Will Jennings
Encyclopedia
Wilbur H. "Will" Jennings (born June 27, 1944, in Kilgore, Texas
) is an American
songwriter
who is popularly known for writing the lyrics for "My Heart Will Go On
", the theme for the film Titanic
(1997).
, in the nearby Chapel Hill Independent School District
. He attended Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas
. In 1967, Jennings earned his B.A. from Stephen F. Austin State University
, located in Nacogdoches, Texas. He later taught at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire.
During his teaching career in Eau Claire, Will wrote a song called "Clouds" for a local performer named Curt Johnson. Curt performed as the CJ Duo and went on to record "Clouds" on an album.
The album was recorded in Nashville, and was titled "My Lady's Eyes," the title cut.
and Academy Award-winning songwriter Will Jennings has written for a wide variety of recording artists. From English rock
stars Steve Winwood
and Eric Clapton
to blues
legend B. B. King
and jazz
legend Joe Sample
, from beach troubadour
Jimmy Buffett
to American rock icon Roy Orbison
, Jennings has written with and for many of the major stars on the world music scene.
With Steve Winwood, Jennings wrote a series of hits and five albums, beginning with "While You See A Chance
" and songs on the Arc of a Diver
album and continuing through the Back in the High Life
album which contained the hits "Higher Love
," "The Finer Things
," and "Back in the High Life Again
." Winwood won Grammies for Record Of The Year
and Outstanding Male Vocal Performance and Jennings and Winwood were nominated for a Grammy for Song of the Year
for "Higher Love."
With Joe Sample, Jennings wrote "Street Life" (a world-wide hit for the Crusaders
with singer Randy Crawford
) and several songs for various albums by the Crusaders for guest vocalists, including Joe Cocker
("I'm So Glad I'm Standing Here Today"), Bill Withers
("Soul Shadows"), and Nancy Wilson
("The Way It Goes
"). Jennings and Sample also wrote the better part of three albums for B. B. King, Midnight Believer
in 1978, Take It Home
in 1979, and There is Always One More Time
in 1991.
Richard Kerr and Jennings wrote three modern classics, "Somewhere in the Night
" and "Looks Like We Made It
" for Barry Manilow
and "I'll Never Love This Way Again
" for Dionne Warwick
.
Jennings has collaborated on many songs for films, the most notable songs being "Up Where We Belong
," with Jack Nitzche and Buffy St.-Marie for An Officer and a Gentleman
, which won the Academy Award in America and the BAFTA (British Academy Award) in England for the songwriters and was a number one hit for Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes
, and, in 1997, the world-wide number one Céline Dion
hit “My Heart Will Go On
” for Titanic, for which Jennings and his collaborator James Horner
won the Golden Globe Award
and the Academy Award for Best Song from a Motion Picture.
Among his other collaborations were two albums written with Jimmy Buffett and Michael Utley
for Jimmy Buffett, Riddles in the Sand
and The Last Mango in Paris, and the Roy Orbison King Of Hearts album, containing several songs written with Orbison.
In Nashville, Jennings wrote hits with Rodney Crowell
, including "Many a Long and Lonesome Highway
," "What Kind of Love
," which is a tune Jennings had started with Orbison and finished with Crowell and “Please Remember Me
,” which was a number one country and top five pop hit for Tim McGraw
in 1999.
Jennings also wrote "Tears in Heaven
" with Eric Clapton, which won a Grammy in 1993 for Song of the Year and also won the Ivor Novello award (the British Grammy) for best song from a film.
Teaming again with James Horner and this time with popular singer Mariah Carey
, Jennings wrote the lyrics for the central song in “How The Grinch Stole Christmas”, “Where Are You Christmas?”, sung by a character within the film and by Faith Hill
at the end of the film. And in the fall of 2002, Horner and Jennings contributed a song for the Oscar-winning film A Beautiful Mind
.
In the fall of 2002, Peter Wolf
’s new album, Sleepless
, appeared to glowing reviews. The album features six new songs written by Jennings and Wolf, who collaborated previously on the critically acclaimed Fool’s Parade album which came out in 1999 on Mercury Records
.
Jennings and Joe Sample, keyboard player for the Crusaders and now a successful solo artist, go back to 1978 and began by writing the Midnight Believer
album for B. B. King and then wrote the hit “Street Life” for the Crusaders album of the same name, the song sung on the album by Randy Crawford. A hit Jennings and Sample wrote twenty years ago, “One Day I’ll Fly Away,” originally sung by Crawford, was featured in the film Moulin Rouge!
, along with another of Jennings’s songs, “Up Where We Belong
.” In the film “One Day I’ll Fly Away” is sung by Nicole Kidman
and in late March 2002 was released as a single in England from the second soundtrack album to emerge from Moulin Rouge.
After writing two songs for Peter Wolf’s 1996 Long Line
album, Wolf and Jennings continued their collaborations and 2003 saw the Peter Wolf “Sleepless
” album, which includes several songs written by Jennings and Wolf, in the Rolling Stone Magazine list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The pair continued with songs for the much praised 2010 album Midnight Souvenirs
.
Also in 2010 Jennings collaborated with Emmylou Harris
on songs for her forthcoming album.
, B. B. King
, Mariah Carey
, Peter Wolf
, Randy Crawford
, Barry Manilow
, Jimmy Buffett
, Rodney Crowell
, Roy Orbison
, Joe Cocker
, Eric Clapton
, Frankie Miller
, Whitney Houston
, Tim McGraw
, Linda Ronstadt
, Gregg Allman
, Aaron Neville
, Céline Dion
, and Diana Ross
.
