Editing Will Jennings (section)

==Career==
Jennings was described as "the most erudite of lyricists".<ref name="thetimes.com"/> He wrote for a variety of artists, including [[Steve Winwood]], [[Whitney Houston]], [[Eric Clapton]], [[B.B. King]], [[Joe Sample]], [[Rodney Crowell]], [[Mariah Carey]], [[Jimmy Buffett]], [[Barry Manilow]], and [[Roy Orbison]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://songwritershalloffame.org/exhibits/bio/C2339 |title=Will Jennings Biography |publisher=Songwriters Hall of Fame |access-date=August 14, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Ankeny |first=Jason |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/will-jennings-p90542/biography |title=Will Jennings - Music Biography, Credits and Discography |website=AllMusic |date=June 27, 1944 |access-date=August 14, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1824 |title=While You See a Chance by Steve Winwood Songfacts |work=Songfacts.com |access-date=August 14, 2012}}</ref> In Nashville he worked with other composers, and his first big hit came when Manilow took his joint composition with Richard Kerr, "Looks Like We Made It", to number 1 in 1977.<ref name="thetimes.com"/>

With Steve Winwood, Jennings wrote a series of albums including ''[[Arc of a Diver]]'', ''[[Talking Back to the Night]]'', and ''[[Back in the High Life]]'', an album that contained the hits "[[Higher Love]]", "[[The Finer Things (song)|The Finer Things]]", and "[[Back in the High Life Again]]". Winwood won the [[Grammy Award for Record of the Year|Record Of The Year]] and Outstanding Male Vocal Performance. Both Jennings and Winwood were nominated for the [[Grammy Award for Song of the Year|Song of the Year]] award for "Higher Love."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=6504 |title=Back In The High Life Again by Steve Winwood Songfacts |publisher=Songfacts.com |access-date=August 14, 2012}}</ref>

With Joe Sample, Jennings wrote "[[Street Life (The Crusaders song)|Street Life]]" (a world-wide hit for [[The Crusaders (Houston group)|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"), and [[Bill Withers]] ("Soul Shadows"). Jennings and Sample also wrote the better part of three albums for [[B.B. King]], ''[[Midnight Believer]]'' in 1978, ''[[Take It Home (B.B. King album)|Take It Home]]'' in 1979, and ''[[There Is Always One More Time]]'' in 1991.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uuZiCElcWTQC&q=joe+sample+will+jennings&pg=PA253 |title=B.B. King: There Is Always One More Time - David McGee - Google Books |isbn=9780879308438 |access-date=August 14, 2012|last1=McGee |first1=David |year=2005 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oRMEAAAAMBAJ&q=will+jennings+the+crusaders&pg=PA41 |title=Billboard - Google Books |date=March 3, 2007 |access-date=August 14, 2012}}</ref>

[[Richard Kerr (songwriter)|Richard Kerr]] and Jennings wrote "[[Somewhere in the Night (Helen Reddy song)|Somewhere in the Night]]" and "[[Looks Like We Made It]]" for [[Barry Manilow]] and "[[I'll Never Love This Way Again]]" for [[Dionne Warwick]].<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/billboardbookofn0000bron_f8a3/page/676/mode/2up?view=theater | page=677 | title=The Billboard Book of Number One Hits: Updated and Expanded 5th Edition | isbn=9780823076772 |access-date=July 12, 2024 | last1=Bronson |first1=Fred | year=2003 | publisher=Watson Guptill Publications | via=the [[Internet Archive]] | quote=Lyricist Will Jennings...moved to Los Angeles. His publisher...Almo-Irving Music, wintroduced Jennings to British composer Richard Kerr...Whitney's (Houston) cousin, Dionne Warwick...had her first hit on the label with Jennings and Kerr's "I'll Never Love This Way Again" (number five in October, 1979). {{sic}} }}</ref><ref name="Billboard Book">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PgGqNrqfrsoC&q=will+jennings+richard+kerr&pg=PT480 |title=The Billboard Book of Number One Hits: Updated and Expanded 5Th Edition - Fred Bronson - Google Books |isbn=9780823076772 |access-date=August 14, 2012|last1=Bronson |first1=Fred |year=2003 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kreps |first=Daniel |date=September 7, 2024 |title=Will Jennings, Oscar-Winning 'My Heart Will Go On' Lyricist, Dead at 80 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/will-jennings-my-heart-will-go-on-tears-in-heaven-lyricist-dead-obituary-1235097332/ |access-date=September 10, 2024 |website=[[Rolling Stone]] |language=en-US}}</ref> [[Deana Martin]] recorded one of Jennings's songs, "[[I Know Who You Are]]", on her 2016 album ''Swing Street''.<ref>{{cite news | title = Review - Deana Martin - Swing Street | url = http://www.musicconnection.com/music-album-deana-martin-swing-street/ | access-date=September 10, 2016 | work = Music Connection \ November 30, 2016}}</ref>

