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James Kennedy (20 July 1902 – 6 April 1984) was a Northern Irish songwriter. He was predominantly a lyricist, putting words to existing music such as "
Teddy Bears' Picnic "The Teddy Bears' Picnic" is a song consisting of a melody by American composer John Walter Bratton, written in 1907, and lyrics added by Irish songwriter Jimmy Kennedy in 1932. It remains popular as a children's song, having been recorded by n ...
" and " My Prayer" or co-writing with composers like Michael Carr, Wilhelm Grosz and
Nat Simon Nat Simon (6 August 1900, in Newburgh, New York – 1979) was an American composer, pianist, bandleader and songwriter. From the 1930s to 1950s his songs were used in over 20 films. Between 1931 and 1940 he also took part in the musical Vaudeville r ...
. In a career spanning more than fifty years, he wrote some 2000 songs, of which over 200 became worldwide hits and about 50 are
popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fu ...
classics.


Early life

Kennedy was born in
Omagh Omagh (; from ga, An Ómaigh , meaning 'the virgin plain') is the county town of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated where the rivers Drumragh and Camowen meet to form the Strule. Northern Ireland's capital city Belfast is 68 ...
,
County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an administrative division for local government but retai ...
, Northern Ireland. His father, Joseph Hamilton Kennedy, was a policeman in the
Royal Irish Constabulary The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ga, Constáblacht Ríoga na hÉireann; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the country was part of the United Kingdom. A separat ...
(RIC). While growing up in the village of
Coagh Coagh ( ; ) is a small village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, five miles (8 km) east of Cookstown. Part of the village also extends into County Londonderry. It had a population of 545 people in the 2001 Census. It owes its existence t ...
, Kennedy wrote several songs and poems. He was inspired by local surroundings—the view of the Ballinderry River, the local Springhill House and the plentiful chestnut trees on his family's property, as evidenced in his poem ''Chestnut Trees''. Kennedy later moved to Portstewart, a
seaside resort A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, such as in the German ...
in
County Londonderry County Londonderry ( Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster ...
. Kennedy graduated from
Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...
, before teaching in England. Biography by Jason Ankeny
''AllMusic''. Retrieved 23 April 2017
He was accepted into the
Colonial Service The Colonial Service, also known as His/Her Majesty's Colonial Service and replaced in 1954 by Her Majesty's Overseas Civil Service (HMOCS), was the British government service that administered most of Britain's overseas possessions, under the aut ...
, as a civil servant, in 1927.


Music career

While awaiting a Colonial Service posting to the colony of
Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...
, Kennedy embarked on a career in songwriting. His first success came in 1930 with "The Barmaid's Song", sung by
Gracie Fields Dame Gracie Fields (born Grace Stansfield; 9 January 189827 September 1979) was an English actress, singer, comedian and star of cinema and music hall who was one of the top ten film stars in Britain during the 1930s and was considered the hi ...
. Fellow lyricist Harry Castling introduced him to Bert Feldman, a
music publisher A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distributing music. Music publishers originally published sheet music. When copyright became legally protected, music publishers started to play a role in the management of the intellect ...
based in London's "Tin Pan Alley", for whom Kennedy started to work. In the early 1930s, he wrote a number of successful songs, including "Oh, Donna Clara" (1930), "My Song Goes Round the World" (1931), and "
The Teddy Bears' Picnic "The Teddy Bears' Picnic" is a song consisting of a melody by American composer John Walter Bratton, written in 1907, and lyrics added by Irish songwriter Jimmy Kennedy in 1932. It remains popular as a children's song, having been recorded by num ...
" (1933), in which Kennedy provided new lyrics to John Walter Bratton's tune from 1907. In 1934, Feldman turned down Kennedy's song " Isle of Capri", but it became a major hit for a new publisher, Peter Maurice. Kennedy wrote several more successful songs for Maurice, including " Red Sails in the Sunset" (1935), inspired by beautiful summer evenings in Portstewart,
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...
; " Harbour Lights" (1937); and " South of the Border" (1939), inspired by a holiday picture
postcard A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare. There are novelty exceptions, such as wood ...
he received from
Tijuana, Mexico Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and
< ...
, and written with composer Michael Carr. Kennedy and Carr also collaborated on several West End shows in the 1930s, including ''London Rhapsody'' (1937). "My Prayer", with original music by
Georges Boulanger Georges Ernest Jean-Marie Boulanger (29 April 1837 – 30 September 1891), nicknamed Général Revanche ("General Revenge"), was a French general and politician. An enormously popular public figure during the second decade of the Third Repub ...
, had English
lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a " libretto" and their writer ...
penned by Kennedy in 1939. It was originally written by Boulanger with the title "Avant de Mourir" in 1926. During the early stages of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, while serving in the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...
's
Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
, 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". His hits also included " Cokey Cokey" (1945; known as "The Hokey Pokey" and "Okey Cokey" in several locales), and the English lyrics to "
Lili Marlene "Lili Marleen" (also spelled "Lili Marlen'", "Lilli Marlene", "Lily Marlene", "Lili Marlène" among others; ) is a German love song that became popular during World War II throughout Europe and the Mediterranean among both Axis and Allied tro ...
". After the end of the war, his songs included "Apple Blossom Wedding" (1947), " Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" (1953), and "Love Is Like a Violin" (1960). In the 1960s, Kennedy wrote the song "The Banks of the Erne'", for recording by his friend from the war years, Theo Hyde, also known as Ray Warren. Kennedy was a patron of the Castlebar International Song Contest from 1973 until his death in 1984 and his association with the event added great prestige to the contest.


Awards

Kennedy won two
Ivor Novello Awards The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been ...
for his contribution to music and received an honorary degree from the
New University of Ulster sco, Ulstèr Universitie , image = Ulster University coat of arms.png , caption = , motto_lang = , mottoeng = , latin_name = Universitas Ulidiae , established = 1865 – Magee College 1953 - Magee Un ...
. He was awarded the
OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
in 1983. In 1997 he was posthumously inducted into the
Songwriter's Hall of Fame The Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) is an American institution founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer, music publisher/songwriter Abe Olman, and publisher/executive Howie Richmond to honor those whose work, represent, and maintain, the he ...
.


Death

Kennedy died in
Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral ...
on 6 April 1984, aged 81, and was interred in
Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...
, Somerset. He was survived by two sons and a daughter.


Selected songs

*"Blaze Away", added lyrics to the Abe Holzmann marching song in 1931 *"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 "The Teddy Bears' Picnic" is a song consisting of a melody by American composer John Walter Bratton, written in 1907, and lyrics added by Irish songwriter Jimmy Kennedy in 1932. It remains popular as a children's song, having been recorded by n ...
" *"Love is Like a Violin" (derived from 'Mon cœur est un violon' by Miarka Laparcerie - J.Richepin - see Wiki.) *" Cokey Cokey" *"Roll Along Covered Wagon" *" Harbour Lights"


References


External links


Jimmy Kennedy obituary, ''The New York Times'', 7 April 1984

J.J. Kennedy, ''The Man Who Wrote The Teddy Bears' Picnic'', AuthorHouse, 2011
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Jimmy 1902 births 1984 deaths Alumni of Trinity College Dublin British lyricists Songwriters from Northern Ireland People from Omagh Officers of the Order of the British Empire Royal Artillery officers People educated at Cookstown High School 20th-century British musicians Musicians from County Tyrone