Will Jennings, Oscar– Award-winning songwriter of “My Heart Will Go On,” “Tears in Heaven” and “Up Where We Belong” dies aged 80.
The news was confirmed by his guardian Martha Sherrod, who said: The Hollywood Reporter that he died Friday (Sept. 6) at his home in Tyler, Texas. He had been in declining health for five years.
Jennings won three Grammytwo Golden Globe and two Oscars, the last one went to Celine Dionsignature song for Titanic in 1997 and “Up Where We Belong”, recorded by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes for An officer and a gentleman in 1982.
Wilbur Herschel Jennings was born on June 27, 1944 in Kilgore, Texas, and after a stint teaching at UT Austin in the mid-1970s, he first entered the entertainment industry.
Some of his early success came from his collaborations with composer Richard Kerr, including several hits for Barry Manilowincluding “Looks Like We Made It” and “Somewhere In The Night”.
He found his niche writing lyrics for films, and received his first Oscar nomination for the song “People Alone” from the Richard Dreyfuss drama. Contest in 1980, which he co-wrote with Lalo Schifrin.
The song “Up Where We Belong” won him his first Academy Award, along with Jack Nitzsche and Buffy Sainte-Marie, and Jennings has since become a highly sought-after lyricist, writing for artists such as Roy Orbison, Mariah Carey, Whitney Hustin, B.B. King And Diana Ross.
In the early 1990s he wrote Tears in Heaven with Eric Clapton for the film Hurryand then teamed up with James Horner to create “My Heart Will Go On”, which remains one of the best-selling singles of all time.
Jennings and Horner later teamed up again to work on the song “Where Are You, Christmas?” from Jim Carrey movie How the Grinch Stole Christmas., and “Love can be anything”, for Beautiful Mind.
Jennings was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006. He is survived by his wife, Carol, and sisters, Joyce and Gloria.