Jack Lawrence was born in Brooklyn, New York on April 7, 1912. He received his degree from Long Island University before entering World War II as a CPS in the United States Coast Guard. During his service, Lawrence organized service bands entertaining and touring throughout the US bases in Europe.

Returning to the US, Lawrence began collaborating with lyricists and composers such as Louis Alter, Hoagy Carmichael, Clara Edwards, Stan Freeman and Walter Gross. He wrote one Broadway stage score, I Had a Ball, however he was primarily a popular standard writer.

Highlights from the Jack Lawrence catalog include “Heave Ho, My Lads, Heave Ho!” (the official USMS song), “Play, Fiddle, Play,” “What Will I Tell My Heart?,” “In an 18th Century Drawing Room,” “Huckleberry Duck,” “Sunrise Serenade,” “Sleepy Lagoon,” “Yes, My Darling Daughter,” “If I Didn’t Care,” “With the Wind and the Rain in Your Hair,” “All or Nothing at All,” “Johnson Rag,” “Symphony,” “Tenderly,” “The Poor People of Paris,” “Hold My Hand,” “Linda,” “Choo Choo Train,” “Delicado,” “My One and Only Love,” “A Handful of Stars,” “Beyond the Sea,” “Faith,” “The Fickle Finger of Fate” and “The Other Half of Me.”

All bios appear as they were submitted in the year of induction or award presentation.