Jack Lawrence
Encyclopedia
Jack Lawrence was an American songwriter. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame
in 1975.
, New York City to an Orthodox Jewish
family of modest means as the third of four sons. His parents Barney (Beryl) Schwartz and Fanny (Fruma) Goldman Schwartz were first cousins who had run away from their home in Belaya Tserkov (Bila Tserkva
, Ukraine
) to come to America in 1904.
Lawrence wrote songs while still a child, but because of parental pressure after he graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School, he enrolled in the First Institute of Podiatry where he received a doctoral degree in 1932. The same year, his first song was published and he immediately decided to make a career of songwriting rather than podiatry. That song, "Play, Fiddle, Play", won international fame and he became a member of ASCAP that year at age 20.
In the early 1940s Lawrence and several fellow hit makers formed a sensational review called "Songwriters on Parade
", performing all across the Eastern seaboard on the Loew's and Keith circuits.
Lawrence joined the United States Maritime Service
during World War II and wrote the official song of the Maritime Service and Merchant Marine, "Heave Ho! My Lads, Heave Ho!" as a lieutenant in 1943, while bandleader at Sheepshead Bay Maritime Service Training Station
in New York.
One of Jack Lawrence's first major songs after leaving the service was "Yes, My Darling Daughter
", introduced by Dinah Shore
on Eddie Cantor
's radio program. The song was Shore's first record. His song, "If I Didn't Care
", introduced the world to The Ink Spots
. And, although Frank Sinatra
was already a well-known big band
singer, Lawrence's "All or Nothing at All
" was Sinatra's first solo hit.
In 1946, Lawrence published a song he had written during his tour of duty in World War II. It was released in February 1947 and eventually spent 2 weeks at #1. He wrote it for the then-five-year-old daughter of his attorney, Lee Eastman
: Linda Eastman
, future first wife of Beatle
Paul McCartney
.
Lawrence also wrote the lyrics for "Tenderly
", Rosemary Clooney
's trademark song (in collaboration with composer Walter Gross
, as well as the English language
lyric to "Beyond the Sea
" (based on Charles Trenet
's French language
song "La mer"), the trademark song for Bobby Darin
. Another French song for which Lawrence wrote an English lyric was "La Goualante de Pauvre Jean", becoming "The Poor People of Paris
".
Together with Richard Myers
he wrote "Hold My Hand
", which was featured in the film Susan Slept Here
and nominated for the 1954 Academy Award for Best Song.
Lawrence died on March 16, 2009 at age 96 after a fall
in his home in Redding, Connecticut
.
Jack Lawrence also wrote the lyrics to: " Sleepy Lagoon " a popular hit by the Platters. The music to " Sleepy Lagoon " was written by Eric Coates in 1940.
Songwriters Hall of Fame
The Songwriters Hall of Fame is an arm of the National Academy of Popular Music. It was founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer and music publishers Abe Olman and Howie Richmond. The goal is to create a museum but as of April, 2008, the means do not yet exist and so instead it is an online...
in 1975.
Biography
Jack Lawrence was born Jacob Louis Schwartz in BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York City to an Orthodox Jewish
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
family of modest means as the third of four sons. His parents Barney (Beryl) Schwartz and Fanny (Fruma) Goldman Schwartz were first cousins who had run away from their home in Belaya Tserkov (Bila Tserkva
Bila Tserkva
Bila Tserkva is a city located on the Ros' River in the Kiev Oblast in central Ukraine, approximately south of the capital, Kiev. Population 203,300 Area 34 km².-Administrative status:...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
) to come to America in 1904.
Lawrence wrote songs while still a child, but because of parental pressure after he graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School, he enrolled in the First Institute of Podiatry where he received a doctoral degree in 1932. The same year, his first song was published and he immediately decided to make a career of songwriting rather than podiatry. That song, "Play, Fiddle, Play", won international fame and he became a member of ASCAP that year at age 20.
In the early 1940s Lawrence and several fellow hit makers formed a sensational review called "Songwriters on Parade
Songwriters On Parade
Songwriters on Parade was a musical Vaudeville revue which featured hit songwriters of the day. It was considered one of the last Vaudevillian forays of this type...
