Michael Carr (born Maurice Alfred Cohen; 11 March 1905 – 16 September 1968) was a British and Irish popular music composer and lyricist, best remembered for the song "South of the Border (Down Mexico Way)", written with Irishman Jimmy Kennedy for the 1939 film of the same name.
[1] Born in Leeds, the son of cabinet maker and boxer Morris "Cockney" Cohen and Gertrude J. Beresford, Carr was brought up in Ireland, where his father ran a restaurant in Dublin.
In his teens he ran away to sea, and took various jobs in the United States, including cowboy in Montana, pianist in Las Vegas, and newspaper reporter.
[3] Among Carr's other compositions were "Lonely Ballerina" (1954) for the Mantovani Orchestra, and two instrumental pieces which were hits for the Shadows: "Man of Mystery" (UK No.
With Ben Nisbet, Carr co-wrote the theme song to the popular 1960s children's TV series The White Horses.