Jennings cowrote a majority of the songs on two Jimmy Buffett
albums, Riddles in the Sand
(1984), and Last Mango in Paris
(1985). This era of Buffett's career was an experimental period, venturing into uncharted waters for him. Riddles was described as a country album, and some songs from Paris
can be considered as 1980s pop (songs such as "Everybody's On the Run"). The albums were moderately successful, and the single "If the Phone Doesn't Ring, It's Me" hit the top 20 on the country charts.
Jennings wrote the lyrics for Udo Jürgens
' composition "Leave a Little Love", which was successful at the Yamaha World Popular Song Festival 1981 in Tokyo
, Japan
. Jürgens received the Most Outstanding award for performance, and the Most Outstanding award for composition.
Kilgore, Texas
Kilgore is a city in Gregg and Rusk Counties in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the home of Kilgore College, and was also the childhood home of famous classical pianist Van Cliburn...
) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
who is popularly known for writing the lyrics for "My Heart Will Go On
My Heart Will Go On
"My Heart Will Go On" is the theme song/love theme of the 1997 blockbuster film Titanic. With music by James Horner, lyrics by Will Jennings, and production by Simon Franglen, James Horner and Walter Afanasieff ,, it was recorded by Céline Dion...
", the theme for the film Titanic
Titanic (1997 film)
Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Billy Zane as Rose's fiancé, Cal...
(1997).
Life and education
He attended school just outside Tyler, TexasTyler, Texas
Tyler is a city in and the county seat of Smith County, Texas, in the United States. It takes its name from President John Tyler . The city had a population of 109,000 in 2010, according to the United States Census Bureau...
, in the nearby Chapel Hill Independent School District
Chapel Hill Independent School District (Smith County, Texas)
Chapel Hill Independent School District is a public school district based in Tyler, Texas .The district is located in east central Smith County and covers the city of New Chapel Hill, the community of Jackson, and a small portion of Tyler....
. He attended Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas
Tyler, Texas
Tyler is a city in and the county seat of Smith County, Texas, in the United States. It takes its name from President John Tyler . The city had a population of 109,000 in 2010, according to the United States Census Bureau...
. In 1967, Jennings earned his B.A. from Stephen F. Austin State University
Stephen F. Austin State University
Stephen F. Austin State University is a public university located in Nacogdoches, Texas, United States. Founded as a teachers' college in 1923, the university was named after one of Texas' founding fathers, Stephen F. Austin. Its campus resides on part of the homestead of another Texas founding...
, located in Nacogdoches, Texas. He later taught at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire.
During his teaching career in Eau Claire, Will wrote a song called "Clouds" for a local performer named Curt Johnson. Curt performed as the CJ Duo and went on to record "Clouds" on an album.
The album was recorded in Nashville, and was titled "My Lady's Eyes," the title cut.
Career
GrammyGrammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
and Academy Award-winning songwriter Will Jennings has written for a wide variety of recording artists. From English rock
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
stars Steve Winwood
Steve Winwood
Stephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
and Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
to blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
legend B. B. King
B. B. King
Riley B. King , known by the stage name B.B. King, is an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter.Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at No.3 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. According to Edward M...
and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
legend Joe Sample
Joe Sample
Joseph Leslie "Joe" Sample is an American pianist, keyboard player and composer.He is one of the founding members of the Jazz Crusaders, the band which became simply The Crusaders in 1971, and remained a part of the group until its final album in 1991 .- Biography :Sample began playing the piano...
, from beach troubadour
Troubadour
A troubadour was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages . Since the word "troubadour" is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a trobairitz....
Jimmy Buffett
Jimmy Buffett
James William "Jimmy" Buffett is a singer-songwriter, author, entrepreneur, and film producer. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffett's musical hits include "Margaritaville" , and "Come Monday"...
to American rock icon Roy Orbison
Roy Orbison
Roy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis...
, Jennings has written with and for many of the major stars on the world music scene.
With Steve Winwood, Jennings wrote a series of hits and five albums, beginning with "While You See A Chance
While You See a Chance
"While You See a Chance" is a song performed by Steve Winwood in 1980, who also wrote it alongside Will Jennings. It was released on his album Arc of a Diver and peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1981, and also reached #68 on the Billboard Top 100 for the year 1981, however it only...
" and songs on the Arc of a Diver
Arc of a Diver
Arc of a Diver is the second solo album by blue-eyed soulster Steve Winwood. The album was performed entirely by Winwood.Featuring Winwood's first solo hit, "While You See a Chance" , this was Winwood's true breakthrough album as a solo artist...
album and continuing through the Back in the High Life
Back in the High Life
Back in the High Life is the fourth solo album by English rock musician Steve Winwood. It was a top ten hit on the album charts in the United States, hitting #3, and has sold over five million copies...
album which contained the hits "Higher Love
Higher Love
"Higher Love" is a 1986 number-one hit song by Steve Winwood. It was the first single released from his fourth solo LP, Back in the High Life. It was written by Winwood and Will Jennings, and produced by Russ Titelman and Winwood...
," "The Finer Things
The Finer Things
The Finer Things is a compilation album of recordings by Steve Winwood. It includes songs from his early days with The Spencer Davis Group through Traffic and Blind Faith and into his work during his solo career.-Disc 1:# Dimples - Spencer Davis Group...
," and "Back in the High Life Again
Back in the High Life Again
"Back in the High Life Again" is a 1987 single written by Steve Winwood and Will Jennings and performed by Winwood. The single was included in his album "Back in the High Life" and included backing vocals by James Taylor. "Back in the High Life Again" was Winwood's second number one on the Adult...
." Winwood won Grammies for Record Of The Year
Grammy Award for Record of the Year
The Record of the Year is one of the four most prestigious Grammy Awards presented annually. It has been awarded since 1959.-History:The honorees through its history have been:*1959-1965: Artist only.*1966-1998: Artist and producer....
and Outstanding Male Vocal Performance and Jennings and Winwood were nominated for a Grammy for Song of the Year
Grammy Award for Song of the Year
The Song of the Year is one of the four most prestigious awards in the Grammy Awards ceremony, if not in all of the American music industry. It has been awarded since 1959 and unlike the Record of the Year award, which goes to the performer and production team of a single song, Song of the Year...
for "Higher Love."
