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 Tyler 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 Tyler 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