Life’s a picnic for Jimmy Kennedy

Many people will be unaware of who Jimmy Kennedy is, though few could fail to join in the chorus of his classic children’s song ‘Teddy Bears’ Picnic’.
By Graeme Cousins
Published 7th Mar 2020, 08:00 BST
Jimmy Kennedy at the pianoJimmy Kennedy at the piano
Jimmy Kennedy at the piano

Born in 1902, the Cookstown man went on to write classics such as ‘Red Sails in the Sunset’ ‘Harbour Lights’, ‘South of the Border’ ‘My Prayer’ and ‘Istanbul, not Constantinople’ which were sung by some of the 20th century’s most iconic entertainers including Vera Lynn, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Patsy Cline, Elvis Presley and the Beatles.

The News Letter spoke to the late Jimmy’s son – also Jimmy – about his father’s legacy ahead of a BBC Two NI programme tomorrow evening.

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He said: “My dad was exactly the opposite of what you might expect, he wasn’t a long-haired guitar-strumming musical type. If you looked at him you’d have probably thought he was a solicitor. He was very respectable, maybe that was the Northern Irish coming out in him.

Jim Kennedy (Jimmy’s son) with Kitty of Coleraine, the boat that inspired Jimmy Kennedy to write the famous song Red Sails in The SunsetJim Kennedy (Jimmy’s son) with Kitty of Coleraine, the boat that inspired Jimmy Kennedy to write the famous song Red Sails in The Sunset
Jim Kennedy (Jimmy’s son) with Kitty of Coleraine, the boat that inspired Jimmy Kennedy to write the famous song Red Sails in The Sunset

“For him, his career was really a profession so he dressed accordingly.

“He always liked to wear his Kennedy tartan tie. He bought tartan kilts for the kids. The Scots side was quite strong.”

Jimmy grew up near Cookstown before embarking on a career that would catapult him to Tin Pan Alley in London and eventually to New York. He became one of the brightest stars in the industry, writing nearly 2,000 songs across his long career.

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His son said: “His songs are still being played all over the world. I get the royalty sheets in every so often which shows me how often they’re being performed.

“It shows the longevity of these songs, the fact he touched the hearts and souls of ordinary people.”

The Jimmy Kennedy Songbook is a celebration of his greatest hits, made for BBC Northern Ireland by Clean Slate Productions, with assistance from the Northern Ireland Screen Ulster-Scots Broadcast Fund. It will be shown on BBC Two NI on Sunday, March 8 at 10pm.

Recorded at The Belfast Empire, host and singer songwriter Duke Special is joined by Eddi Reader, Gareth Dunlop, MayKay, Tabitha Agnew and James Yorkston for an evening breathing new life into Jimmy Kennedy classics.

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The hour-long programme also contains some archive short films exploring the career of Jimmy Kennedy and some of the stories behind the songs with contributions from his son Jim and writer and broadcaster Paul Gambaccini.