Having considered both Lions and Tigers it is now time to turn our attention to the final member of our musical trio – ‘Bears’.
“The Teddy Bears’ Picnic” is a song consisting of a melody written in 1907 by American composer John Walter Bratton, and lyrics added in 1932 by Irish songwriter Jimmy Kennedy. It remains popular in the UK as a children’s song, having been recorded by numerous artists over the decades. Kennedy lived at Staplegrove Elm and is buried in Staplegrove Church, in Taunton, Somerset, England. Local folklore has it that the small wooded area between the church and Staplegrove Scout Hut was the inspiration for his lyrics. The first vocal version was recorded in 1932 on BBC Radio by Henry Hall with his BBC Orchestra, with Val Rosing singing Kennedy’s lyrics. The 1932 Henry Hall recording was of especially good quality with a large tonal range. It was used for more than 30 years by BBC audio engineers (up until the early 1960s) to test and calibrate the frequency response of audio equipment.
“The Three Little Bears” is a bonus track from a unique collection of re-mastered classics from the legendary Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five, which finds Louis narrating the classic children’s story! It was first released in 1946.
“(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear” is a song first recorded by Elvis Presley in 1957 for the soundtrack of his second motion picture, Loving You, during which Presley performs the song on screen. It was written by Kal Mann and Bernie Lowe and published in 1957 by Gladys Music. The song was a U.S. No. 1 hit for during the summer of 1957, staying at No. 1 for seven weeks, the third of the four Presley had that year. “(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear” would also hit No. 1 on the R&B Best Sellers List, becoming his fourth No. 1 on that chart. The song also reached No. 1 on the country charts for a single week.[
“Running Bear” is a teenage tragedy song written by Jiles Perry Richardson (a.k.a. The Big Bopper) and sung most famously by Johnny Preston in 1959. The 1959 recording featured background vocals by George Jones and the session’s producer Bill Hall, who provided the “Indian chanting” of “uga-uga” during the three verses, as well as the “Indian war cries” at the start and end of the record. It was No. 1 for three weeks in January 1960 on the Billboard in the United States. The song also reached No. 1 in the UK and New Zealand in 1960.
The Teddy Bear Song” is a 1973 single written by Don Earl and Nick Nixon, and made famous by country music vocalist Barbara Fairchild. Released in December 1972, the song was Fairchild’s only No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in March 1973. The song also became a modest pop hit, peaking at No. 32 on the Billboard in June 1973. “The Teddy Bear Song” was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance by a Female in 1974,
