From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A teddy bears' picnic is a party for young children which involves a picnic and to which the children are invited to bring their teddy bears. Teddy bears' picnics may be held as a form of birthday party, or by primary schools or elementary schools or other organised children's groups.

The concept probably originates with an instrumental version of a 1907 march entitled Teddy Bears' Picnic written by Tin Pan Alley composer John Walter Bratton (credited as John W Bratton) Bratton wrote 250 songs in his fifty-year career, mainly for Broadway musicals in the 1890s and the early 1900s but only Teddy Bears Picnic has any prominence today.

The song regained prominence in 1932 when the Irish/British lyricist Jimmy Kennedy added words and it was recorded by the then popular Henry Hall (and his BBC Dance Orchestra) featuring Val Rosing (Gilbert Russell) as lead vocalist, which went on to sell a million copies. This recording was used extensively by BBC broadcast engineers for calibrating and adjusting broadcast equipment throughout the 1930's, due to the recording's large dynamic range and frequency range.

"Teddy Bear Picnic" resurfaced again in the late 1940s and early 1950s when it was used as the theme song for the Big Jon and Sparkie radio program, a children's show presented on weekdays and Saturday mornings. The Saturday Show later became "No School Today". This perennial favorite has appeared on many children's recordings ever since.

The song has been recorded by singers including Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Jerry Garcia, John Inman and Trout Fishing in America. It was the theme song of the Commodore 64 game "The Hunchback", by Ocean, and for the BBC Micro game "Nemesis" by Micro Power. In November of 2005, agency McCann Erickson produced a commercial for Microsoft's Xbox game console featuring the Henry Hall/Val Rosing version as the primary soundtrack.

The song also features prominently in the family CGI movie Open Season. First, Beth (park ranger) sings it to Boog (grizzly bear) to help him sleep. Next, Elliot (deer) tries to sing the song to Boog to help him sleep, but doesn't know the words so makes them up, involving an elf. Finally, Shaw (hunter) sings the song menacingly as he approaches Boog in the basement of his house.

• lyrics and audio from the BBC
• The original BBC recording along with information on Val Rosing, vocalist

This festival-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

And they Rock