With Joe Sample, Jennings wrote "Street Life" (a world-wide hit for the Crusaders
Crusaders
The Crusaders are a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Christchurch that competes in the Super Rugby competition. They are the most successful team in Super Rugby history with seven titles...
with singer Randy Crawford
Randy Crawford
Randy Crawford is an American jazz and R&B singer. She has been more successful in Europe than in the United States, where she has not entered the Billboard Hot 100 as a solo artist...
) and several songs for various albums by the Crusaders for guest vocalists, including Joe Cocker
Joe Cocker
John Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...
("I'm So Glad I'm Standing Here Today"), Bill Withers
Bill Withers
William Harrison "Bill" Withers, Jr. is an American singer-songwriter and musician who performed and recorded from 1970 until 1985. Some of his best-known songs are "Lean on Me", "Ain't No Sunshine", "Use Me", "Just the Two of Us", "Lovely Day", and "Grandma's Hands"...
("Soul Shadows"), and Nancy Wilson
Nancy Wilson
Nancy Wilson may refer to:* Nancy Wilson , American jazz singer and actress* Nancy Wilson , American singer and guitar player, member of the band Heart...
("The Way It Goes
The Way It Goes
The Way It Goes is an EP by American country music group Gloriana. It was released digitally on May 19, 2009. The EP includes the group's debut single, "Wild at Heart", and three other songs which are also on the band's debut full-length album....
"). Jennings and Sample also wrote the better part of three albums for B. B. King, Midnight Believer
Midnight Believer
Midnight Believer is a 1978 blues album by B. B. King and The Crusaders.-Track listing:All tracks by Will Jennings and Joe Sample, except where noted.#"When It All Comes Down " -- 4:11#"Midnight Believer" -- 4:59...
in 1978, Take It Home
Take It Home
Take It Home is an album by B.B. King, released in 1979.-Tracklist:#"Better Not Look Down" – 3:22#"Same Old Story " – 4:32#"Happy Birthday Blues" – 3:15...
in 1979, and There is Always One More Time
There is Always One More Time
There is Always One More Time is a 1991 album by B.B. King.- Track listings :# "I'm Moving On" — 4:15# "Back In L.A." — 5:00# "The Blues Come Over Me" — 5:13# "Fool Me Once" — 4:18# "The Lowdown" — 4:11# "Mean And Evil" — 4:20...
in 1991.
Richard Kerr and Jennings wrote three modern classics, "Somewhere in the Night
Somewhere in the Night (song)
"Somewhere in the Night" is a popular ballad written by Richard Kerr and Will Jennings. Introduced in 1975 on Kim Carnes' eponymous album and covered on the Yvonne Elliman album Rising Sun, "Somewhere in the Night" charted for Batdorf & Rodney at #69 in the autumn of 1975 before being issued as...
" and "Looks Like We Made It
Looks Like We Made It
"Looks Like We Made It" is a song by American singer Barry Manilow, from his 1976 album, This One's For You, composed by Richard Kerr with lyrics by Will Jennings...
" for Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow is an American singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, producer, conductor, and performer, best known for such recordings as "Could It Be Magic", "Mandy", "Can't Smile Without You", and "Copacabana ."...
and "I'll Never Love This Way Again
I'll Never Love This Way Again
"I'll Never Love This Way Again" is a 1979 hit recorded by American soul singer Dionne Warwick. The song was composed by Richard Kerr and Will Jennings and produced by Arista labelmate Barry Manilow....
" for Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....
.
Jennings has collaborated on many songs for films, the most notable songs being "Up Where We Belong
Up Where We Belong
"Up Where We Belong" is a song from the 1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman. Written by Jack Nitzsche and Buffy Sainte-Marie, with lyrics by Will Jennings, it was performed by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes.-Charts and awards:...
," with Jack Nitzche and Buffy St.-Marie for An Officer and a Gentleman
An Officer and a Gentleman
A Officer and a Gentleman is a 1982 American drama film that tells the story of a U.S. Navy aviation officer candidate who comes into conflict with the Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant who trains him. It was written by Douglas Day Stewart and directed by Taylor Hackford...
, which won the Academy Award in America and the BAFTA (British Academy Award) in England for the songwriters and was a number one hit for Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes
Jennifer Warnes
Jennifer Jean Warnes is an American singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer. She is known for her interpretations of compositions written by herself and many others, as well as an extensive playlist as a vocalist on movie soundtracks.Between 1979 and 1987 Warnes surpassed Frank Sinatra as...
, and, in 1997, the world-wide number one Céline Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
hit “My Heart Will Go On
My Heart Will Go On
"My Heart Will Go On" is the theme song/love theme of the 1997 blockbuster film Titanic. With music by James Horner, lyrics by Will Jennings, and production by Simon Franglen, James Horner and Walter Afanasieff ,, it was recorded by Céline Dion...
” for Titanic, for which Jennings and his collaborator James Horner
James Horner
James Roy Horner is an American composer, orchestrator and conductor of orchestral and film music. He is noted for the integration of choral and electronic elements in many of his film scores, and for frequent use of Celtic musical elements...
won the Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
and the Academy Award for Best Song from a Motion Picture.
Among his other collaborations were two albums written with Jimmy Buffett and Michael Utley
Michael Utley
Michael Utley, often credited as Mike Utley, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer for Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band. He is the musical director of the band...
for Jimmy Buffett, Riddles in the Sand
Riddles in the Sand
Riddles in the Sand is the 14th studio album by American popular music singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. It was released in September 1984 as MCA 5512 and was produced by noted country music producer Jimmy Bowen and represented a concerted shift toward a more country sound by Buffett...
and The Last Mango in Paris, and the Roy Orbison King Of Hearts album, containing several songs written with Orbison.
