elliot was born in gowanda, new york on 7 may 1914. he was educated at bennett high school in buffalo, new york and then worked as an entertainer in vaudeville, nightclubs, and on radio. in 1939, he also worked as a theatre reporter for the chicago edition of "variety". he began to write songs in 1940, moved to hollywood in 1943, and became a member of ascap in 1945. jack subsequently composed songs for over 40 western movies at republic studios alone, most notably for roy rogers and dale evans films.