MUSIC DIRECTOR FOR LANDMARK ALBUM, ‘SESAME STREET’ COMPOSER

•1939-2021

Stephen Lawrence, who provided a soundtrack of sorts for countless childhoods as music director for the landmark “Free to Be ... You and Me” album and television special and as a longtime composer for “Sesame Street,” died Dec. 30 at a medical center in Belleville, N.J. He was 82.

His wife, Cathy (Merritt) Lawrence, said the cause was multiple organ failure.

Lawrence had a gift for catchy tunes and song constructions that would appeal to young minds.

“One of the most effective devices, and for children one of the most important, is repetition,” he wrote in “How to Compose Music for Children,” an essay on his blog. “Did you write a first line you like? Why not repeat it?”

The essay went on to show how composers from

will grow 3.05 percent each year, while 22 pension systems across the state use a 2.75 percent rate. Seven systems use 2.5 percent as their rate, and three systems use 2.25 percent.

And on arguably the most important metric, the system’s “assumed real rate of return,” San Diego uses the most conservative figure in California, 3.45 percent. Only three systems come close by using 4 percent.

Most systems in the state — 20 systems — use 4.25 percent. Seven other systems use 4.5 percent, one uses 4.65 percent and one uses 4.9 percent.

Unlike the city’s 6.5 percent projected rate of longterm investment growth, the assumed real rate of return accounts for inflation and other factors.

But despite all those conservative assumptions, the city’s funded ratio compared to other pension systems in California is only in the middle of the pack. In fact, 18 of the other 32 large pension systems in the state

Beethoven to John Lennon had done just that, and Lawrence employed the device often on “Sesame Street” classics such as “Fuzzy and Blue (and Orange),” a jaunty 1981 number with lyrics by David Axelrod.

One of Lawrence’s most captivating tunes was also one of his first for the children’s market: the title track of “Free to Be ... You and Me,” the star-studded 1972 album and book conceived by

have better funded ratios.

Kalwarski said San Diego might move up next year in this area because the strong stock market has boosted the city’s ratio, but he said other pension systems have likely benefited similarly from the strong market.

Those investment gains, announced by Kalwarski

Marlo Thomas. The record, full of songs and stories celebrating tolerance and challenging gender stereotypes, became an enduring hit and was recently selected for inclusion in the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry of culturally significant works.

Lawrence, working with lyricist Bruce Hart, was given the task of coming up with the opening number. A memorable folk melody recorded

last week, shrank San Diego’s annual pension payment by nearly $31 million and reduced the city’s pension debt below $3 billion. The smaller payment gives Mayor Todd Gloria more money to spend on other priorities.

The lower annual payment and reduction in pension debt reverse trends by the New Seekers, it begins with a banjo, an instrument not often heard in the pop and rock music of that time.

Thomas had recruited a formidable roster of stars to perform on the record. In addition to writing the music for several songs, Lawrence, as the project’s music director, had the task of overseeing recording sessions. That meant working with a quirky array of performers, some of them

that have seen both numbers steadily rising in recent years.

The city’s annual payment spiked nearly $50 million last January, from $365.6 million to $414.9 million. Kalwarski had projected the payment to climb again this year to $423.1 million, but it shrank instead to $384.3 million. professional singers and some of them, like Mel Brooks and football player Rosey Grier, not.

The album was a runaway bestseller, and Lawrence went on to compose more than 300 songs for “Sesame Street.” Beginning in 1989, he was nominated repeatedly, along with the show’s other composers and lyricists, for Daytime Emmy Awards for music direction and composition. He won three times.

Last year, the S&P 500 gained 26.9 percent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 18.7 percent and the Nasdaq composite gained 21.4 percent. The pension system’s investments have fared similarly, gaining 23.6 percent between July 2020 and June 2021.

david.garrick@sduniontribune.com