In Nashville, Jennings wrote hits with Rodney Crowell
Rodney Crowell
Rodney Crowell is a Grammy Award-winning musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music....
, including "Many a Long and Lonesome Highway
Many a Long and Lonesome Highway
"Many a Long and Lonesome Highway" is a single by American country music artist Rodney Crowell. Released in September 1989, it was the first single from Crowell's album Keys to the Highway. The song reached #3 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in January 1990 and #1 on the RPM...
," "What Kind of Love
What Kind of Love
"What Kind of Love" is the title of a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Rodney Crowell. It was released in June 1992 as the second single from the album Life Is Messy. The song reached number 11 on the U.S...
," which is a tune Jennings had started with Orbison and finished with Crowell and “Please Remember Me
Please Remember Me
"Please Remember Me" is the title of a song co-written by American country music artist Rodney Crowell and Will Jennings. Originally recorded by Crowell on his 1995 album Jewel of the South, his version was released as a single that year. Crowell's version of the song peaked at #69 on the Billboard...
,” which was a number one country and top five pop hit for Tim McGraw
Tim McGraw
Samuel Timothy "Tim" McGraw is an American country singer and actor. Many of McGraw's albums and singles have topped the country music charts with total album sales in excess of 40 million units in the US, making him the eighth best-selling artist, and the third best-selling country singer, in the...
in 1999.
Jennings also wrote "Tears in Heaven
Tears in Heaven
"Tears in Heaven" is a ballad written by Eric Clapton and Will Jennings about the pain and loss Clapton felt following the death of his four-year-old son, Conor. Conor fell from a window of the 53rd-floor New York apartment of his mother's friend on March 20, 1991. Clapton, who arrived at the...
" with Eric Clapton, which won a Grammy in 1993 for Song of the Year and also won the Ivor Novello award (the British Grammy) for best song from a film.
Teaming again with James Horner and this time with popular singer Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
, Jennings wrote the lyrics for the central song in “How The Grinch Stole Christmas”, “Where Are You Christmas?”, sung by a character within the film and by Faith Hill
Faith Hill
Faith Hill is an American country singer. She is known both for her commercial success and her marriage to fellow country star Tim McGraw. Hill has sold more than 40 million records worldwide and accumulated eight number-one singles and three number-one albums on the U.S...
at the end of the film. And in the fall of 2002, Horner and Jennings contributed a song for the Oscar-winning film A Beautiful Mind
A Beautiful Mind (film)
A Beautiful Mind is a 2001 American drama film based on the life of John Nash, a Nobel Laureate in Economics. The film was directed by Ron Howard and written by Akiva Goldsman. It was inspired by a bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-nominated 1998 book of the same name by Sylvia Nasar...
.
In the fall of 2002, Peter Wolf
Peter Wolf
Peter Wolf is an American Rhythm and Blues, Soul and Rock and Roll musician, best known as the lead vocalist for the J. Geils Band from 1967 to 1983; and for a successful musical solo career to date with writing partner Will Jennings.- Life and career :Wolf was born in the Bronx, New York...
’s new album, Sleepless
Sleepless (Peter Wolf album)
Sleepless is the sixth solo album by Peter Wolf, released in 2002. The album ranked 432 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.-Track listing:#"Growin' Pain" - 3:12...
, appeared to glowing reviews. The album features six new songs written by Jennings and Wolf, who collaborated previously on the critically acclaimed Fool’s Parade album which came out in 1999 on Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
.
Jennings and Joe Sample, keyboard player for the Crusaders and now a successful solo artist, go back to 1978 and began by writing the Midnight Believer
Midnight Believer
Midnight Believer is a 1978 blues album by B. B. King and The Crusaders.-Track listing:All tracks by Will Jennings and Joe Sample, except where noted.#"When It All Comes Down " -- 4:11#"Midnight Believer" -- 4:59...
album for B. B. King and then wrote the hit “Street Life” for the Crusaders album of the same name, the song sung on the album by Randy Crawford. A hit Jennings and Sample wrote twenty years ago, “One Day I’ll Fly Away,” originally sung by Crawford, was featured in the film Moulin Rouge!
Moulin Rouge!
Moulin Rouge! is a 2001 romantic jukebox musical film directed, produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. Following the Red Curtain Cinema principles, the film is based on the Orphean myth, La Traviata, and La Bohème...
, along with another of Jennings’s songs, “Up Where We Belong
Up Where We Belong
"Up Where We Belong" is a song from the 1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman. Written by Jack Nitzsche and Buffy Sainte-Marie, with lyrics by Will Jennings, it was performed by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes.-Charts and awards:...
.” In the film “One Day I’ll Fly Away” is sung by Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Mary Kidman, AC is an American-born Australian actress, singer, film producer, spokesmodel, and humanitarian. After starring in a number of small Australian films and TV shows, Kidman's breakthrough was in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm...
and in late March 2002 was released as a single in England from the second soundtrack album to emerge from Moulin Rouge.
After writing two songs for Peter Wolf’s 1996 Long Line
Long Line
Long Line is the fourth solo album by Peter Wolf, released in 1996 .-Track listing:#"Long Line" - 3:33#"Romeo Is Dead" - 3:24#"Rosie" - 4:26...
album, Wolf and Jennings continued their collaborations and 2003 saw the Peter Wolf “Sleepless
Sleepless (Peter Wolf album)
Sleepless is the sixth solo album by Peter Wolf, released in 2002. The album ranked 432 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.-Track listing:#"Growin' Pain" - 3:12...
