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Sid and Roy were Brooklyn born and bred, and lived across the street from each other through the Great Depression. They often found themselves with barely two nickels to rub together, but their friendship didn't require material goods to pass the time. Just paper and pencil. They began their writing career at the ripe old age of 11, and really began in earnest, turning avocation into vocation, at age 24.
World War II interrupted their partnership, when Sid was stationed with the U.S. Cavalry at Fort Riley, Kansas, where he produced shows and sang with the base band. Roy spent three years in the China-Burma-India theatre with the U.S. Army Air Forces. In addition to his duties in Intelligence, the Army eventually capitalized on his talents and he set to work entertaining the forces.
After returning home, they found their way to the iconic Brill Building, the epicenter of the songwriting world in Midtown Manhattan, and peddled their songs. They'd start at the top floor and work their way down until they hit a publisher who'd make a deal. Their confidence grew; it only stands to reason when one of their very first songs was the megahit, "Red Roses for a Blue Lady," what the industry calls an "evergreen".
Sid and Roy were enormously successful, as many hits followed, including "The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane" , "Kiss of Fire" , and "The Young Ones" , not to mention an astonishing 42 songs recorded by Elvis Presley. It's hard to believe that there's another team who had their songs recorded by such an extraordinary array of artists, from Duke Ellington to Louis Armstrong and Ray Charles, to Frank Sinatra, Elvis, and The Beatles.
Sid and Roy passed away mere months apart in 2015, but their music lives on to entertain the world.
Come look inside and give a listen to many of their songs, which The New York Times characterized as "catchy melodies and lyrics of easygoing cleverness"...
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Sid and Roy's discography ran the gamut of genres, and were sung by a vast constellation of stars. They were equally at home with love songs, children's and holiday songs, and just plain fun songs. With over 300 published songs, the duo covered many genres, but regardless of type, their songs, as The New York Times put it, were distinguished by a wholly enjoyable combination of catchy melody and clever lyrics.
Sid and Roy often wrote about love, and came up with a number of memorable songs that approached it from a variety of angles. Among those that still resonate deeply with audiences are "Red Roses for a Blue Lady" and "Kiss of Fire". Others focused on budding passions, like the wonderfully playful duet by Elvis and Ann-Margret, "The Lady Loves Me". They also wrote about the flip side of love, heartbreak, in Nancy Wilson's "Don't Come Running Back to Me". And they even wrote a love song to their hometown, Connie Francis' silky smooth "I've Got a Crush on New York Town".
Ushering in the birth of Rock 'n' Roll, Sid and Roy's songs were recorded by the likes of The Beatles ("Glad All Over"), Elvis ("GI Blues"), Jay and the Americans ("Goodbye Boys, Goodbye"), Jeff Beck, and even Plain White T's.
Both fathers themselves, the songwriting duo never forgot the kids. These songs included “The Little Train Who Said Ah Choo”, “Five Sleepyheads”, and Rosemary Clooney's “Eggbert, The Easter Egg”. Some of their kids' songs are truly evergreens that are heard each year throughout the holiday season, such as "Nuttin for Christmas" (1 & 2) and “Suzy Snowflake”.
So much of Elvis' career revolved around his many movies, and in turn, much of Sid and Roy's writing was devoted to those movies. The duo became a fixture in the soundtrack of Elvis' life, as dozens of their songs appeared in the films. Sid and Roy also wrote the title song for “The Young Ones”, the second most popular movie at the British box office in 1961, starring the enormously popular UK recording artist, Cliff Richard.
Tepper & Bennett wrote 42 songs for Elvis Presley, many of which appeared in his movies. Explore this special collection that highlights their contribution to The King's legacy.
Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett wrote an impressive 42 songs that were recorded by Elvis Presley. Many of these songs were featured in Elvis's movies, helping to define the soundtrack of his film career in the 1960s.
Their collaborations with Elvis include memorable tracks like "G.I. Blues," "Hawaiian Sunset," "New Orleans," and "Song of the Shrimp." While some of these songs may not be among Elvis's most well-known hits, they showcase the versatility and prolific nature of Tepper and Bennett's songwriting abilities.
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Under construction...please visit https://www.tepper-bennett.com/reports for now for reports.
If you are interested in incorporating any of Sid and Roy's songs into your production, please contact the appropriate rights administrator(s). The name of the rights administrator organization can be found in a column of the Songs table. This information is not yet complete; we are still in the process of obtaining some of it.
For licensing songs administered by Chappell & Co., Inc. (Warner Chappell Music), please contact [email protected].
For licensing songs administered by Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG), please visit https://www.umusicpub.com/us/license-request.
For other questions or comments, feel free to contact us at [email protected].
This web site is a non-monetized site intended to showcase the Tepper and Bennett musical legacy, and to assist music supervisors in the selection of songs and acquiring contact information of the appropriate rights administrators. All information posted here is done so in good faith, but there may be errors and omissions. If you are looking to license a song, please be aware that in some cases there is more than one rights administrator, and it is possible there are rights administrators for a given song that are not listed on this site.