Jennings collaborated on many songs for film, the most notable  being "[[Up Where We Belong]]" for ''[[An Officer and a Gentleman]]'', a song that won the Academy Award in America and the BAFTA ([[British Academy Award]]) in the [[United Kingdom]] and was a number one hit for Joe Cocker and [[Jennifer Warnes]]. In 1997, Jennings wrote the world-wide number one [[Céline Dion]] hit "[[My Heart Will Go On]]" for the film ''[[Titanic (1997 film)|Titanic]]'' with his collaborator [[James Horner]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Beaumont-Thomas |first=Ben |date=September 9, 2024 |title=Will Jennings, Oscar-winning lyricist of My Heart Will Go On, dies aged 80 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/article/2024/sep/09/will-jennings-lyricist-my-heart-will-go-on-dies-aged-80 |access-date=September 10, 2024 |work=[[The Guardian]] |language=en-GB |issn=}}</ref> The song became one of the most successful songs of all time and won the [[Golden Globe Award]] and the [[Academy Award for Best Song]]. They also won Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Song Written for a Motion Picture at the 41st Grammy Awards.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0421263/|title=Will Jennings|publisher=IMDb |access-date=August 8, 2019}}</ref> ''Titanic''<nowiki/>'s director, James Cameron, had at first been opposed to having a theme song playing over the closing credits, but Horner, having composed the instrumental motif, felt that it needed words and secretly had Jennings write a lyric. Cameron liked it and included it in the film.<ref>{{cite web |date=13 September 2024 |title=The Times Register: Obituary Will Jennings |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/obituaries/article/will-jennings-obituary-lyricist-who-won-an-oscar-for-titanic-song-m9kfvqjg3 |access-date=1 October 2024}}</ref>

Among his other collaborations were two albums written with Jimmy Buffett and [[Michael Utley]], ''[[Riddles in the Sand]]'' and ''[[The Last Mango in Paris]]''. Jennings also wrote several songs for Roy Orbison's ''[[King of Hearts (Roy Orbison album)|King of Hearts]]'' album.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BM58F-yOS3IC&q=will+jennings+jimmy+buffett&pg=PA261 |title=Jimmy Buffett: The Man from Margaritaville Revealed |via=Google Books |date= October 15, 1997|isbn=9780312168759 |access-date=August 14, 2012|last1=Eng |first1=Steve }}</ref><ref name=Invention>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MjvdQCw0A-AC&q=will+jennings+roy+orbison&pg=PA168 |title=Roy Orbison: Invention of an Alternative Rock Masculinity |via=Google Books |date=June 13, 2003 |isbn=9781439903896 |access-date=August 14, 2012|last1=Lehman |first1=Peter }}</ref>

In [[Nashville]], Jennings wrote hits with [[Rodney Crowell]], including "[[Many a Long & Lonesome Highway]]", "[[What Kind of Love]]", and "[[Please Remember Me]]", a number one country hit for [[Tim McGraw]].<ref name=Invention /> Jennings also wrote "[[Tears in Heaven]]" with [[Eric Clapton]], which won song of the Year and also won the [[Ivor Novello award]] for best song from a film.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_WoRAPJQ58sC&q=will+jennings+eric+clapton&pg=PA291 |title=The Great Rock Discography: Complete Discographies Listing Every Track ... |via=Google Books |isbn=9781841956152 |access-date=August 14, 2012|last1=Strong |first1=Martin Charles |year=2004 }}</ref>

Teaming with James Horner and [[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. In 2002, Horner and Jennings contributed a song for the Oscar-winning film ''[[A Beautiful Mind (film)|A Beautiful Mind]]''.<ref name="autogenerated1" /> In 2002, [[Peter Wolf]]'s new album, ''[[Sleepless (Peter Wolf album)|Sleepless]]'', appeared with positive reviews. The album featured six songs written by Jennings and Wolf, who collaborated previously on ''Fool's Parade'' (1999) on [[Mercury Records]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Swindle, Anna |url=http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2010/01/peter-wolfs-new-album-to-feature-neko-case-and-mer.html |title=Peter Wolf's New Album to Feature Neko Case and Merle Haggard|work=Pastemagazine.com |date=January 8, 2010 |access-date=August 14, 2012}}</ref>

Jennings and Joe Sample, the keyboard player for the Crusaders, went back to 1978 and began by writing the ''[[Midnight Believer]]'' album for B.B. King and then wrote the hit "[[Street Life (The Crusaders song)|Street Life]]" for the Crusaders album of the same name.  Jennings and Sample also  wrote "[[One Day I'll Fly Away]]", originally sung by Crawford, which 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" was sung by [[Nicole Kidman]] and, in March 2002, was released as a single in the [[United Kingdom|UK]] from the second soundtrack album to emerge from ''Moulin Rouge''.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TpwrRHFFXowC&q=will+jennings+moulin+rouge&pg=PA172 |title=Singing A New Tune: The Rebirth Of The Modern Film Musical, from Evita to De ... - John Kenneth Muir - Google Books |isbn=9781557836106 |access-date=August 14, 2012|last1=Muir |first1=John Kenneth |year=2005 }}</ref>