Will Jennings, A Son of East Texas Who Gained World Acclaim (February 4, 2026)

by Scott Sosebee

Who would you say is the most well-known and most celebrated graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University? Certainly, that is a subjective question and debate over who among the illustrious Lumberjacks who have walked the halls of the university in Nacogdoches would be robust and passionate. One who would certainly be in the conversation is a man who won both multiple Grammy, Golden Globe, and Academy Awards as a songwriter, and one of those, “My Heart Will Go On” from the film “Titanic” is, according to “Billboard Magazine” one of the most played and downloaded songs of all time. I am writing, of course, about Will Jennings, a son of East Texas and former English professor who went on to a career as one of the most eminent songwriters ever.

Will Jennings was born into a working-class family in Kilgore in 1944, the only son (he had two sisters) of Hershel and Millie Jennings. Jennings’s mother encouraged her only son to become an avid reader as she took him to the Tyler public library, where his family had moved, three times a week. His sister, Joyce, recalled in an interview with “Tyler Today” magazine that her brother checked out the maximum number of books allowed each time he visited, and always emerged from the building with a “bag loaded with books.” The desire to learn led him first to Tyler Junior College and then to the University of Texas in Austin. Austin, however, was a long way from home and was a different world for a young East Texan, so he transferred closer to home and came to Nacogdoches to attend Stephen F. Austin State University. Jennings thrived at SFA and he completed his bachelor’s degree in 1966 (English) and then an MA degree in 1967. While he was in Nacogdoches he married Carole Thurman, a marriage that would last until his death.

Jennings had always had an interest in music, but it is a difficult way to pay the bills, so he taught English at SFA for one year and then, in 1968, took a position at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. He would teach in the Midwest university for three years, and his love for music would begin to flourish. He played in a country-rock band in local watering holes and dabbled in writing songs. He discovered that he really enjoyed writing lyrics as it satisfied the side of him that loved the written word but also the one that relished the intricacies of music. That led, in 1971, for he and his wife to decide that he had to scratch that itch and see if he could make a career as a songwriter. Will resigned from his position as a professor and he and Carole moved to Nashville.

Nashville was an industry town and the business was music, and more specifically country music. Music publishing companies employed songwriters to crank out the thousands of songs recorded in the city each year, and Will Jennings was a welcome addition. Jennings was a pure lyricist as he wrote the words and collaborators put them to music, a perfect occupation for someone who cherished the written word. He wrote scores of songs in the almost four years he lived in Nashville, most of which were recorded by various acts. One “Feelins’” was recorded as a duet by Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn and went to #1 on the country charts in 1975. One of the most crucial benefits of Jennings’ time in Nashville were the contacts he made. During that brief period, for example, he met and befriended Jimmy Buffett, with who he would later collaborate with on three songs including his “If the Phone Doesn’t Ring It’s Me,” which hit #16 on the Billboard charts in 1985. Rodney Crowell, also an SFA student whose time in Nacogdoches did not overlap with Jennings, would become a friend and future collaborator as well.

Will Jennings could have made a fine career as a Nashville songwriter churning out country hits, but his passion called for something more. He and Carole once again packed their bags and moved to Los Angeles in 1975. Jennings began first writing for film soundtracks—the special genre in which he found his most success in terms of awards—and then to collaborate with others, such as Richard Kerr. Like lyricist Hal David and composer Burt Bachrach, Jennings and Kerr wrote hits such as “Looks Like We Made it,” for Barry Manilow and “I’ll Never Love This Way Again,” for Dionne Warwick. Perhaps his most successful and notable writing relationship was with Steve Winwood during the 1980s. He and the multiple-platinum selling Pop singer wrote hits such as “Arc of a Diver,” “While You See A Chance,” and perhaps Winwood’s biggest single “Back in the High Life.” During the 1990s, perhaps the most plaintive song Jennings was ever a part of was when he helped Eric Clapton finish his lament to his late son, Conor, who had recently fallen to his death. The resulting song, “Tears in Heaven” not only helped Clapton cope with his grief but also became a huge hit. For Jennings, the song won a Grammy.

Jennings’ most celebrated works came for ones he wrote as parts of soundtracks for films. He won the Oscar twice. First, in 1983 with “Up Where We Belong,” which he wrote with Jack Nitzsche and Buffy Saint-Marie from the film “An Office and a Gentleman,” a song that performer Joe Cocker took to the top of the charts. His second is likely his most famous and most well-known song. Asked to pen a song for James Cameron’s epic “Titanic” in 1996, Jennings teamed with James Horner for “My Heart will Go On,” sung, of course, by Celine Dion. It won the Academy Award for Best Song in 1998.

Will Jennings did not retire after his success with the “Titanic” theme song, but he did slow down. He and Carole moved back to East Texas and made their home in Tyler, where they continued to live for the rest of his life. Will Jennings passed away on September, 6, 2024 at his home in Tyler, at the age of 80. He had a giant of a career, one some called the greatest one ever for a lyricist, but to all who ever met the unassuming former English professor with his trademark broomstick mustache, he remained one of the most humble “stars” they had ever known.

The East Texas Historical Association provides this column as a public service. Scott Sosebee the Executive Director of the Association and can be contacted at sosebeem@sfasu.edu or via www.easttexashistorical.org.