WILL Jennings, a songwriter, has died. He was 80 years old.
Will wrote hits like “My Heart Will Go On” by Celine Dion and “Tears in Heaven” by Eric Clapton.
Variety learned about the news from Will’s publisher early Saturday morning.
His cause of death is unknown at this time, but he had been sick for a while and no one knew about it.
In a touching tribute to the late singer-songwriter, musician Pete Wolf shared it on Friday.
Pete was standing next to Will and holding his arm.
“‘A Lot of Good Ones Gone’ … A sad time, the passing of Will Jennings, a maestro, brilliant mind and a gentle spirit,” he wrote in the note.
“Will shared his skills with me. He was always patient and kind. He was a treasured friend and teacher who made my life better in so many ways,” Pete said.
“It was an enormous honor to have worked with such a musical genius for so many years.”
People who liked Pete posted their condolences in the comments section.
One person wrote, “I’m so sorry for your loss.”
I heard someone else say, “So sad to hear.”
A third said, “Rest in Power Will.”
Fourth: “Rest in peace, legend.”
Others said, “He wrote some great songs with you and is a great lyricist.”
“What a tremendous legacy to leave behind.”
WILL’S WORK
Many prestigious awards have been given to Will over the course of his career.
Will’s first Oscar was for Best Original Song, which he shared with Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes for the song “Up Where We Belong” from the 1982 movie “Legend of the Guard.”
In 1997, Will won another Oscar for his work on Celine’s “My Heart Will Go On,” which was in the hit movie Titanic with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.
In 1993, he won a Golden Globe for his performance in Eric Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven,” which was from the movie Rush.
Will has worked with Jennifer Lopez, Dionne Warwick, Barry Manilow, Jimmy Buffet, Diana Ross, Tim McGraw, and many more in the past.
Will has also been nominated for six Grammys as a songwriter. He has won three, including Song of the Year for “My Heart Will Go On.”
