Jimmy Kennedy
His part in making Teddy Bears' Picnic an Evergreen Hit

Jimmy Kennedy...his lyric contribution to the evergreen song The Teddy Bears Picnic by John W Bratton





Jimmy Kennedy was born 20th July, 1902, in Omagh, Northern Ireland. 

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

 "Play to Me, Gypsy" followed, but when Feldman rejected Kennedy's "Isle of Capri" (written with Will Grosz), the lyricist  joined publisher Peter Maurice, who made it a major hit in 1934.

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