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

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

s, in 1983 for the

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances featuring expressive body movements. Most of his best-known singles, such as "Feelin' Alright ...

duet " Up Where We Belong", and in 1987 for the

Bill Medley William Thomas Medley (born September 19, 1940) is an American singer 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'". Medley produced a n ...

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 won ...

". Warnes also collaborated closely with

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...

Early life

Warnes was born on March 3, 1947, in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Washington, but raised in

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...

. 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 History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

scholarship to Immaculate Heart College. 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, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

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 mo ...

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

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

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'' is an American television comedy, 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 consid ...

''.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, so she performed briefly as simply 'Jennifer', though she was credited as Jennifer Warren when she provided duet vocals for singer-guitarist Mason Williams 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, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, California, production of the stage musical ''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and ...

''. 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", licensed from the US

Parrot Parrots (Psittaciformes), also known as psittacines (), are birds with a strong curved beak, upright stance, and clawed feet. They are classified in four families that contain roughly 410 species in 101 genus (biology), genera, found mostly in ...

label. Her fellow ''Hair'' castmate Bert Sommer wrote a song inspired by her entitled "Jennifer," and performed it at Woodstock.

Career

1970s

In 1971, Warnes met

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

songwriter and poet

, and the two remained friends. She toured

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

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'' (1973), '' Recent Songs'' (1979), '' Various Positions'' (1985), '' I'm Your Man'' (1988), '' The Future'' (1992), '' Field Commander Cohen: Tour of 1979'' (2001), and '' Old Ideas'' (2012). Warnes also recorded a critically acclaimed album of Cohen songs, '' Famous Blue Raincoat'', in 1987. In 1972, Warnes released her third album, '' Jennifer'', which was produced by John Cale. It was unavailable after the LP was deleted, until it was finally reissued in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

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 re ...

WPCR-14865). In 1976, Warnes released the album ''Jennifer Warnes'' ( Arista 4062), which contained her breakthrough single, " Right Time of the Night", 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 the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

(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" for the 1979 motion picture '' Norma Rae''. The song won the

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the Film industry, motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who h ...

. 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. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

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

1980s

Warnes recorded the

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, composer, conductor and orchestrator. He is known for his non-rhotic Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early America ...

composition "One More Hour" for the 1981 motion picture ''

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

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

to record " Up Where We Belong" for the 1982 motion picture '' An Officer and a Gentleman''. Written by Buffy Sainte-Marie,

Will Jennings Wilbur Herschel Jennings (June 27, 1944 – September 6, 2024) was an American lyricist. He was known for writing the songs " Up Where We Belong", " Higher Love", " Tears in Heaven" and "My Heart Will Go On". He was inducted into the Songwriter ...

and Jack Nitzsche, the song won the

, as well as a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...

. The song also won Warnes and Cocker the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, which was released as a single and hit No. 1 (for three weeks running) on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. It was certified

platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

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. Taylor achieved his breakthrough in 1970 with the single "Fi ...

's "Millworker" for the '' American Playhouse'' PBS production of '' Working''. In 1985, she recorded a duet version with B. J. Thomas 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 ran on ABC for seven seasons from September 24, 1985, to April 25, 1992. The series follows the misadventures of the Seaver family, including psychiatrist and fathe ...

''. 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), better known by her stage name Dusty Springfield, was a British singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano voice, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop mus ...

. 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 '' Various Positions'', 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", which featured

Stevie Ray Vaughan Stephen Ray Vaughan (also known as SRV; October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues rock trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble (band), Double Trouble. Although his ma ...

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 romance film, romantic drama film, drama Dance in film, dance film written by Eleanor Bergstein, produced by Linda Gottlieb, and directed by Emile Ardolino. Starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, it tel ...

''. This marked the third song performed by Warnes to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song and second for the

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 Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison's most successful periods were ...

'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 Eddie Jerome Vedder (born Edward Louis Severson III; December 23, 1964) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist, primary lyricist, and one of three guitarists for the rock band Pearl Jam. He was previously a gues ...

, the song was originally recorded by

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...

. The album includes 10 tracks, among them a new version of "So Sad" by Mickey Newbury, "I Am The Big Easy" by Ray Bonneville, "Once I Was Loved" by

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

, "Why Worry" by

Mark Knopfler Mark Freuder Knopfler OBE (born 12 August 1949) is a British musician. He was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits from 1977 to 1995, and he is the one of the two members who stayed during the band's existence ...

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

Discography

Albums

Compilation albums

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

Singles

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