” album, which includes several songs written by Jennings and Wolf, in the Rolling Stone Magazine list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The pair continued with songs for the much praised 2010 album Midnight Souvenirs
Midnight Souvenirs
Midnight Souvenirs is the seventh solo album by Peter Wolf. It won the award for Album of the Year at the 2010 Boston Music Awards, was #27 on Rolling Stones list of the 30 Best Albums of 2010, and peaked at #45 on the Billboard 200....
.
Also in 2010 Jennings collaborated with Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
on songs for her forthcoming album.
Albums
- With Steve WinwoodSteve WinwoodStephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
: Arc of a DiverArc of a DiverArc of a Diver is the second solo album by blue-eyed soulster Steve Winwood. The album was performed entirely by Winwood.Featuring Winwood's first solo hit, "While You See a Chance" , this was Winwood's true breakthrough album as a solo artist...
, Talking Back to the NightTalking Back to the NightTalking Back to the Night is the third solo album by blue-eyed soul musician Steve Winwood. Released less than two years after the top 3 hit Arc of a Diver, it failed to see as much success as its predecessor. "Valerie" was a minor hit in 1982, but when it was remixed and re-released in 1987 for...
, Back in the High LifeBack in the High LifeBack in the High Life is the fourth solo album by English rock musician Steve Winwood. It was a top ten hit on the album charts in the United States, hitting #3, and has sold over five million copies...
, Roll With It, Chronicles, Refugees Of The Heart - With Joe SampleJoe SampleJoseph Leslie "Joe" Sample is an American pianist, keyboard player and composer.He is one of the founding members of the Jazz Crusaders, the band which became simply The Crusaders in 1971, and remained a part of the group until its final album in 1991 .- Biography :Sample began playing the piano...
, for B.B. King: Midnight BelieverMidnight BelieverMidnight Believer is a 1978 blues album by B. B. King and The Crusaders.-Track listing:All tracks by Will Jennings and Joe Sample, except where noted.#"When It All Comes Down " -- 4:11#"Midnight Believer" -- 4:59...
, Take It HomeTake It HomeTake It Home is an album by B.B. King, released in 1979.-Tracklist:#"Better Not Look Down" – 3:22#"Same Old Story " – 4:32#"Happy Birthday Blues" – 3:15...
, There is Always One More TimeThere is Always One More TimeThere is Always One More Time is a 1991 album by B.B. King.- Track listings :# "I'm Moving On" — 4:15# "Back In L.A." — 5:00# "The Blues Come Over Me" — 5:13# "Fool Me Once" — 4:18# "The Lowdown" — 4:11# "Mean And Evil" — 4:20...
- With Joe Sample, for various artists: The Crusaders Vocal Album
- With Joe Sample, for Randy CrawfordRandy CrawfordRandy Crawford is an American jazz and R&B singer. She has been more successful in Europe than in the United States, where she has not entered the Billboard Hot 100 as a solo artist...
: Now We May Begin - With Jimmy BuffettJimmy BuffettJames William "Jimmy" Buffett is a singer-songwriter, author, entrepreneur, and film producer. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffett's musical hits include "Margaritaville" , and "Come Monday"...
: Riddles in the SandRiddles in the SandRiddles in the Sand is the 14th studio album by American popular music singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. It was released in September 1984 as MCA 5512 and was produced by noted country music producer Jimmy Bowen and represented a concerted shift toward a more country sound by Buffett...
, The Last Mango In Paris - With Timothy B. SchmitTimothy B. SchmitTimothy Bruce Schmit is an American musician and songwriter, best known for his work as bass guitar player and singer for Poco and the Eagles. Schmit has also worked for decades as a session musician and solo artist.-Early career:Raised in Sacramento, Schmit began playing in the folk music group...
and Bruce GaitschBruce GaitschBruce R. Gaitsch is an American guitarist, composer, and producer. He is best known for working with notable musicians such as Richard Marx, Chicago, Peter Cetera, Madonna, Agnetha Fältskog and many others as a session musician and songwriter...
: Timothy B. - With Richard KerrRichard Kerr (songwriter)Richard Kerr is an English composer, who co-wrote "Mandy", "Looks Like We Made It" and "Somewhere in the Night" - all of which became hit singles for Barry Manilow.-Career:...
: Welcome To The Club - With Roy OrbisonRoy OrbisonRoy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis...
: King Of Hearts - With Peter WolfPeter WolfPeter Wolf is an American Rhythm and Blues, Soul and Rock and Roll musician, best known as the lead vocalist for the J. Geils Band from 1967 to 1983; and for a successful musical solo career to date with writing partner Will Jennings.- Life and career :Wolf was born in the Bronx, New York...
: Fool’s Parade, Sleepless, and Midnight Souvenirs
Hits
- Steve WinwoodSteve WinwoodStephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
:- While You See A ChanceWhile You See a Chance"While You See a Chance" is a song performed by Steve Winwood in 1980, who also wrote it alongside Will Jennings. It was released on his album Arc of a Diver and peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1981, and also reached #68 on the Billboard Top 100 for the year 1981, however it only...
- Still In The GameStill in the GameStill in the Game is Keith Sweat's sixth album. "Come and Get with Me" peaked at #12 in the U.S.. "I'm Not Ready", released a year later, peaked at #16.-Track listing:#"Come and Get With Me" – 4:57#* featuring Snoop Dogg#"Rumors" – 3:44...
- Higher LoveHigher Love"Higher Love" is a 1986 number-one hit song by Steve Winwood. It was the first single released from his fourth solo LP, Back in the High Life. It was written by Winwood and Will Jennings, and produced by Russ Titelman and Winwood...
(#1, nominated for Grammy Award for Song of the YearGrammy Award for Song of the YearThe Song of the Year is one of the four most prestigious awards in the Grammy Awards ceremony, if not in all of the American music industry. It has been awarded since 1959 and unlike the Record of the Year award, which goes to the performer and production team of a single song, Song of the Year...
