Jimmy Kennedy OBE (20 July 1902 – 6 April 1984) was a songwriter, predominantly a lyricist, putting words to existing music such as "Teddy Bears' Picnic" and "My Prayer", or co-writing with the composers Michael Carr, Wilhelm Grosz (aka Hugh Williams) and Nat Simon amongst others.
Kennedy was born on Brookmount Road in Omagh, Northern Ireland. His father was Joseph Hamilton Kennedy, a member of the Royal Irish Constabulary, the police force of Ir...
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Jimmy Kennedy OBE (20 July 1902 – 6 April 1984) was a songwriter, predominantly a lyricist, putting words to existing music such as "Teddy Bears' Picnic" and "My Prayer", or co-writing with the composers Michael Carr, Wilhelm Grosz (aka Hugh Williams) and Nat Simon amongst others.
Kennedy was born on Brookmount Road in Omagh, Northern Ireland. His father was Joseph Hamilton Kennedy, a member of the Royal Irish Constabulary, the police force of Ireland at that time. However, Jimmy Kennedy grew up in Portstewart, an Ulster seaside resort located to the north in Derry. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin.
Kennedy taught for a while in England before applying to join the Colonial Service as a civil servant in 1927. His music career took off, though, while he was awaiting a posting to Nigeria, then a British colony. He embarked on a career in songwriting by joining the staff of Bert Feldman, a music publisher based in London's Tin Pan Alley. In a career spanning more than fifty...
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