Jack Lawrence: Biography

• Overview
• Discography
• Biography
• Related Artists

• Jerome Kern
• Cole Porter

• The Greenhornes
• Walter Gross
• The Raconteurs

• The Greenhornes
• Blanche
• The Dead Weather
• The Raconteurs

• Doc Watson
• Stan Freeman
• T. Michael Coleman
• Hoagy Carmichael

Born:

Jan 1, 1912 in Brooklyn, NY

Died:

Mar 15, 2009 in Danbury, CT

Genres:

Classical Music, Music, Standards & Vocal Music, Classical Music

Decades Active:

1940's

Jack Lawrence contributed lyrics (and occasionally music) to several of the most sensitive ballad standards of the 1940s, including "If I Didn't Care," "Tenderly," "All or Nothing at All," and "Beyond the Sea." Born in Brooklyn in 1912, he gained his first success at the age of 20 with "Play, Fiddle, Play." Though few hits were forthcoming, he continued composing and moved to Hollywood in the late '30s to work on Westerns and musicals for Republic Pictures. After the Ink Spots took his "If I Didn't Care" to the hit parade, he assumed far greater leverage with his career. By 1943, "All or Nothing at All" became his second smash hit (though he'd composed it more than three years earlier) when the Harry James Orchestra with Frank Sinatra took it to the top of the charts. That same year, Lawrence wrote another standard, "Tenderly," though it didn't become popular until the mid'50s. Lawrence, also known for his strong vocal talent, performed on many radio shows.

- John Bush, All Music Guide