Jennifer Jean Warnes (born March 3, 1947) is an American singer and songwriter. She has performed as a vocalist on a number of film soundtracks. She has won two

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

s, in 1983 for the Joe Cocker duet "

Up Where We Belong "Up Where We Belong" is a song written by Jack Nitzsche, Buffy Sainte-Marie and Will Jennings that was recorded by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes for the 1982 film '' An Officer and a Gentleman''. Warnes was recommended to sing a song from the f ...

" and in 1987 for the

Bill Medley William Thomas Medley (born September 19, 1940) is an American singer and songwriter, best known as one half of The Righteous Brothers. He is noted for his bass-baritone voice, exemplified in songs such as "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'". Med ...

duet "

(I've Had) The Time of My Life "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" is a 1987 song composed by Franke Previte, John DeNicola, and Donald Markowitz. It was recorded by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, and used as the theme song for the 1987 film '' Dirty Dancing''. The song has ...

". Warnes also collaborated closely with

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

Early life

Warnes was born on March 3, 1947, in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

but raised in

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most ...

. Her desire and ability to sing came early; at age seven she was offered her first recording contract, which her father declined. She sang in church and local pageants until age 17 when Warnes was offered an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

scholarship to

Immaculate Heart College Immaculate Heart College was a private, Catholic college located in Los Angeles, California. The college offered various courses including art and religious education studies. By June 1906, six young women had become the first graduates of the ...

. She was so committed to her Catholic faith, that for a while she entered a convent after graduating from high school. Warnes chose to sing

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

as it became popularized by

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...

in the mid-1960s. In 1968, after a few years with musical theatre and clubs, she signed with

Parrot Records Parrot Records was an American record label, a division of London Records, which started in 1964. The label usually licensed (or leased) recordings made by Decca Records, England, for release in the United States and Canada, most notably by the ...

(a London Records subsidiary) and recorded her first album. That year, she joined the cast of the television show ''

The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour ''The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'' was an American comedy and variety show television series hosted by the Smothers Brothers and initially airing on CBS from 1967 to 1969. The series was a major success, especially considering it was sc ...

''.IMBd−"> Early in her career, industry advisors suggested Warnes change her name to "Warren", but then realized that there was already an actress named

Jennifer Warren Jennifer Warren is an American actress, producer and film director. Early life and education She was born in the Greenwich Village section of New York City, the daughter of actress Paula Bauersmith and Dr. Barnet M. Warren, a dentist. Her unc ...

, so she performed briefly as simply 'Jennifer', though she was credited as Jennifer Warren when she provided duet vocals for singer-guitarist

Mason Williams Mason Douglas Williams (born August 24, 1938) is an American classical guitarist, composer, singer, writer, comedian, and poet, best known for his 1968 instrumental "Classical Gas" and for his work as a comedy writer on ''The Smothers Brothers ...

on his 1968 album, ''The Mason Williams Ear Show''. Soon, however, she returned to her birth name. In November 1968, Warnes (as "Jennifer Warren") portrayed the female lead in the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, California, production of the stage musical '' Hair''. She had a related UK single release as "Jennifer" on London HLU 10278 in June 1969 with "Let The Sunshine In" and "

Easy to Be Hard "Easy to Be Hard" is a song from the 1967 rock musical ''Hair''. It was written by Galt MacDermot, James Rado, and Gerome Ragni, who put the musical together in the mid-1960s. The original recording of the musical featuring the song was release ...

", licensed from the US

Parrot Parrots, also known as psittacines (), are birds of the roughly 398 species in 92 genera comprising the order Psittaciformes (), found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three superfamilies: the Psittacoide ...

label.

Career

1970s

In 1971, Warnes met

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

songwriter and poet

, and the two remained friends. She toured

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

with Cohen's band in 1972 and 1979 — first as a back-up singer and then as a vocal arranger and guest singer on Cohen's albums ''

Live Songs ''Live Songs'' is Leonard Cohen's first live album, released during the three-year silence between ''Songs of Love and Hate (Leonard Cohen album), Songs of Love and Hate'' and ''New Skin for the Old Ceremony''. Background It was not until after ...

'' (1973), ''

Recent Songs ''Recent Songs'' is the sixth studio album by Leonard Cohen, released in 1979. Produced by Cohen alongside Henry Lewy, it was a return to his normal acoustic folk music sound after the Phil Spector-driven experimentation of '' Death of a Ladies' ...

'' (1979), ''

Various Positions ''Various Positions'' is the seventh studio album by Leonard Cohen, released in December 1984 (and February 1985). It marked not only his turn to the modern sound and use of synthesizers (particularly on the opening track), but also, after the ha ...

