Michael Carr (born Maurice Alfred Cohen; 11 March 1905 – 16 September 1968) was a British

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Funk ...

composer and lyricist, best remembered for the song " South of the Border (Down Mexico Way)", written with

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, ...

for the 1939 film of the same name.

Life and career

Born in

Leeds Leeds () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the thi ...

, the son of cabinet maker and boxer Morris "Cockney" Cohen and Gertrude J. Beresford, Carr was brought up in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

, where his father opened a restaurant. In his teens he ran away to sea, and took various jobs in the United States, including cowboy in

Montana Montana () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West List of regions of the United States#Census Bureau-designated regions and divisions, division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North ...

, pianist in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...

, and newspaper reporter. Under the name of Michael Carr, he played a number of small roles in Hollywood films. He returned to Dublin in 1930, and began writing tunes. A local bandleader suggested that he move to London, and enabled his introduction to lyricist Jimmy Kennedy. In 1934 he settled in London, where he worked for a music company. Initially he wrote cowboy songs such as "Ole Faithful", drawing on his experiences in the US, and then, usually with Kennedy, wrote and co-wrote several songs for such performers as Gracie Fields. His successful songs included "The Girl with the Dreamy Eyes" (1935, written with Eddie Pola), "Dinner For One Please, James" (1935), and " The Little Boy that Santa Claus Forgot" (1937, written with

Tommie Connor 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 Litt ...

and Jimmy Leach). One of his best-known songs, written with Kennedy, was " We're Going to Hang out the Washing on the Siegfried Line" (1939). During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

he served in the army. In 1942 he composed "Freedom Concerto". Among Carr's other compositions were "Lonely Ballerina" (1954) for the

Mantovani Annunzio Paolo Mantovani (; 15 November 1905 – 29 March 1980) was an Anglo-Italian conductor, composer and light orchestra-styled entertainer with a cascading strings musical signature. The book ''British Hit Singles & Albums'' sta ...

Orchestra, and two instrumental pieces which were hits for

the Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richar ...

: "

Man of Mystery "Man of Mystery" is a song by the Shadows, released as a single in November 1960. It peaked at number 5 on the UK Singles Chart. Background and release "Man of Mystery" was written by Michael Carr for the theme tune for the film series '' Eg ...

" (UK No. 5 hit in December 1960) and " Kon-Tiki" (UK No. 1 hit in October 1961). "Man of Mystery" was the theme music for the early 1960s film series '' Edgar Wallace Mysteries'' based on the prodigious output of the writer

Edgar Wallace Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (1 April 1875 – 10 February 1932) was a British writer. Born into poverty as an illegitimate London child, Wallace left school at the age of 12. He joined the army at age 21 and was a war correspondent during th ...

. Carr collaborated with many other British songwriters such as Jack Popplewell, Jack Strachey and Eric Maschwitz, and with

Norrie Paramor Norman William Paramor (15 May 1914 – 9 September 1979), known professionally as Norrie Paramor, was a British record producer, composer, arranger, pianist, bandleader, and orchestral conductor. He is best known for his work with Cliff ...

for another Shadows tune, "The Miracle". With Ben Nisbet, Carr co-wrote the theme song to the popular 1960s children's TV series '' The White Horses''. The song was released as the single " White Horses" sung by 'Jacky' ( Jackie Lee) which became a UK No. 10 hit in April 1968. In 2003, it was named in ''The Penguin Television Companion'' as the greatest theme song in television history. Carr and Nisbet collaborated again for another song for Jacky, "Off and Running". Carr died in London in 1968, aged 63.

Compositions

Among many other songs, Carr wrote (or co-wrote): * "Ol' Faithful" (1934) (with Kennedy); the song became the Hull Rugby League Football Club's supporters' anthem. * "Dinner for One, Please James" (1935) * "The General's Fast Asleep" (1935) (with Kennedy) * "Getting Around and About" (1935) (with

Lewis Ilda Irwin Louis Dash (December 1, 1892 – March 18, 1984) was an American songwriter, music publisher and pianist, who sometimes used the pseudonym Lewis Ilda. Biography He was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and published his first composition, ...

) * "Old Timer" (1935) (with Lewis Ilda) * "Girl with the Dreamy Eyes" (1935) (with Eddie Pola) * "Orchids to My Lady" (1935) * "Misty Islands of the Highlands" (1935) (with Kennedy) * "The Wheel of the Wagon Is Broken" (1935) (with Elton Box & Desmond Cox) * "Did Your Mother Come from Ireland" (1936) (with Kennedy) * "The Sunset Trail" (1936) (with Kennedy) * "Why Did She Fall for the Leader of the Band?" (1936) (with Kennedy) * "Cowboy" (1937) * "Home Town" (1937) (with Kennedy) * "The Little Boy that Santa Claus Forgot" (1937) (with Tommie Connor & Jimmy Leach) * "Cinderella, Stay in My Arms" (1938) * " South of the Border" (1939) (with Kennedy) * "On the Outside Looking in" (1939) * "Somewhere in France with You" (1939) * "(We're Gonna Hang out the) Washing on the Siegfried Line" (1939) (with Kennedy) * "A Handsome Territorial" (1939) (with Kennedy) * "The First Lullaby" (1941) (with Popplewell) * "A Pair Of Silver Wings" (1941) (with Eric Maschwitz) * "I Love To Sing" (1943) (with Paul Misrake & Tommie Connor) * "When You Talk About Old Ireland" (1951) (with Tommie Connor)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carr, Michael 1905 births 1968 deaths English songwriters English composers Musicians from Leeds 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century English musicians