Thomas Patrick Connor (16 November 1904 – 28 November 1993) was a British lyricist and songwriter, credited with several hit songs over his long career. He wrote several of the most popular non-religious Christmas songs, including " The Little Boy that Santa Claus Forgot", "I'm Sending a Letter to Santa Claus", and "

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" is a Christmas song with music and lyrics by British songwriter Tommie Connor and first recorded by American singer Jimmy Boyd in 1952. The song has since been covered by many artists, with the Ronettes's 1963 ...

", as well as the lyrics for such popular songs as "

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 troo ...

" and " The Biggest Aspidistra in the World".

Life and career

He was born and raised in Bloomsbury,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England, to parents of Irish descent. In his teens, he worked as a call boy in London theatres, and started writing his own words to well-known tunes. The composer

Herbert Stothart Herbert Pope Stothart (September 11, 1885February 1, 1949) was an American songwriter, arranger, conductor, and composer. He was also nominated for twelve Academy Awards, winning Best Original Score for '' The Wizard of Oz''. Stothart was widel ...

was impressed, and suggested that he become a songwriter after gaining more experience of the world. Connor then worked for two years as a steward aboard the RMS Empress of France, before returning to England with the intention of earning his living as a songwriter. After several years of trying to sell his songs in

Denmark Street Denmark Street is a street on the edge of London's West End running from Charing Cross Road to St Giles High Street. It is near St Giles in the Fields Church and Tottenham Court Road station. The street was developed in the late 17th centu ...

, his first published song was "My Home Town" in 1932, which was recorded by child star Little Mary Hagan. Two years later, his song "Jump on the Wagon" was described as a "number one radio hit". By 1935, he started working with composer Edward Lisbona of Ambrose's orchestra, and they wrote "It's My Mother's Birthday Today", which was a hit for

Arthur Tracy Arthur Tracy (25 June 1899 – 5 October 1997) was an American vocalist and actor, billed as The Street Singer. His performances in theatre, films and radio, along with his recordings, brought him international fame in the 1930s. Late evening r ...

, who was known as "The Street Singer". Connor continued to write successfully over the next twenty years, mostly in Britain but occasionally spending time in the United States, mainly

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

and New York. His most successful songs included "When The Guardsman Started Crooning On Parade" (1935), "The Little Boy that Santa Claus Forgot" (1937), "The Biggest Aspidistra in the World" (1938), "I'm Sending a Letter to Santa" (1939), "Who's Taking You Home Tonight?" (1940), "Be Like the Kettle and Sing" (1943), "

" (for which he wrote the English words, 1944), "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" (1952), and "Never Do a Tango with an Eskimo" (1956). "I'm Sending a Letter to Santa Claus" was published with words and music by Lanny Rogers and

Spencer Williams Spencer Williams (October 14, 1889 – July 14, 1965) was an American jazz and popular music composer, pianist, and singer. He is best known for his hit songs " Basin Street Blues", "I Ain't Got Nobody", " Royal Garden Blues", " I've Found a New ...

, Rogers being a pseudonym for Connor. He also wrote for films and shows, and for singers such as Gracie Fields,

Vera Lynn Dame Vera Margaret Lynn (; 20 March 191718 June 2020) was an English singer and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances were very popular during World War II. She is honorifically known as the " Forces' Sweetheart", having giv ...

and Maurice Chevalier. As well as Lisbona and Williams, his co-writers included

Horatio Nicholls Frederick Lawrence Wright (15 February 1888 – 19 May 1964) was a British songwriter, music publisher, and the founder of the music journal '' Melody Maker''. He used the ''pseudonyms'' Horatio Nicholls and Everett Lynton for his songwriting ...

Jimmy Kennedy 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" and " My Prayer" or co-writing with composers like Michael Carr, ...

, Robert Stoltz, and Michael Carr. In the 1966 Spaghetti Western ''

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'' ( it, Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo, literally "The good, the ugly, the bad") is a 1966 Italian epic spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood as "the Good", Lee Van Clee ...

'', Connor provided lyrics to " The Story of a Soldier". Connor had five children, born to his wife Catherine Connor (née McCarthy). He died in November 1993 in Farnborough,

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, England.

Catalogue

Songs with Connor given writing credits, as well as recording artists include:

References

External links

*
Tommie Connor on British Pathé archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Connor, Tommie 1904 births 1993 deaths People from Bloomsbury English people of Irish descent 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century British musicians Musicians from London