Biography

Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006.

Before Celine Dion powerfully sang the romantic theme song from the motion picture Titanic, East Texan native Will Jennings had penned the dramatic lyrics for "My Heart Will Go On." The song earned Jennings his second Academy Award for Best Original Song, having won the Oscar fifteen years prior for "Up Where We Belong" from the movie An Officer and a Gentleman.

In addition to Eric Clapton and Celine Dion, other artists who have performed the works of Jennings include Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, B.B. King, Rodney Crowell, Emmylou Harris, Jimmy Buffet, Barry Manilow, Roy Orbison, Steve Winwood, Dionne Warwick, Joe Cocker, Jennifer Warnes, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and more.

Jennings would go on to write more than 500 songs which would be performed around the world by some of the most talented artists of our time.

In 2019, TJC honored Jennings with its "Legends of TJC" award and announced the naming of the Carole and Will Jennings Lobby in the Rogers Palmer Performing Arts Center on the College's central campus. The couple met during the time they attended TJC and have been married since 1965.