KILGORE, Texas — Will Jennings, a songwriter with roots in East Texas and writer of "My Heart Will Go On," has died.
Variety reported that Jennings has died at the age of 80. An alum from both Tyler Junior College and Stephen F. Austin University, Jennings was popularly known for writing the lyrics to "My Heart Will Go On", which was famously the theme for the film Titanic, as well as Eric Clapton's "Tears in Heaven." He is an inductee to the Songwriter's Hall of Fame and boasts three Grammy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and two Academy Awards.
Throughout his career, Jennings wrote for several famous artists, including Eric Clapton, Mariah Carey and Jim Buffett, among others.
Jennings was born in Kilgore and attended school in Chapel Hill ISD before attending TJC, where he was a trombone player in the TJC band, and later attended SFA. He was honored by TJC in 2019. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006 and later joined the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
A cause of death has not been released, though Jennings had been sick for some time.