The people who wrote ‘Try a Little Tenderness’ deserve to be better known. One of them was Reginald John Connelly, a British songwriter and music publisher who, with his partner Jimmy Campbell, wrote the song immortalized by Otis Redding, and also the perennial ‘Goodnight, Sweetheart’.
The Campbell Connelly company was established in the mid-twenties and published hits by its owners and other songwriters, becoming internationally successful. Connelly later began composing for British films, including musicals starring Jessie Matthews
Songs written by Reg Connelly were used in two MGM musicals. ‘Just an Echo in the Valley’ was a hit in 1932, and was sung the following year by Bing Crosby in Going Hollywood. Later, ‘Goodnight, Sweetheart’ featured in Holiday in Mexico.
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