'' (1985), '' I'm Your Man'' (1988), '' The Future'' (1992), '' Field Commander Cohen: Tour of 1979'' (2001), and ''

Old Ideas ''Old Ideas'' is the twelfth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, released in January 2012. It is Cohen's highest-charting release in the United States, reaching number 3 on the ''Billboard'' 200, 44 years after the release o ...

'' (2012). Warnes later (1987) recorded a critically acclaimed audiophile album of Cohen songs, ''

Famous Blue Raincoat "Famous Blue Raincoat" is a song by Leonard Cohen. It is the sixth track on his third album, ''Songs of Love and Hate'', released in 1971. The song is written in the form of a letter (many of the lines are written in amphibrachs). The lyric tells ...

''. In 1972, Warnes released her third album, ''

Jennifer Jennifer or Jenifer may refer to: People *Jennifer (given name) * Jenifer (singer), French pop singer * Jennifer Warnes, American singer who formerly used the stage name Jennifer * Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer * Daniel Jenifer Film and tele ...

'', which was produced by John Cale. It was unavailable after the LP was deleted, until it was finally reissued in Japan in 2013 (

Reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repe ...

WPCR-14865). In 1976, Warnes released the album ''Jennifer Warnes'' ( Arista 4062), which contained her breakthrough single, "

Right Time of the Night "Right Time of the Night" is the title of a composition by Peter McCann, which became a top-ten hit single in 1977 via a recording by Jennifer Warnes. Composition Peter McCann would recall his inspiration for writing "Right Time of the Night": "I ...

", which hit number 1 on ''Billboard's''

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

(Adult Contemporary) chart in April 1977 and number 6 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in May 1977. Warnes recorded the song "

It Goes Like It Goes "It Goes Like It Goes" is a song written by David Shire and Norman Gimbel. Jennifer Warnes sang the vocals for the ''Norma Rae'' soundtrack in 1979. "It Goes Like It Goes" won an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1979,Norma Rae ''Norma Rae'' is a 1979 American drama film directed by Martin Ritt from a screenplay written by Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank Jr. The film is based on the true story of Crystal Lee Sutton— which was told in the 1975 book ''Crystal Lee, a W ...

''. The song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Her 1979 single "I Know A Heartache When I See One", was a Top 10

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

hit and reached the Top 20 on both the Pop and Adult Contemporary charts.

1980s

Warnes recorded the Randy Newman composition "One More Hour" for the 1981 motion picture ''

Ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott J ...

''. This became her second song performance nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Warnes teamed up with Joe Cocker to record "

" for the 1982 motion picture '' An Officer and a Gentleman''. Written by

Buffy Sainte-Marie Buffy Sainte-Marie, (born Beverly Sainte-Marie, February 20, 1941) is an Indigenous Canadian-American ( Piapot Cree Nation) singer-songwriter, musician, composer, visual artist, educator, pacifist, and social activist. While working in these ...

Will Jennings Wilbur H. "Will" Jennings (born June 27, 1944) is an American lyricist. He is popularly known for writing the lyrics for the songs " Tears in Heaven" and " My Heart Will Go On". He has been inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame and has wo ...

and

Jack Nitzsche Bernard Alfred "Jack" Nitzsche ( '; April 22, 1937 – August 25, 2000) was an American musician, arranger, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He first came to prominence in the early 1960s as the right-hand-man of producer Phil Spec ...

, the song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, as well as a Golden Globe Award. The song also won Warnes and Cocker the

Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by ...

, which was released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

and hit No. 1 (for three weeks running) on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. It was certified

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...

for over two million sales in the United States. That same year, she recorded

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...

's "Millworker" for the ''

American Playhouse ''American Playhouse'' is an American anthology television series periodically broadcast by Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Overview It premiered on January 12, 1982, with ''The Shady Hill Kidnapping'', written and narrated by John Cheever an ...

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

production of '' Working''. In 1985, she recorded a duet version with

B. J. Thomas Billy Joe Thomas (August 7, 1942 – May 29, 2021) was an American singer widely known for his pop, country and Christian hits of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Popular songs by Thomas include "Hooked on a Feeling" (1968), "Raindrops Keep Fallin' ...

of the song " As Long As We Got Each Other", the theme for the TV show ''

Growing Pains ''Growing Pains'' is an American television sitcom created by Neal Marlens that aired on ABC from September 24, 1985, to April 25, 1992. The show ran for seven seasons, consisting of 166 episodes. The series followed the misadventures of the ...

''. It was used as the opening theme for the second and third seasons. For the fourth season, the song was once again re-recorded with Thomas and

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, pop and dram ...

