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American songwriter best known for composing the enduring Christmas standard '(All I Want for Christmas Is) My Two Front Teeth'. Pat Ballard was an American lyricist and composer active during the Tin Pan Alley era. While he wrote numerous songs, his lasting fame rests almost entirely on the massive success of his novelty Christmas song '(All I Want for Christmas Is) My Two Front Teeth', written in 1944. The song became a huge hit after being recorded by Spike Jones and His City Slickers in 1948, cementing its place as a holiday staple.

• Ballard reportedly wrote '(All I Want for Christmas Is) My Two Front Teeth' in just about 15 minutes after being inspired by his young nephew's lisp due to missing front teeth.
• Despite its huge popularity later, the song was initially rejected by several publishers before being accepted. It gained little traction until Spike Jones's energetic and comedic recording turned it into a phenomenon.
• Ballard died relatively young at the age of 60, just over a decade after his most famous song achieved its peak popularity, though he lived long enough to see it become a major hit.