", performing all across the Eastern seaboard on the Loew's and Keith circuits.
Lawrence joined the United States Maritime Service
United States Maritime Service
The United States Maritime Service, abbreviated as USMS, was established in 1938 under the provisions of the Merchant Marine Act of 1936. The mission of the organization is to train people to become officers and crewmembers on merchant ships that form the United States Merchant Marine...
during World War II and wrote the official song of the Maritime Service and Merchant Marine, "Heave Ho! My Lads, Heave Ho!" as a lieutenant in 1943, while bandleader at Sheepshead Bay Maritime Service Training Station
Sheepshead Bay Maritime Service Training Station
The United States Maritime Service Training Station at Sheepshead Bay was opened on September 1, 1942. It closed on February 28, 1954.The station was the largest maritime training station during World War II and was equipped to train 30,000 merchant seamen each year. The site is now occupied by...
in New York.
One of Jack Lawrence's first major songs after leaving the service was "Yes, My Darling Daughter
Yes, My Darling Daughter
Yes, My Darling Daughter is a 1941 song by Jack Lawrence first introduced by Dinah Shore on Eddie Cantor's radio program, as well as Shore's first record. The music used by Lawrence is based on a Ukrainian folk-song "Oj ne khody Hrytsju", often ascribed to the Ukrainian songstress Marusia Churai....
", introduced by Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore was an American singer, actress, and television personality...
on Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor was an American "illustrated song" performer, comedian, dancer, singer, actor and songwriter...
's radio program. The song was Shore's first record. His song, "If I Didn't Care
If I Didn't Care
"If I Didn't Care" is a song written by Jack Lawrence that was originally sung and recorded by The Ink Spots in 1939. According to Lawrence, he mailed the song before showing it to some of his friends. His friends' reaction to the song was almost universally negative, but he remained positive on it...
", introduced the world to The Ink Spots
The Ink Spots
The Ink Spots were a popular vocal group in the 1930s and 1940s that helped define the musical genre that led to rhythm and blues and rock and roll, and the subgenre doo-wop...
. And, although Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
was already a well-known big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
singer, Lawrence's "All or Nothing at All
All or Nothing at All
"All or Nothing at All" is a song composed in 1939 by Arthur Altman, with lyrics by Jack Lawrence.Frank Sinatra's 1939 recording of the song became a huge hit in 1943, when it was reissued by Columbia Records during the 1942-43 musicians' strike...
" was Sinatra's first solo hit.
In 1946, Lawrence published a song he had written during his tour of duty in World War II. It was released in February 1947 and eventually spent 2 weeks at #1. He wrote it for the then-five-year-old daughter of his attorney, Lee Eastman
Lee Eastman
Lee Eastman, born Leopold Vail Epstein, was a New York show business attorney, and art collector the son of Louis and Stella Epstein. His sisters were Emmaline and Rose...
: Linda Eastman
Linda McCartney
Linda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney was an American photographer, musician and animal rights activist. Her father and mother were Lee Eastman and Louise Sara Lindner Eastman....
, future first wife of Beatle
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
.
Lawrence also wrote the lyrics for "Tenderly
Tenderly
"Tenderly" is a popular song published in 1946 with music by Walter Gross and lyrics by Jack Lawrence.Copyright 1946 by Edwin H. Morris & Company, Inc....
", Rosemary Clooney
Rosemary Clooney
Rosemary Clooney was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the novelty hit "Come On-a My House" written by William Saroyan and his cousin Ross Bagdasarian , which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me" Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 –...
's trademark song (in collaboration with composer Walter Gross
Walter Gross (musician)
Walter Gross is best known for having composed the music for the popular 1946 song "Tenderly". In addition to composing dozens of other titles, he was also a pianist, arranger, orchestra leader, and record industry executive.-Biography:Born in New York City, Gross gave his first piano recital at...
, as well as the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
lyric to "Beyond the Sea
Beyond the Sea (song)
"Beyond the Sea" is a 1946 contemporary pop song with music taken from the song "La Mer" by Charles Trenet and lyrics by Jack Lawrence.Trenet had composed "La Mer" with French lyrics totally different and unrelated to the English language version that Lawrence composed...
