Jack Yellen, born Jacek Selig Jeleń on July 6, 1892, in Raczki, Congress Poland, was a renowned American lyricist and screenwriter. He emigrated to the United States at the age of five and grew up in Buffalo, New York. Yellen began his songwriting career in high school and later graduated with honors from the University of Michigan in 1913. Initially working as a reporter for the Buffalo Courier, he pursued songwriting on the side, eventually dedicating himself entirely to music.

Yellen's early collaborations with George L. Cobb produced several popular Dixie songs, but he is best known for his work with composer Milton Ager. Together, they co-founded the Ager-Yellen-Bornstein Music Company. Yellen also worked with other notable composers like Sammy Fain and Harold Arlen. Among his most famous songs are "Happy Days Are Here Again," used by Franklin Roosevelt's 1932 presidential campaign, and "Ain't She Sweet," a Tin Pan Alley classic. His collaboration with vaudeville star Sophie Tucker resulted in the song "My Yiddishe Momme," which became one of Tucker's signature pieces.

Yellen wrote lyrics for over 200 songs and contributed to several film scores, including "George White's Scandals" (1934) and "Pigskin Parade" (1936). He was an early member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and served on its board from 1951 to 1969. In recognition of his contributions, Yellen was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972 and the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame in 1996.

In his personal life, Yellen married Sylvia Stiller in 1922, with whom he had two children. After Sylvia's passing, he married Lucille Hodgeman, a dancer and choreographer, in 1944. Jack Yellen spent many years living on a farm in Concord, New York, where he passed away on April 17, 1991, at the age of 98.