1987) - Back in the High Life AgainBack in the High Life Again"Back in the High Life Again" is a 1987 single written by Steve Winwood and Will Jennings and performed by Winwood. The single was included in his album "Back in the High Life" and included backing vocals by James Taylor. "Back in the High Life Again" was Winwood's second number one on the Adult...
- The Finer ThingsThe Finer ThingsThe Finer Things is a compilation album of recordings by Steve Winwood. It includes songs from his early days with The Spencer Davis Group through Traffic and Blind Faith and into his work during his solo career.-Disc 1:# Dimples - Spencer Davis Group...
- Valerie
- Roll With ItRoll with It (Steve Winwood song)"Roll with It" is a song recorded by Steve Winwood for his album, Roll with It, released on Virgin Records. It was written by Winwood and songwriter Will Jennings....
- Don't You Know What the Night Can Do
- While You See A Chance
- Eric ClaptonEric ClaptonEric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
:- Tears In HeavenTears in Heaven"Tears in Heaven" is a ballad written by Eric Clapton and Will Jennings about the pain and loss Clapton felt following the death of his four-year-old son, Conor. Conor fell from a window of the 53rd-floor New York apartment of his mother's friend on March 20, 1991. Clapton, who arrived at the...
(#1, nominated for a Golden Globe award, 1993 Grammy for Song Of The Year, 1993 Ivor Novello award from British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors)
- Tears In Heaven
- Dionne WarwickDionne WarwickDionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....
:- I'll Never Love This Way AgainI'll Never Love This Way Again"I'll Never Love This Way Again" is a 1979 hit recorded by American soul singer Dionne Warwick. The song was composed by Richard Kerr and Will Jennings and produced by Arista labelmate Barry Manilow....
- No Night So LongNo Night So LongNo Night So Long, Dionne Warwick's second album for the Arista label, was released in 1980. The LP was originally issued as number AL 9526 in the Arista Catalog...
- I'll Never Love This Way Again
- Randy CrawfordRandy CrawfordRandy Crawford is an American jazz and R&B singer. She has been more successful in Europe than in the United States, where she has not entered the Billboard Hot 100 as a solo artist...
:- Street Life
- One Day I'll Fly AwayOne Day I'll Fly Away"One Day I'll Fly Away" is a song with music by Joe Sample and words by Will Jennings, performed by Randy Crawford and released in 1980.Joe Sample created the chorus based on Impromptus, D...
- Barry ManilowBarry ManilowBarry Manilow is an American singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, producer, conductor, and performer, best known for such recordings as "Could It Be Magic", "Mandy", "Can't Smile Without You", and "Copacabana ."...
:- Somewhere In The NightSomewhere in the Night (song)"Somewhere in the Night" is a popular ballad written by Richard Kerr and Will Jennings. Introduced in 1975 on Kim Carnes' eponymous album and covered on the Yvonne Elliman album Rising Sun, "Somewhere in the Night" charted for Batdorf & Rodney at #69 in the autumn of 1975 before being issued as...
- Looks Like We Made ItLooks Like We Made It"Looks Like We Made It" is a song by American singer Barry Manilow, from his 1976 album, This One's For You, composed by Richard Kerr with lyrics by Will Jennings...
(#1)
- Somewhere In The Night
- Whitney HoustonWhitney HoustonWhitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...
:- Didn't We Almost Have It AllDidn't We Almost Have It All"Didn't We Almost Have It All" is the second single from Whitney Houston's second album Whitney, and was nominated for Song of the Year at the 1988 Grammy Awards. The song was written by Michael Masser and Will Jennings and was released in August 1987...
(#1)
- Didn't We Almost Have It All
- Rodney CrowellRodney CrowellRodney Crowell is a Grammy Award-winning musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music....
:- Many a Long and Lonesome HighwayMany a Long and Lonesome Highway"Many a Long and Lonesome Highway" is a single by American country music artist Rodney Crowell. Released in September 1989, it was the first single from Crowell's album Keys to the Highway. The song reached #3 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in January 1990 and #1 on the RPM...
- What Kind Of LoveWhat Kind of Love"What Kind of Love" is the title of a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Rodney Crowell. It was released in June 1992 as the second single from the album Life Is Messy. The song reached number 11 on the U.S...
- Many a Long and Lonesome Highway
- Jimmy BuffettJimmy BuffettJames William "Jimmy" Buffett is a singer-songwriter, author, entrepreneur, and film producer. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffett's musical hits include "Margaritaville" , and "Come Monday"...
:- Who's The Blonde Stranger?
- If The Phone Doesn't Ring, It's Me
- Joe CockerJoe CockerJohn Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...
and Jennifer WarnesJennifer WarnesJennifer Jean Warnes is an American singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer. She is known for her interpretations of compositions written by herself and many others, as well as an extensive playlist as a vocalist on movie soundtracks.Between 1979 and 1987 Warnes surpassed Frank Sinatra as...
:- Up Where We BelongUp Where We Belong"Up Where We Belong" is a song from the 1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman. Written by Jack Nitzsche and Buffy Sainte-Marie, with lyrics by Will Jennings, it was performed by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes.-Charts and awards:...
(#1, American Academy Award) - British Academy Award, Winner Tokyo Song Festival
- Up Where We Belong
- Celine DionCeline DionCéline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
:- My Heart Will Go OnMy Heart Will Go On"My Heart Will Go On" is the theme song/love theme of the 1997 blockbuster film Titanic. With music by James Horner, lyrics by Will Jennings, and production by Simon Franglen, James Horner and Walter Afanasieff ,, it was recorded by Céline Dion...
