SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 542
WHEREAS, For more than four decades, East Texas native
Will Jennings has enjoyed great acclaim as a lyricist and
songwriter; and
WHEREAS, Born in East Texas, Mr. Jennings received a music
scholarship to attend Texas Junior College, where he played
trombone in the school band, performed in theater productions,
wrote poetry, and studied journalism; he went on to earn
bachelor's and master's degrees in English at Stephen F. Austin
State University, and he returned to Texas Junior College from
1967 to 1968 to teach English; and
WHEREAS, Intent on pursuing work as a songwriter,
Mr. Jennings moved first to Nashville and then to Los Angeles,
and by the mid-1970s he was enjoying considerable success; he
cowrote two hits by Barry Manilow, "Looks Like We Made It" and
"Somewhere in the Night," and he worked on three albums with
Steve Winwood, cowriting the songs "Back in the High Life Again"
and "Higher Love"; in 1991, he and Eric Clapton wrote the
Grammy-winning classic, "Tears in Heaven"; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Jennings has also cowritten two Oscar-winning
songs for the movies, "Up Where We Belong," from the motion
picture An Officer and a Gentleman, and the iconic "My Heart Will
Go On" from Titanic, which won him two Grammys as well and has
since become one of the most frequently played songs in the
history of popular music; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Jennings has helped write countless other
hitsforsomeoftheleadingartistsofourtime,including
Dionne Warwick's "I Know I'll Never Love This Way Again," Whitney
Houston's "Didn't We Almost Have It All," and Faith Hill's "Where
Are You, Christmas?"; moreover, he has collaborated with
musicians Emmylou Harris, Roy Orbison, and Rodney Crowell, and
his compositions have been recorded by such artists as Dusty
Springfield, Bonnie Raitt, B. B. King, Joe Cocker, and Diana
Ross; in 2006, Mr. Jennings was inducted into the Songwriters
Hall of Fame; and
WHEREAS, Over the course of a remarkable career spanning
more than 40 years, Will Jennings has penned some of the most
memorable songs of our time, and his work will continue to move
and inspire music lovers for generations to come; now, therefore,
be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 86th
Legislature, hereby honor Will Jennings for his successful
career in the music industry and extend to him sincere best
wishes for the future; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this Resolution be
prepared for Mr. Jennings as an expression of high regard by the
Texas Senate.
Hughes
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President of the Senate
I hereby certify that the
above Resolution was adopted by
the Senate on April 4, 2019.
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Secretary of the Senate
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Member, Texas Senate