Will Jennings (born 1944 in Kilgore, Texas) is a prolific and highly successful American songwriter. He attended school just outside Tyler, TX, in the nearby Chapel Hill Independent School District. Born Wilbur Jennings, he has co-written or wrote songs for a number of motion picture soundtracks and numerous popular singers including Steve Winwood, B.B. King, Peter Wolf, Randy Crawford, Barry Manilow, Jimmy Buffett, Rodney Crowell, Roy Orbison, Joe Cocker, Eric Clapton, Frankie Miller, Whitney Houston, Tim McGraw, Linda Ronstadt, Aaron Neville, Céline Dion and many others. He has received the following major awards:
- Academy Award (1997), Golden Globe Award (1997), Grammy Award for writing the lyrics to "My Heart Will Go On" performed by Céline Dion for the motion picture Titanic.
- Golden Globe Award (1991) for writing the lyrics for "Tears in Heaven" by Eric Clapton for the film Rush and also in 1991 for writing the song "Dreams To Dream" for the motion picture An American Tail: Fievel Goes West.
- Academy Award (1983), Golden Globe Award (1983) along with Jack Nitzsche and Buffy Sainte-Marie for writing the song "Up Where We Belong" performed by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes from the motion picture An Officer and a Gentleman. Bafta (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) 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 Love"
- Grammy Award (1982) — "I'll Never Love This Way Again" (shared with Richard Kerr)
- Academy Award (nomination) (1980) — for writing the song "People Alone" for the motion picture The Competition.
Legend has it that Jennings got his big break while playing his "last gig" in Nashville. A starving songwriter, ready to go back to Texas, he was trying to auction his PA system when a member of the audience who worked for EMI approached him with an offer. Will Jennings also 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. Jennings co-wrote 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 easily considered 80s 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.
