His role on Sesame Street became that of a jack of all trades — composer, musical director, arranger, and conductor. During his time as Sesame he earned three Daytime Emmys for music direction.
Lawrence composed many well known songs and scores including the iconic "Fuzzy and Blue (and Orange)," which he co-wrote with David Axelrod.
"We are saddened by the passing of our friend Stephen Lawrence, who composed more than 300 beloved songs and scores in over 30 years on Sesame Street, like the classic "Fuzzy and Blue." Thank you for bringing smiles, laughter, and the gift of music to our neighborhood," Sesame Street wrote on their official Twitter account:
We are saddened by the passing of our friend Stephen Lawrence, who composed more than 300 beloved songs and scores in over 30 years on Sesame Street, like the classic "Fuzzy and Blue." Thank you for bringing smiles, laughter, and the gift of music to our neighborhood. ♥️ pic.twitter.com/zIITs231EI
— Sesame Workshop (@SesameWorkshop) January 3, 2022
Lawrence also composed the score for The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss and worked as a musical director and co-producer with Bruce Hart on the popular 1972 children's album Free to Be... You and Me, composing the title song, "When We Grow Up," and "Sisters and Brothers."
He contributed to the Robert De Niro film Bang the Drum Slowly as well as four songs for the 1979 film Sooner or Later, for which he composed the hit single "You Take My Breath Away."
Lawrence founded Quill Entertainment Company alongside Graville Burgess, a nonprofit that creates musicals about American history for children in 1998, and served as music director at Temple Sinai in Stamford, Conn. since 2003.
Below is a small sample of Lawrence's work.
"Fuzzy and Blue":
The Wubbulous World of Dr Seuss Intro:
"If I Were":
"N-TV":
"If Moon Was Cookie":
"Heart of a Frog":
"We Are All Monsters" (original):
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