration. The term has evolved over time.The original meaning was in fine art, and there cartoon meant a preparatory drawing for a piece of art such as a painting or tapestry....
 studio Filmation
Filmation

Filmation Associates was an American production company that produced animated television series for television during the later half of the 20th century....
 from 1968 to 1982, according to the booklets for many of the DVDs for the studio's shows. Before adopting the Yvette Blais pseudonym, Ellis used the pseudonym Spencer Raymond on 1968's Fantastic Voyage, George Blais on some of Filmation's early '70s output and its feature films, and even the name of his then-teenaged son Marc Ellis on 1969's The Hardy Boys. (Marc would later become a composer in his own right, assisting his father without credit on later Filmation scores, and even receiving onscreen credit for co-composing the theme music to the 1979 Flash Gordon cartoon.) Ray Ellis was directly credited, however, for The Archie Show
The Archie Show

The Archie Show was the first in a long line of Saturday morning cartoon animated series produced by Filmation. It was based upon the Archie Comicss, created by Bob Montana in 1941....
 and Sabrina the Teenage Witch background music.

Ellis, who resided in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles

Los ?ngeles is the Capital of the Biob?o Province, in the municipality of the same name, in Regions of Chile VIII , in the center-south of Chile....
, also composed the music for the 1980s US edition of Sale of the Century
Sale of the Century (US game show)

Sale of the Century was a television game show format that made its debut in the United States on September 29, 1969 on NBC daytime . The series aired until July 13, 1973, after which it aired in a weekly television syndication version for one additional year....
 theme, along with Hot Streak
Bruce Forsyth's Hot Streak

Bruce Forsyth's Hot Streak was an American Broadcasting Company game show that aired from January 6, 1986 to April 4, 1986. It was produced by Reg Grundy Productions, now part of FremantleMedia was one of two American Grundy game shows not to air on NBC ....
, Scrabble
Scrabble (game show)

Scrabble was an United States television game show that was based on the Scrabble board game. The show co-produced with Exposure Unlimited and Reg Grundy Productions ran from July 2, 1984 to March 23, 1990, and again from January 18, 1993 to June 11, 1993, both times on NBC....
, Scattergories
Scattergories (game show)

Scattergories was a game show on NBC hosted by Dick Clark , with Charlie Tuna as announcer, that aired from January 18, 1993 to June 10 of the same year....
 and Time Machine
Time Machine (game show)

Time Machine was an United States game show where contestants competed to answer trivia questions about popular culture and recent history to win prizes....
 with his son Marc that includes the Jack Grimsley
Jack Grimsley

Jack Grimsley is an Australian musical director and composer who worked as the Musical Director at Network Ten between 1966 and 1981. He has also worked on many compilation albums involving various styles of music, including jazz and swing music....
's score from 1980 and the famed Reg Grundy Productions
Reg Grundy Productions

Reg Grundy Productions was the American wing of the worldwide television production company Reg Grundy Organisation, which was founded by Australian television producer Reg Grundy....
 fanfare at the end of each broadcast.

Ellis died, age 85, of complications from melanoma
Melanoma

Melanoma is a malignant tumor of melanocytes which are found predominantly in skin but also in the bowel and the eye . It is one of the rarer types of skin cancer but causes the majority of skin cancer related deaths....
 on 27 October 2008 at an assisted-living facility in Encino, California
California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
. He was survived by sons Marc and Jeffrey.

Selective discography

  • Barbra Streisand
    Barbra Streisand

    Barbra Streisand is an United states singer and film and theatre actress. She has also achieved note as a composer, political activist, film producer and film director....
     - The Third Album - (arranger and conductor)
  • Billie Holiday
    Billie Holiday

    Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter.Nicknamed Lady Day by her loyal friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday was a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing....
     - Lady in Satin
    Lady in Satin

    Lady in Satin is an LP album by jazz singer Billie Holiday released in 1958 in music on Columbia Records, catalogue CL 1157 in monaural and CS 8048 in stereo....
  • Ray Ellis - "Ellis In Wonderland"
  • Sarah Vaughan
    Sarah Vaughan

    Sarah Lois Vaughan was an United States jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century"....
     - "Broken Hearted Melody
    Broken Hearted Melody

    "Broken Hearted Melody" is a popular song first published in 1958 in music. The words were written by Hal David and the music by Sherman Edwards....
    "
  • The Drifters
    The Drifters

    The Drifters are a long-lived American doo wop/R&B vocal group with a peak in popularity from 1953 to 1962, though several splinter Drifters continue to perform today....
     - "Drip Drop"
  • Johnny Mathis
    Johnny Mathis

    Johnny Mathis is an United States singer of popular music.One of the last in a long line of traditional male vocalists who emerged before the 1960s, Mathis concentrated on romantic jazz and pop standards for the adult contemporary audience through to the 1980s....
     - "A Certain Smile
    A Certain Smile (song)

    "A Certain Smile" is a popular music song.The music was written by Sammy Fain, the lyrics by Paul Francis Webster. The song was published in 1958 in music....
    "
  • The Four Lads
    The Four Lads

    The Four Lads is a Canada male singing quartet. They grew up together in Toronto, Ontario, and were members of St. Michael's Choir School, where they learned to sing....
     - "Standing On The Corner
    Standing on the Corner (show tune)

    "Standing on the Corner" is a popular music song written by Jimmy Arnold and Frank Loesser and published in 1956 in music. It was introduced by Shorty Long, Alan Gilbert, John Henson, and Roy Lazarus in the Broadway theatre musical theater, The Most Happy Fella....
    "
  • Emmylou Harris
    Emmylou Harris

    Emmylou Harris is an United States Country music singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other highly successful, well-known artists....
     - Gliding Bird
    Gliding Bird

    Gliding Bird is an album by Emmylou Harris, released in 1970.Before she met mentor Gram Parsons and became a famous country music singer, Harris began singing folk music; yet Gliding Bird, her obscure d?but album, displays an eclecticism that is found in her later work....