Will Jennings, the Oscar-winning lyricist of “My Heart Will Go On” and “Up Where We Belong,” has died. He was 80.
The songwriter died Friday at his home in Tyler, Texas, his agent Sam Schwartz of the Gorfaine/Schwartz Agency confirmed to The Times. “May his memory be a blessing,” he said of Jennings via email. No cause of death was disclosed.
Jennings, who was born in Texas in 1944, wrote tunes that were recorded by Dionne Warwick, Jimmy Buffett, Rodney Crowell, Peter Wolf, Mariah Carey, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw and Diana Ross, among others. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006.
His most well-known pop classics include Whitney Houston’s “Didn’t We Almost Have It All,” Barry Manilow’s “Looks Like We Made It,” Steve Winwood’s “Higher Love” and Eric Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven,” the latter of which earned him the Grammy Award for song of the year — his first of three Grammys.
“A sad time, the passing of Will Jennings, a maestro, brilliant mind and a gentle spirit,” Wolf, who collaborated with Jennings on two albums, wrote on social media. “It was an enormous honor to have worked with such a musical genius.”
Jennings won Academy Awards for “Up Where We Belong,” written with Jack Nitzsche and Buffy Sainte-Marie and performed by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes for the movie “An Officer and a Gentleman,” and “My Heart Will Go On,” written with James Horner and performed by Celine Dion for the film “Titanic.”
“[It] condensed that movie’s epic melodrama into five endlessly re-playable minutes of sweeping faux-Celtic majesty,” Times pop music critic Mikael Wood wrote of “My Heart Will Go On” in 2015. “The song also solidified Celine Dion’s place as one of music’s most reliable (and shameless) emoters.”
Jennings also contributed to “Where Are You Christmas?” from the movie “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!,” as well as “One Day I’ll Fly Away,” which was featured in the movie “Moulin Rouge!” (along with Jennings’ “Up Where We Belong”).
“I’m deeply saddened to learn of the passing of my friend & collaborator Will Jennings,” musician Christopher Cross wrote on X. “Working with Will was a master class in lyric writing for me. He was the consummate wordsmith and his gift to the world is eternal.”
“The love for your brilliant songs will go on forever,” songwriter Diane Warren said on X. “Write In Power, Will Jennings.”
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