Jimmy Kennedy
His part in making Teddy Bears' Picnic an Evergreen Hit
He graduated from Dublin's Trinity College and took up teaching in England and worked in the civil service. In 1930 his first composition, "The Barmaid's Song" was published.
He was introduced to music publisher Bert Feldman and became a writer in residence at Feldman's
"The Teddy Bears' Picnic", a popular piece of music from 1907, was often used in pantomimes and one day in 1932 Feldman asked Kennedy to pen some words, which he did and which Feldman didn't particularly like.
Henry Hall and his orchestra had a BBC Radio show and "The Teddy Bears' Picnic" was often used as an introductory tune to the Childrens' section of the show. One of Hall's staff was in Jimmy Kennedy's office and noticed the words to "The Teddy Bears' Picnic" and asked for, and was granted, permission to take them away.
Henry Hall played/sang the new version on the radio and there was an instant reaction from the listening public who wanted the sheet music. As the sheet music had not been published, this was a cause of embarrassment to Feldman and in punishment to Kennedy no royalties were paid to him for that song during the rest of Feldman's life
Around that same time, Kennedy began writing with Michael Carr, inaugurating the most fertile creative partnership of his career. The duo's five-year collaboration yielded a series of hits, including "South of the Border," "Hometown," and "We're Gonna Hang Out the Washing on the Siegfried Line," in addition to theatrical productions like 1936's +O-Kay for Sound, 1937's +London Rhapsody, and 1939's +The Little Dog Laughed. Apart from Carr, Kennedy also notched the popular favorites "Red Sails in the Sunset," "Serenade in the Night," and "Harbor Lights," and upon revamping the lyrics to the traditional "The Cokey Cokey," launched a hugely popular party dance. After serving in the British Army during World War II, he resumed his prolific musical production with the likes of "An Apple Blossom Wedding," "April in Portugal," and "Instanbul (Not Constantinople)," although by the late '50s the advent of rock roll effectively brought his hitmaking days to an end.
In 1960, Kennedy relocated to Switzerland, returning to Ireland over a decade later; there he collaborated with Stewart Parker on the musical +Spokesong, his last major work. In 1984, the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors introduced its annual Jimmy Kennedy Award; the lyricist died on April 6 of that year.
performing stars including, Bing Crosby, Perry Como, Ella Fitzgerald Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, The Platters, Elvis Presley, Tony Bennett, Louis Armstrong, Roy Orbison: Tom Jones, Glenn Miller and countless others.
One of the biggest hits in the illustrious career of The Platters, was one of Jimmy Kennedy's finest, "My Prayer," which reached number two in the American Hit Parade, when "South of the Border," which ultimately was recorded over 300 times was number one. The feat in 1939 was not accomplished again until Lennon and McCartney did so in the sixties. The "Cokey Cokey" was one of the biggest dance sensations of the war. "April in Portugal", one of the most recorded songs of the fifties and "Red Sails in the Sunset" were among his biggest earners, while "Teddy Bears' Picnic," written in 1932, was not far behind.
Wilhelm Grosz (aka Hugh Williams) and Nat Simon among others.
Jimmy Kennedy was born on the Brookmount Road in Omagh, Ireland. His father was Joseph Hamilton Kennedy, a member of the Royal Irish Constabulary (R.I.C.), the police force of Ireland at that time. However, Jimmy grew up in Portstewart, a famous Ulster sea-side resort located to the north in County Londonderry. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin.
He taught for a while in England before applying to join His Majesty's Colonial Service as a civil servant in 1927. However, Jimmy would never serve in the Colonial Service as his music career "took off" while he was awaiting a posting to Nigeria, which was then a British colony. He embarked on a career in song writing by joining the staff of Bert Feldman, a music publisher based in Denmark Street in London's Tin Pan Alley. In a career spanning more than fifty years he wrote some 2000 songs, of which over 200 became world-wide hits and about 50 are all-time popular music classics.
Until John Lennon and Paul McCartney, he had more hits in the United States than any other Irish or British songwriter.[citation needed] His first success came in 1931 with the "Barmaids Song" sung by Gracie Fields. "Red Sails in the Sunset" was inspired by a beautiful summer evening in Portstewart in 1935, and "South of the Border" by a holiday picture postcard he received from Tijuana, Mexico. While serving in the British Army's Royal Artillery, where he rose to the rank of Captain, he wrote the wartime hit, "We're Going to Hang out the Washing on the Siegfried Line" for the British Expeditionary Force. His hits also include "The Isle of Capri", "My Prayer", "Teddy Bears' Picnic" (music by John Walter Bratton), "Love is Like a Violin", "Hokey Cokey" and "Roll Along Covered Wagon".
Many of Kennedy's songs were recorded by such famous artists as Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, The Platters, Vera Lynn, Petula Clark, Paul Robeson, Perry Como, Fats Domino, Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Glen Miller and Elvis Presley. More recently, Englebert Humperdinck (singer) and Belfast-born Brian Kennedy (singer) have both released recordings of "Red Sails in the Sunset"; The Beatles performed the same song during their Hamburg days.
Kennedy won two Ivor Novello Awards for his contribution to music and received an honorary degree from the New University of Ulster. He was also awarded the OBE in 1983. In 1997 he was posthumously inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame.
Jimmy Kennedy died in Cheltenham, England, and is buried in Taunton, Somerset. He is survived by two sons, Jimmy Junior and Derek.
