Jimmy Kennedy

Jimmy Kennedy (born July 20, 1902, died April 6, 1984) was a songwriter, predominantly a lyricist putting words to existing music like Teddy Bears' Picnic and My Prayer or co writing with composers like Michael Carr, Wilhelm Grosz or Nat Simon among others.

Jimmy Kennedy was born in Omagh, Northern Ireland but grew up in Portstewart. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin.

He taught for a while in England before embarking on a career in song writing by joining the staff of Bert Feldman a Music Publisher based 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 classics.

Until John Lennon and Paul McCartney, he had more hits in the United States than any other British songwriter. 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 Gonna Hang Out Our Washing On The Siegfried Line for the British Expeditionary Force. His hits also include The Isle of Capri, My Prayer, The Teddy Bears' Picnic (music by John Walter Bratton), Love is Like a Violin, Hokey Cokey, 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.

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.

Selected songs

• Barmaids Song
• Red Sails in the Sunset
• South of the Border
• We're Going to Hang out the Washing on the Siegfried Line
• The Isle of Capri
• Istanbul (Not Constantinople)
• My Prayer
• Teddy Bears' Picnic (music by John Walter Bratton)
• Love is Like a Violin
• Hokey Cokey
• Roll Along Covered Wagon

Jimmy Kennedy died in Cheltenham, England and is buried in Taunton, Somerset.