(#1, American Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Grammy for Song of the Year)
- My Heart Will Go On
- Tim McGrawTim McGrawSamuel Timothy "Tim" McGraw is an American country singer and actor. Many of McGraw's albums and singles have topped the country music charts with total album sales in excess of 40 million units in the US, making him the eighth best-selling artist, and the third best-selling country singer, in the...
:- Please Remember MePlease Remember Me"Please Remember Me" is the title of a song co-written by American country music artist Rodney Crowell and Will Jennings. Originally recorded by Crowell on his 1995 album Jewel of the South, his version was released as a single that year. Crowell's version of the song peaked at #69 on the Billboard...
(#1)
- Please Remember Me
Songs for films
Casey's Shadow, Splash, The Land Before Time, Swing Shift, Black Rain, Insignificance, Extremities, All The Right Moves, An Officer And A Gentleman, Violets Are Blue, The Competition, The Thornbirds, Fievel Goes West (American Tail 11), Rush, Once Upon A Forest, Titanic, The Mask Of Zorro, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, A Beautiful Mind, Moulin Rouge, and others.Songs recorded by
The Crusaders, Ry Cooder, Wilton Felder, Bonnie Raitt, Linda Ronstadt, the Neville Brothers, Aaron Neville, Rita Coolidge, Willie Nelson, Lonnie Mack, Frankie Miller, Timothy Schmit, Rodney Crowell, Dobie Gray, Bill Withers, Gregg Allman, Gladys Knight, Diana Ross, Marshall Chapman, Nancy Wilson, Whitney Houston, Randy Crawford, Conway Twitty, Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn, Bob Luman, Johnny Paycheck, Johnny Cash and June Carter, the Oak Ridge Boys, Barbara Mandrell, Bobby Jones, Crystal Gayle, Tom Jans, Carly Simon, Christopher Cross, Jerry Lee Lewis, Sam & Dave, Batdorf & Rodney, Kim Carnes, B. J. Thomas, the Captain and Tenille, Ernestine Anderson, Johnny Rivers, Vera Lynn, Cilla Black, Cheryl Ladd, Tom Jones, Peter Frampton, Barry Manilow, Helen Reddy, Amy Grant, Dusty Springfield, Lee Roy Parnell, Celine Dion, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Neil Diamond, Nicole Kidman, Donnie McClurkin and many others.Collaborations
He has co-written or written songs for motion picture soundtracks and popular singers, including Steve WinwoodSteve Winwood
Stephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
, B. B. King
B. B. King
Riley B. King , known by the stage name B.B. King, is an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter.Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at No.3 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. According to Edward M...
, Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
, Peter Wolf
Peter Wolf
Peter Wolf is an American Rhythm and Blues, Soul and Rock and Roll musician, best known as the lead vocalist for the J. Geils Band from 1967 to 1983; and for a successful musical solo career to date with writing partner Will Jennings.- Life and career :Wolf was born in the Bronx, New York...
, Randy Crawford
Randy Crawford
Randy Crawford is an American jazz and R&B singer. She has been more successful in Europe than in the United States, where she has not entered the Billboard Hot 100 as a solo artist...
, Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow is an American singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, producer, conductor, and performer, best known for such recordings as "Could It Be Magic", "Mandy", "Can't Smile Without You", and "Copacabana ."...
, Jimmy Buffett
Jimmy Buffett
James William "Jimmy" Buffett is a singer-songwriter, author, entrepreneur, and film producer. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffett's musical hits include "Margaritaville" , and "Come Monday"...
, Rodney Crowell
Rodney Crowell
Rodney Crowell is a Grammy Award-winning musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music....
, Roy Orbison
Roy Orbison
Roy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis...
, Joe Cocker
Joe Cocker
John Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...
, Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
, Frankie Miller
Frankie Miller
Frankie Miller is a Scottish rock singer-songwriter, who had his biggest success in the 1970s. Miller was raised at Colvend Street, Glasgow with his parents, Cathy and Frank, and elder sisters Letty and Anne. Miller attended Sacred Heart Primary school. He was an altar boy in Sacred Heart Chapel...
, Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...
, Tim McGraw
Tim McGraw
Samuel Timothy "Tim" McGraw is an American country singer and actor. Many of McGraw's albums and singles have topped the country music charts with total album sales in excess of 40 million units in the US, making him the eighth best-selling artist, and the third best-selling country singer, in the...
, Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt is an American popular music recording artist. She has earned eleven Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden...
, Gregg Allman
Gregg Allman
Gregory Lenoir Allman , known as Gregg Allman, is a rock and blues singer, keyboardist, guitarist and songwriter, and a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band. He was inducted with the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Georgia...
, Aaron Neville
Aaron Neville
Aaron Neville is an American soul and R&B singer and musician. He has had four top-20 hits in the United States along with four platinum-certified albums...
, Céline Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
, and Diana Ross
Diana Ross
Diana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...
.
Jennings cowrote a majority of the songs on two Jimmy Buffett
Jimmy Buffett
James William "Jimmy" Buffett is a singer-songwriter, author, entrepreneur, and film producer. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffett's musical hits include "Margaritaville" , and "Come Monday"...
albums, Riddles in the Sand
Riddles in the Sand
Riddles in the Sand is the 14th studio album by American popular music singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. It was released in September 1984 as MCA 5512 and was produced by noted country music producer Jimmy Bowen and represented a concerted shift toward a more country sound by Buffett...
(1984), and Last Mango in Paris
Last Mango in Paris
Last Mango in Paris is the 15th studio album by American popular music singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. It was released in June 1985 as MCA 5600 and was produced by Buffett and noted country music producer Tony Brown. The album represented continuation of Buffett's shift toward a more country...
