Will Jennings (somewhat overlooked mega-hit songwriter) Poll

I suspect "Valerie" will sweept but Dionne's "No Night So Long" and "I'll Never Love This Way Again" are swoonworthy.

"In 1984 I was working on songs for a Nicolas Roeg film called Insignificance. And I asked for Roy because I thought his voice would fit the mood of the picture. And they set something up and I went down to Nashville and I had started the song for the picture, and we continued to work on it."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8dtv8Ncb0E

^^^^ that Orbison song is AMAZING

roll with it

"But with 'My Heart Will Go On,' James presented it to Celine Dion first. He and I did an animated film called Fievel Goes West, Spielberg and Lucas co-produced. And she had wanted to sing that, but Linda Ronstadt wound up singing it. It's a good song called 'Dreams To Dream.' And, fortunately, we had another… James wanted to play it for her and of course, the rest is history."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmQb_yE3eyk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_fCqg92qks

"Valerie was a girl who abused drugs and her life was going down hill. I wrote that with Will Jennings and it was someone who we both knew, she was a singer."
-Steve Winwood

http://florida.arrests.org/mugs/Pinellas/1400000/1366525.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valerie_Carter

Thinking of voting one of those Winwood songs, but voted instead for "Looks Like We Made It", which is just the perfect, outside of "Mandy", bombastic Manilow vehicle.

"What Kind Of Love"

Don't know most of these but "Tears In Heaven" has to be worst. Just the worst kind of manipulative cheese. Also I have a permanent grudge against it for coming over the gym radio one time right after a string of awesome, powerful jams that had me right at the peak of my workout groove.

Really clicks with me that the same dude did "Up Where We Belong" and "Higher Love." Pretty hard not to vote for one of the Winwood ones. Maybe I'll do "Roll With It" since I feel like I vote for "Valerie" in any poll where it might happen to come up, and so much of its strength is in the synth and Winwood's vocal, versus the songwriting. I mean, the prechorus is great and Winwood turns the chorus into something unmatched, but the verses are a little less substantial.

Actually, hrm, "Roll With It," fun as it is, is kind of a generic studio blues bit, again elevated mainly in the arrangement and Winwood's singing. Hrm. "Higher Love" is a little more interesting. The verse keeps making me think he's going to fake into "Cult of Personality."

http://www.songfacts.com/intimages/will_jennings3.jpg

http://m.songfacts.com/blog/interviews/will_jennings/

Didn't he co-write The Crusaders' "Street Life"? Would've voted for that if it had been included.

I know 'Tears in Heaven' is an all-purpose punchline (I still laugh remembering that Mr. Show sketch about the Teardrop Awards ("Sad Songs are Nature's Onions")), but I sometimes think about Clapton's kid dying horrifically, and him wanting to express himself about it, and it's all just so sad. Is the fact that he's kind of a cheeseball enough evidence that it's coming from a cynical, manipulative place? Has he spoken about that whole thing?

Regardless, it's got to be one of those Winwood tunes...

There was a time when "While You See a Chance" was the go-to solo Winwood. I never heard anything special.

That's fair, WG. I might just be being sort of cold-hearted and cynical myself.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

waht