Will Jennings

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Will Jennings
Birth nameWilbur H. Jennings
Born (1944-06-27) June 27, 1944 (age 79)
Kilgore, Texas, United States
OriginTyler Junior College
OccupationsLyricist

Wilbur H. Jennings (born June 27, 1944) is an American lyricist. He is popularly known for writing the lyrics for the songs "

Golden Globe Awards, and two Academy Awards.[1]

Life and education

Jennings was born in

Nacogdoches, Texas.[2] He then taught at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire for three years.[3]

Career

Jennings has written for a variety of artists, including

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", and "Back in the High Life Again". Winwood won the Record Of The Year and Outstanding Male Vocal Performance. Both Jennings and Winwood were nominated for the Song of the Year award for "Higher Love."[7]

With Joe Sample, Jennings wrote "

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

Richard Kerr and Jennings wrote "Somewhere in the Night" and "Looks Like We Made It" for Barry Manilow and "I'll Never Love This Way Again" for Dionne Warwick.[10]

I Know Who You Are", on her 2016 album Swing Street.[11]

Jennings has collaborated on many songs for film, the most notable being "

Golden Globe Award and the Academy Award for Best Song from a Motion Picture.[12]

Among his other collaborations were two albums written with Jimmy Buffett and

The Last Mango in Paris. Jennings also wrote several songs for Roy Orbison's King of Hearts album.[13][14]

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.[14]

Jennings also wrote "

Ivor Novello award for best song from a film.[15]

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.[12]

In 2002, Peter Wolf's new 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.[16]

Jennings and Joe Sample, the keyboard player for the Crusaders, 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. 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 UK from the second soundtrack album to emerge from Moulin Rouge.[17]

Albums

Hits

Awards

He has received the following major awards:

References

  1. ^ "Will Jennings". IMDb.com. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  2. ^ "The Collegiate Licensing Company : Institution Profile". Clc.com. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  3. ^ Tweet (May 7, 2006). "Will Jennings: Songwriter Interviews". Songfacts.com. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  4. ^ "Will Jennings Biography". Songwriters Hall of Fame. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  5. ^ Ankeny, Jason (June 27, 1944). "Will Jennings - Music Biography, Credits and Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  6. ^ "While You See a Chance by Steve Winwood Songfacts". Songfacts.com. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  7. ^ "Back In The High Life Again by Steve Winwood Songfacts". Songfacts.com. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  8. . Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  9. ^ Billboard - Google Books. March 3, 2007. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  10. . Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  11. ^ "Review - Deana Martin - Swing Street". Music Connection \ November 30, 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
  12. ^ a b "Will Jennings". IMDb.com. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  13. . Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  14. ^ . Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  15. . Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  16. ^ Swindle, Anna (January 8, 2010). "Peter Wolf's New Album to Feature Neko Case and Merle Haggard". Pastemagazine.com. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  17. . Retrieved August 14, 2012.

External links