. However, the Warnes version made its return for the fifth season and the seventh (final) season of the show. The same year, she recorded vocals for

's record ''

'', getting equal vocals credits with Cohen in the inside booklet. After releasing a praised tribute LP of Leonard Cohen's songs in 1987, ''Famous Blue Raincoat'', to which Cohen contributed two new compositions, "

First We Take Manhattan "First We Take Manhattan" is a song written by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen. It was originally recorded by American singer Jennifer Warnes on her 1986 Cohen tribute album ''Famous Blue Raincoat'', which consisted entirely of songs wr ...

", which featured Stevie Ray Vaughan on guitar, and "Ain't No Cure for Love", she contributed vocals to Cohen's 1988 hit LP '' I'm Your Man'', most notably to " Take This Waltz" and "Tower of Song". Warnes teamed with

to record "

" for the 1987 motion picture ''

Dirty Dancing ''Dirty Dancing'' is a 1987 American romantic drama dance film written by Eleanor Bergstein, produced by Linda Gottlieb, and directed by Emile Ardolino. Starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, it tells the story of Frances "Baby" Houseman ...

''. This marked the third song performed by Warnes to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song and second for the Golden Globe Award in the same category. The song also won Warnes and Medley the Grammy Award for Duo or Group with Vocal. It reached No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and spent four consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. On September 30, 1987, at the Coconut Grove in

, she contributed vocals for Roy Orbison's star-studded television special '' Roy Orbison and Friends, A Black and White Night''.

1990s to present

In 1991, Warnes recorded the Lennon-McCartney song "Golden Slumbers" as a duet with Jackson Browne, included in the album ''For Our Children'' which was released by Disney as a benefit for the Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Warnes released her seventh studio album, '' The Hunter'', in June 1992. The LP featured the AC No. 13 single "Rock You Gently", and also featured the track "Way Down Deep" co-written by Warnes and Leonard Cohen. She recorded the track "Cold Enough To Snow" for the 1993 film, '' Life With Mikey''. In August 2007, the Shout Factory Records label re-released the 20th anniversary edition of ''Famous Blue Raincoat'' with a 24-page booklet and four additional songs. ''The Hunter'' was re-released in 2009, and ''The Well'' was re-released in September 2010. All remasters were issued on high quality vinyl and 24K gold discs. ''Famous Blue Raincoat'' was released with four bonus tracks. ''The Hunter'' was released without bonus material. The re-released ''The Well,'' however, contains a total of 14 tracks. These include two previously unreleased recordings from the original session: "La Luna Brilla", "A Fool for the Look (in Your Eyes)", and one extra bonus selection, "Show Me the Light" (a second duet with

, which was originally featured on the 1998 movie soundtrack ''Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer-The Movie''). In 2018, Warnes released her first album since 2001, ''Another Time, Another Place''. The first cut from the new album, " Just Breathe" was released on March 1, 2018. Written by Eddie Vedder, the song was originally recorded by Pearl Jam. The album includes 10 tracks, among them a new version of "So Sad" by

Mickey Newbury Milton Sims "Mickey" Newbury Jr. (May 19, 1940 – September 29, 2002) was an American songwriter, recording artist, and a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Early life and career Newbury was born in Houston, Texas, on May 19, ...

, "I Am The Big Easy" by

Ray Bonneville Raymond J. Bonneville (born October 11, 1948) is a Canadian-born American musician, singer and songwriter. Born in Canada, and raised in the United States, Bonneville is a folk and blues-influenced, song and groove man who is strongly influenced b ...

, "Once I Was Loved" by

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Eve ...

, "Why Worry" by

Mark Knopfler Mark Freuder Knopfler (born 12 August 1949) is a British singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Born in Scotland and raised in England, he was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits. He pursued a s ...

, and "The Boys And Me" by Warnes herself and Michael Smotherman.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Compilation albums

* ''

Best of Jennifer Warnes ''Best of Jennifer Warnes'' is a 1982 compilation album by singer/songwriter Jennifer Warnes comprising five of her six ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles - including the Top 40 hits "Right Time of the Night" and "I Know a Heartache When I See One" ...

'' – Arista, 1982 – US No. 47 * ''Just Jennifer'' – Deram (Germany), 1992 * ''Best: First We Take Manhattan'' – unauthorized (Germany), 2000 * ''Platinum and Gold Collection'' – with errors in actual tracks, not Warnes singing, 2004 (recalled) * '' Love Lifts Us Up: A Collection 1968-83'' – Raven (Australia), 2004

Other media appearances

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

Official site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Warnes, Jennifer 1947 births Living people American women country singers American country rock singers Grammy Award winners Leonard Cohen Musicians from Seattle Songwriters from Washington (state) Singers from Los Angeles Songwriters from California Singers from Washington (state) Private Music artists 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers