American pop lyricist Kim Gannon wrote many hits throughout the 1940s and '50s, including "I'll Be Home for Christmas." Born in Brooklyn in 1900, James Kimble Gannon studied at Albany Law School and passed the New York bar five years before he began songwriting in 1939. That same year, Gannon got his first song published, entitled "For Tonight." A few years later, he was writing for films as well, starting with the title song for Always in My Heart (1942) and including numbers for Powers Girl (1943), If Winter Comes (1947), and more. He started out the 1950s with a score for Broadway's 1951 production Seventeen, co-written with composer Walter Kent. Through his career, Gannon worked with many other composers, including Max Steiner, J. Fred Coots, and Mabel Wayne. Besides his 1943 classic "I'll Be Home for Christmas," other well-known songs by Gannon include "I Understand" (1940), "Moonlight Cocktail" (1942), "A Dreamer's Holiday" (1949), "Under Paris Skies" (1953), and his final hit, 1960's "I Want to Be Wanted." ~ Joslyn Layne