James Kennedy OBE (20 July 1902 – 6 April 1984), was an Irish songwriter,[1] 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 (who sometimes used the pen name, Hugh Williams), and Nat Simon, among others.

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 classics.

Kennedy won two Ivor Novello Awards for his contribution to music and received an honorary degree from the New University of Ulster. He was awarded the OBE in 1983.

In 1997 he was posthumously inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame.