Will Jennings Dead At 80, Co-Wrote #1 Hits For Celine Dion, Steve Winwood, Whitney Houston, & Barry Manilow

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Will Jennings, who co-wrote #1 hits for Celine Dion, Steve Winwood, Whitney Houston, Barry Manilow, and more, has died. He passed away in his home in Tyler, Texas on Friday morning after five or six years of declining health, his caregiver Martha Sherrod told The Hollywood Reporter. He was 80.

Will Jennings is best known for writing the lyrics for Eric Clapton’s “Tears In Heaven” and Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On.” In 2006, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame. He received three Grammy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and two Academy Awards, also writing for B.B. King, Joe Sample, Rodney Crowell, Mariah Carey, Jimmy Buffett, and Roy Orbison. Musician Peter Wolf paid tribute to Jennings with a Facebook post:

“A Lot of Good Ones Gone”…A sad time, the passing of Will Jennings, a maestro, brilliant mind and a gentle spirit. Will shared his talents with me, ever patient and generous, he was a treasured friend and teacher, enriching my life in so many ways. It was an enormous honor to have worked with such a musical genius for so many years…To quote one of his favorite poets, W.B Yeats,”Think where man’s glory most begins and ends, and say my glory was I had such friends.”