Roy C. Bennett was born on August 12, 1918, and died on July 2, 2015.

He was an American songwriter known for the songs he wrote with Sid Tepper, which spawned several hits for Elvis Presley.

Between 1945 and 1970, Tepper and Bennett published over 300 songs.

Born as Israel Brodsky into an Eastern European immigrant family in Brooklyn, New York, as a young boy, Roy befriended a newly arrived neighbour by the name of Sid Tepper.

Their mutual interest in music led to a highly successful music collaboration that spanned more than twenty-five years.

Roy graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in the East New York neighbourhood in Brooklyn, then he studied music at City College of New York.

Although he was blessed with a good singing voice he chose to pursue his lifelong interest in writing words and music.

His career plans were interrupted by World War II, however, when Roy served with the United States Army Air Forces.

After the war, Bennett joined ASCAP and worked as a staff writer for Mills Music Inc. (now EMI Mills Music Inc.)

Partnered with Tepper, between 1945 and 1970 Bennett had close to three hundred musical compositions published.

In 1948 they wrote “Red Roses for a Blue Lady” first recorded by Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians and was a No.3 hit single for vocalist Vaughn Monroe.

The song has been recorded by others, such as Wayne Newton, Vic Dana, Eddy Arnold and Andy Williams.

Roy and Tepper scored big again in 1951 when Rosemary Clooney recorded their composition “Suzy Snowflake.”

In 1955, their 1954 composition of “Naughty Lady of Shady Lane” was a top-10 hit for both Dean Martin and the Ames Brothers and the novelty song “Nuttin’ for Christmas” by the Art Mooney band and singer Barry J. Gordon went to No. 6 on the music charts and was recorded by four other singers.

In 1958, the popular singer and TV variety show host Perry Como had a top-10 hit with their “Kewpie Doll.”

Roy C. Bennett passed away at age 96 in July 2015.