Jimmy Kennedy 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, Wilhelm Grosz and Nat Simon.
11 Facts About Jimmy Kennedy
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Jimmy Kennedy's father, Joseph Hamilton Kennedy, was a policeman in the Royal Irish Constabulary.
3.
Jimmy Kennedy later moved to Portstewart, a seaside resort in County Londonderry.
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Jimmy Kennedy graduated from Trinity College, Dublin, before teaching in England.
5.
Jimmy Kennedy was accepted into the Colonial Service, as a civil servant, in 1927.
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Fellow lyricist Harry Castling introduced him to Bert Feldman, a music publisher based in London's "Tin Pan Alley", for whom Jimmy Kennedy started to work.
7.
Jimmy Kennedy's hits included "Cokey Cokey", and the English lyrics to "Lili Marlene".
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Ivor Novello 8.
Jimmy 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.
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Jimmy Kennedy won two Ivor Novello Awards for his contribution to music and received an honorary degree from the New University of Ulster.
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Jimmy Kennedy died in Cheltenham on 6 April 1984, aged 81, and was interred in Taunton, Somerset.
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Jimmy Kennedy was survived by two sons and a daughter.