John W. Bratton

John Walter Bratton (January 21, 1867 – February 7, 1947) was an American Tin Pan Alley composer, theatrical producer, and book writer whose Broadway credits span the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Born to John F. and Emma Bratton, he was raised by his grandmother, Mary Bratton, in New Castle, Delaware, near Wilmington. He received his formal education at the Harkness Academy in Wilmington and subsequently studied at the Philadelphia College of Music, after which he pursued a career as a baritone singer.

Bratton's professional path shifted from performance to composition and production relatively early. His entry into the theater came through the chorus of a production called Ship Ahoy, for which he earned eighteen dollars a week. He soon began writing songs alongside lyricist Walter H. Ford, selling early titles for as little as ten dollars apiece. Over the course of his career, Bratton collaborated with Ford and lyricist Paul West on more than 250 songs. Among their earlier efforts was "Hats Off to the Boys Who Made Good," a tribute to veterans of the Spanish–American War, which Bratton himself later described as "terrible." Songs that found popularity during the Gay Nineties era include "The Sunshine of Paradise Alley" (ca. 1895), "Henrietta, Have You Met Her?" (ca. 1895), and "I Love You in the Same Old Way" (ca. 1896).

The composition for which Bratton is best remembered today is "Teddy Bears' Picnic," catalogued as Op. 103 and dating from 1907. He left the piece as an instrumental, and its strong sheet music sales may have diminished any urgency to add lyrics. During the silent film era it served as background music for a number of popular movies. Years later, Irish-born, British-based lyricist Jimmy Kennedy supplied the words, a circumstance that accounts for the British phrasing "Mummies and Daddies" appearing in a composition of American origin.

As a producer, Bratton operated as half of the firm Lefler and Bratton, under which he brought several musical comedies to the stage. His verified Broadway credits as composer and book writer include the musicals Hodge, Podge & Co. (1900), The Man from China (1904), The Pearl and the Pumpkin (1905), and The Newlyweds and Their Baby (1909), as well as the Charlot Revue. His songs also appeared in productions including The Rainmakers (1894), Star & Garter (1900), The Office Boy (1903), The Toreador (1904), The Rollicking Girl (1905), and The Merry-Go-Round (1908).

On May 21, 1907, Bratton married Broadway actress Dorothy Zimmerman (1883–1957), and the couple had one daughter. Bratton died at his Brooklyn home in February 1947 at the age of 80. At the time of his death he had just finished the song "Time Brings Many Changes," written with Leo Edwards, the brother of songwriter Gus Edwards. He was survived by his wife and daughter.