" (based on Charles Trenet
Charles Trenet
Charles Trenet was a French singer and songwriter, most famous for his recordings from the late 1930s until the mid-1950s, though his career continued through the 1990s...
's French language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
song "La mer"), the trademark song for Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin , born Walden Robert Cassotto, was an American singer, actor and musician.Darin performed in a range of music genres, including pop, rock, jazz, folk and country...
. Another French song for which Lawrence wrote an English lyric was "La Goualante de Pauvre Jean", becoming "The Poor People of Paris
The Poor People of Paris
"The Poor People of Paris" is a popular song, with "Paris" being pronounced as "pa-REE".It was adapted by Jack Lawrence in 1954 from the French language song "La goualante du pauvre Jean"...
".
Together with Richard Myers
Richard Myers (songwriter)
Richard Myers was a songwriter.Together with Jack Lawrence he wrote "Hold My Hand," which was nominated for the 1954 Academy Award for Best Song....
he wrote "Hold My Hand
Hold My Hand (1953 song)
"Hold My Hand" is a popular song, written by Jack Lawrence and Richard Myers. It was written in 1950 but only published in 1953.The hit version in 1953 was a recording by Don Cornell. The song was featured in the film, Susan Slept Here, and was nominated for the 1954 Academy Award for Best Song...
", which was featured in the film Susan Slept Here
Susan Slept Here
Susan Slept Here is a 1954 romantic comedy film starring Dick Powell and Debbie Reynolds. It was based on the play of the same name by Steve Fisher and Alex Gottlieb...
and nominated for the 1954 Academy Award for Best Song.
Lawrence died on March 16, 2009 at age 96 after a fall
Falling (accident)
Falling is a major cause of personal injury, especially for the elderly. Builders, electricians, miners, and painters represent worker categories representing high rates of fall injuries. The WHO estimate that 392,000 people die in falls every year...
in his home in Redding, Connecticut
Redding, Connecticut
Mark Twain, a resident of the town in his old age, contributed the first books for a public library which was eventually named after him.-Government:...
.
Work on Broadway
- Follow Thru (1929) — musical; actor for the role of "Country Club Boy"
- Courtin' Time (1951) — musical; co-composer and co-lyricistLyricistA lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:...
with Don WalkerDon Walker (orchestrator)Don Walker was a prolific Broadway orchestrator, who also composed music for musicals and one film and worked as a conductor in television.-Biography:... - Ziegfeld FolliesZiegfeld FolliesThe Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air....
of 1957 (1957) — revueRevueA revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
; featured lyricist for "Bring on the Girls" and "Music for Madame" - Maybe Tuesday (1958) — play; co-producerTheatrical producerA theatrical producer is the person ultimately responsible for overseeing all aspects of mounting a theatre production. The independent producer will usually be the originator and finder of the script and starts the whole process...
- I Had a BallI Had a BallI Had a Ball is a musical with a book by Jerome Chodorov and music and lyrics by Jack Lawrence and Stan Freeman.Set on the Coney Island boardwalk, it focuses on matchmaking fortune teller Garside, who finds love with floozy Addie, and recent parolee Stan, who becomes involved with Ferris wheel...
(1964) — musical; co-composer and co-lyricist - Lena HorneLena HorneLena Mary Calhoun Horne was an American singer, actress, civil rights activist and dancer.Horne joined the chorus of the Cotton Club at the age of sixteen and became a nightclub performer before moving to Hollywood, where she had small parts in numerous movies, and more substantial parts in the...
: "The Lady and Her Music" (1981) — concert; co-producer - Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982) — play; co-producer
- The Golden Age (1984) — play; owner of the Jack Lawrence Theatre (formerly the Playhouse Theatre)
- Quilters (1984) — musical; owner of the Jack Lawrence Theatre
- So Long on Lonely Street (1986) — play; owner of the Jack Lawrence Theatre
Jack Lawrence also wrote the lyrics to: " Sleepy Lagoon " a popular hit by the Platters. The music to " Sleepy Lagoon " was written by Eric Coates in 1940.