AGNES WALTZ, THE
ALOHA OE
AN ANGEL MADE OF ICE
AN APPLE BLOSSOM WEDDING
AND MIMI
AND THE MOON GREW BRIGHTER AND BRIGHTER
ANGEL MINE
APRIL IN PORTUGAL
AT THE CAF?â CONTINENTAL
BARCAROLA
BARREN EARTH
BELLS OF MEMORY, THE
BIRD ON THE WING
BLAZE AWAY
BLUE BAHAMAS
BOOGIE ON THE SCALES
BY AN OLD PAGODA
CAN YOU SAY WALTZ?
CE SOIR
CHAPTER IN MY LIFE
CHESTNUT TREE
CINDERELLA
CLOUDS IN THE SUNSET
COKEY COKEY, THE
CORONATION WALTZ
COUPLE OF APRIL FOOLS
DARLING COME HOME
DID YOUR MOTHER COME FROM IRELAND?
DOGGIE ON THE HIGHWAY
DON’T MAKE A MEMORY OF ME
DON’T SAY IT’S TRUE
DOWN THE TRAIL OF ACHING HEART
ENTER AND REST AND PRAY
FAITHFUL
FALLING LEAVES
FIESTA, THE
FRENCH CAN-CAN POLKA, THE
FROM YOUR LIPS ONLY
GENERALS FAST ASLEEP, THE
GOD’S LITTLE CANDLES
HAPPY WHISTLER
HARBOR LIGHTS
HARMONY OF THE HILLS
HER NAME WAS ROSITA
HOME TOWN
HONEYMOON LOVE SONG
HOUR NEVER PASSES, AN
I’M BUYING THE BLUES TONIGHT
I’M WRITING A LETTER
IF I COULD PRAY
IF WE MET FOR THE FIRST TIME
IF YOU WERE MINE
IF YOU’RE GONG MY WAY
IN A STRANGE PAIR OF ARMS
IN THE PYRENEES
ISLE OF CAPRI, THE
ISTANBUL - NOT CONSTANTINOPLE
JARVEY WAS A LEPRECHAUN
LAND OF THE RAINBOW
LIGHTS OF MALTA
LIST NIN TO THE GREEN GRASS
LITTLE GOLDEN LOCKET
LOVE IS LIKE A VIOLIN
LOVE ME SLOWLY WITH EXPRESSION
MA GIGOLETTE
MAGIC TANGO, THE
MAMBO DE PAREE
MANDOLINS IN THE MOONLIGHT
MAYFAIR MERRY GO ROUND
MEM’RY OF A ROSE
MERRY GO ROUND WALTZ
MILLER’S DAUGHTER MARIANNE
MILLIONS LIKE US
MISTLE TOE KISS POLKA
MISTY ISLANDS OF THE HIGHLANDS
MOON ABOVE MALAYA
MOSQUITO’S PARADE
MUSIC BOX GAVOTTE
MY ARMS ARE A HOUSE
MY BOLERO
MY IMPOSSIBLE CASTLE
MY IRISH SONG
MY LOST LOVE Nostalgia
MY LOVE FOR YOU
MY PRAYER
MY SONG GOES ROUND THE WORLD
MY TWILIGHT PRAYER
NO HEART AT ALL
NO YOU
OH NICHOLAS…
OH PAIN, OH AGONY
OKAY FOR SOUND
OLD MAMMY MINE
ON THE OLD SPANISH TRAIL
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE HILL
ON THE PAINTED DESERT
ON THE TRAIL WHERE THE SUN IS
ONLY RED WE WANT IS THE RED WE SEE, THE
PHANTOM STAGE COACH, THE
PINK POODLES OF PARIS
PLAY TO ME GYPSY
PONY EXPRESS
POOR LITTLE ANGELINE
POOR WHIP, POOR WILL
RED SAILS IN THE SUNSET
RENDEZVOUS D’AMOUR
RICKSHAW RIDE
ROLL ALONG COVERED WAGON
ROSE OF RIO
SAN ANITA MOONLIGHT
SANDY’S TUNE
SERENADE IN THE NIGHT
SHE TOOK
SING A SONG OF LONDON
SKYE BOAT SONG
SMILE MAY HIDE A FROWN, A
SMILE SONG
SOMETHING IN MY EYE
SOUTH OF THE BORDER (DOWN MEXICO WAY)
SPICE OF LIFE, THE
SPIDER AND THE FLY, THE
ST…ST…ST…ST…STELLA
SUNSET TRAIL
SWEET HEARTACHES
TEDDY BEARS’ PICNIC
TEN PRETTY GIRLS
THERE’S A BIG DAY COMING
THERE’S A BOY COMING HOME
THERE’S A NEW WORLD
THEY PUT THE LIGHTS OUT
THEY’RE MOVING FATHER’S GRAVE
TONIGHT GIVE ME AN HOUR OF LOVE
TREASURE OF MY HEART
TWO BOUQUETS
UNDER THE SUN VALLEY MOON
WALTZ OF THE GIPSIES
WE’LL GO A LONG, LONG WAY
WE’RE GONNA HANG OUT THE WASHING ON THE SIEGFRIED LINE
WE’RE TOPS ON SATURDAY NIGHT
WHEN BUDAPEST WAS YOUNG
WHEN CAF?â LIGHTS WERE LOW
WHEN MY HEART SAYS SING
WHERE FLAMINGOS FLY
WHERE THE SWEETHEART IS
WHISPERING SERENADE
WHO KNOWS LOVE
WHY DID SHE FALL FOR THE LEADER
WITH ME OULD CLAY PIPE
WITH ONE RED ROSE
WOTCHA GOTCHA TROMBONE FOR?
WRITE TO ME FROM NAPLES
YOGIE THE DOGGIE
YOU’RE WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH ME
YOU’VE GOT TO TAKE YOUR PICK
YOUTH GOES MARCHING ON