(1985). This era of Buffett's career was an experimental period, venturing into uncharted waters for him. Riddles was described as a country album, and some songs from Paris
Last Mango in Paris
Last Mango in Paris is the 15th studio album by American popular music singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. It was released in June 1985 as MCA 5600 and was produced by Buffett and noted country music producer Tony Brown. The album represented continuation of Buffett's shift toward a more country...
can be considered as 1980s pop (songs such as "Everybody's On the Run"). The albums were moderately successful, and the single "If the Phone Doesn't Ring, It's Me" hit the top 20 on the country charts.
Awards
He has received the following major awards:- Best Pop Vocal Performance 1993 Grammy Awards "Tears in HeavenTears in Heaven"Tears in Heaven" is a ballad written by Eric Clapton and Will Jennings about the pain and loss Clapton felt following the death of his four-year-old son, Conor. Conor fell from a window of the 53rd-floor New York apartment of his mother's friend on March 20, 1991. Clapton, who arrived at the...
" performed with Eric Clapton - Academy AwardAcademy AwardsAn Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
(1997), Golden Globe AwardGolden Globe AwardThe Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
(1997), Grammy AwardGrammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for writing the lyrics to "My Heart Will Go OnMy Heart Will Go On"My Heart Will Go On" is the theme song/love theme of the 1997 blockbuster film Titanic. With music by James Horner, lyrics by Will Jennings, and production by Simon Franglen, James Horner and Walter Afanasieff ,, it was recorded by Céline Dion...
" performed by Céline Dion for the motion picture TitanicTitanic (1997 film)Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Billy Zane as Rose's fiancé, Cal...
. - Golden Globe AwardGolden Globe AwardThe Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
(1991) for writing the lyrics for "Tears in HeavenTears in Heaven"Tears in Heaven" is a ballad written by Eric Clapton and Will Jennings about the pain and loss Clapton felt following the death of his four-year-old son, Conor. Conor fell from a window of the 53rd-floor New York apartment of his mother's friend on March 20, 1991. Clapton, who arrived at the...
" by Eric ClaptonEric ClaptonEric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
for the film RushRush (1991 film)Rush is a 1991 American crime drama feature film, based on a novel written by Kim Wozencraft. A narcotics detective and his inexperienced partner go after an elusive drug dealer...
and also in 1991 for writing the song "Dreams To Dream" for the motion picture An American Tail: Fievel Goes WestAn American Tail: Fievel Goes WestAn American Tail: Fievel Goes West is a 1991 American animated film produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblimation animation studio and released by Universal Pictures. It is the sequel to An American Tail, and the fourth installment in terms of the series' fictional chronology...
. - Academy AwardAcademy AwardsAn Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
(1983), Golden Globe AwardGolden Globe AwardThe Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
(1983) along with Jack NitzscheJack NitzscheBernard Alfred "Jack" Nitzsche was an arranger, producer, songwriter, and film score composer. He first came to prominence in the late 1950s as the right-hand-man of producer Phil Spector, and went on to work with the Rolling Stones, Neil Young and others...
and Buffy Sainte-MarieBuffy Sainte-MarieBuffy Sainte-Marie, OC is a Canadian Cree singer-songwriter, musician, composer, visual artist, educator, pacifist, and social activist. Throughout her career in all of these areas, her work has focused on issues of Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Her singing and writing repertoire includes...
for writing the song "Up Where We BelongUp Where We Belong"Up Where We Belong" is a song from the 1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman. Written by Jack Nitzsche and Buffy Sainte-Marie, with lyrics by Will Jennings, it was performed by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes.-Charts and awards:...
" performed by Joe CockerJoe CockerJohn Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...
and Jennifer WarnesJennifer WarnesJennifer Jean Warnes is an American singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer. She is known for her interpretations of compositions written by herself and many others, as well as an extensive playlist as a vocalist on movie soundtracks.Between 1979 and 1987 Warnes surpassed Frank Sinatra as...
from the motion picture An Officer and a GentlemanAn Officer and a GentlemanA Officer and a Gentleman is a 1982 American drama film that tells the story of a U.S. Navy aviation officer candidate who comes into conflict with the Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant who trains him. It was written by Douglas Day Stewart and directed by Taylor Hackford...
. Bafta (British Academy of Film and Television ArtsBritish Academy of Film and Television ArtsThe British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
) award for "Up Where We Belong" with Jack Nitzsche and Buffy Sainte-Marie - Grammy Award (1993) — "Tears In Heaven" (shared with Eric Clapton)
- Grammy Award (nomination) (1986) — "Higher LoveHigher Love"Higher Love" is a 1986 number-one hit song by Steve Winwood. It was the first single released from his fourth solo LP, Back in the High Life. It was written by Winwood and Will Jennings, and produced by Russ Titelman and Winwood...
" - Grammy Award to Dionne Warwick (1979) — "I'll Never Love This Way AgainI'll Never Love This Way Again"I'll Never Love This Way Again" is a 1979 hit recorded by American soul singer Dionne Warwick. The song was composed by Richard Kerr and Will Jennings and produced by Arista labelmate Barry Manilow....
" (co-written with Richard KerrRichard Kerr (songwriter)Richard Kerr is an English composer, who co-wrote "Mandy", "Looks Like We Made It" and "Somewhere in the Night" - all of which became hit singles for Barry Manilow.-Career:...
) - Academy Award (nomination) (1980) — for writing the song "People Alone" for the motion picture The CompetitionThe Competition (film)The Competition is a 1980 American drama film starring Richard Dreyfuss and Amy Irving, directed by Joel Oliansky.-Plot:Paul Dietrich is an extremely gifted but disillusioned classical pianist, running out of time to prove himself...
.
Jennings wrote the lyrics for Udo Jürgens
Udo Jürgens
Udo Jürgens is an Austrian composer and singer of popular music whose career spans over fifty years...
' composition "Leave a Little Love", which was successful at the Yamaha World Popular Song Festival 1981 in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Jürgens received the Most Outstanding award for performance, and the Most Outstanding award for composition.