Jennifer Warnes
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Jennifer Warnes | |
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| Birth name | Jennifer Jean Warnes |
| Born | March 3, 1947 |
| Origin | Anaheim, California, United States |
| Genres | Pop, Country, Rhythm and Blues, Opera |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, Songwriter, Arranger, Record producer Concert performer, Television performer |
| Years active | 1967–present (singer, songwriter, arranger and producer) |
| Labels | CISCO, BoxStar Impex Records, Shout Factory |
| Website | Official website |
Jennifer Jean Warnes (born March 3, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer. She is known for her interpretations of compositions written by herself and many others, as well as an extensive playlist as a vocalist on movie soundtracks. She is known as a close friend, collaborator and interpreter of Leonard Cohen.
Between 1979 and 1987 Warnes surpassed Frank Sinatra as the vocalist performing the most songs to be nominated for (four) and to win (three) the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Her biggest hits include these Billboard chart topping Oscar and Grammy winners – "Up Where We Belong" (duet with Joe Cocker, from the 1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman) and "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" (duet with Bill Medley from the 1987 film Dirty Dancing).
Biography
Warnes was born in Seattle, Washington and raised in Anaheim, California.[1] Her desire and ability to sing came early; at age seven she was offered her first recording contract, which her father turned down. She sang in church and local pageants until age 17 when Warnes was offered an opera scholarship to Immaculate Heart College. She chose to sing folk music as it became popularized by Joan Baez in the mid-1960s. In 1968, after a few years with musical theatre and clubs, she signed with Parrot Records (a London Records subsidiary) and recorded her first LP. That year, she joined the cast of the television show The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.
Early in her career, industry advisors suggested she change her name to “Warren”, but then realized that there was already an actress named Jennifer Warren, so she performed for a short time under the single name “Jennifer”, but soon returned to using her birth name “Warnes".
In November 1968, Warnes (as "Jennifer Warren") portrayed the female lead in the Los Angeles, 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" c/w "Easy To Be Hard", licensed from US Parrot label.
In 1971, she met Canadian poet/songwriter Leonard Cohen, who became a lifelong friend. She would eventually tour Europe with Cohen's band, first as a back-up singer and then as a vocal arranger and guest singer on Cohen's albums Live Songs, Various Positions, I'm Your Man, The Future, Field Commander Cohen and Recent Songs, including a duet on a song titled "The Smokey Life".[2] Warnes would later (1987) record a critically acclaimed audiophile album of Cohen songs, Famous Blue Raincoat.
In 1972, her third album, "Jennifer" was produced by John Cale. It has never been reissued.
In 1976 Warnes released the album which would contain her breakthrough single, "Right Time of the Night", hitting No. 1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart in April 1977 and No. 6 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart in May 1977.
Warnes recorded the song "It Goes Like It Goes" for the 1979 motion picture Norma Rae. The song went on to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Her 1979 single, "I Know A Heartache When I See One", was a Top 10 Country hit and reached the Top 20 on both the Pop and Adult Contemporary charts.
Warnes recorded the Randy Newman composition "One More Hour" for the 1981 motion picture Ragtime. This became her second performance of a song to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Warnes teamed up with Joe Cocker to record "Up Where We Belong" for the 1982 motion picture An Officer and a Gentleman. Written by Buffy Sainte-Marie, Will Jennings and Jack Nitzsche, 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 million-selling Gold-certified 45 was released as a single and hit No. 1 (for three weeks running) on Billboard's Hot 100 chart and stands as Jennifer's biggest selling disc being certified 'Platinum' for over two million sales in the United States alone. The same year, she recorded a moving performance of James Taylor's Millworker for the American Playhouse PBS production of Working.
Warnes teamed up with Bill Medley to record "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" for the 1987 motion picture Dirty Dancing. This marked the third song performed by Warnes to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song and Golden Globe Award. 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 Los Angeles, she contributed background vocals for Roy Orbison's star-studded television special Roy Orbison and Friends, A Black and White Night.
She recorded a duet version with B. J. Thomas of the song "As Long As We've Got Each Other", the theme for the TV show Growing Pains. It was used as the opening theme until the fourth season, when the song was once again re-recorded with Thomas and Dusty Springfield. However, it made its return for the fifth and final seasons of the show.
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 high quality 24K Gold discs and high quality vinyls. "Famous Blue Raincoat" was released with 4 bonus tracks. "The Hunter" was released without bonus material. The re-released "The Well," however, contains a total of 14 tracks. These include two recordings from the original session that had never before been heard publicly: "La Luna Brilla", "A Fool for the Look (in Your Eyes", and one extra bonus selection, "Show Me the Light" (a second duet with Bill Medley which was originally featured on the 1998 movie soundtrack "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer-The Movie").
Warnes has contributed to tribute recordings to Ian Tyson, Warren Zevon and Alejandro Escovedo. In 2009, she conducted a much awaited tour of the west and northwest, and was in top vocal form singing CD favorites and new material. In 2010, Warnes started work on a new solo recording of original and cover songs at Capitol Records. The title of this album had not been revealed as of June 2010, nor had a release date for it been announced by that time.[citation needed] In September 2011, Warnes is again touring Canada.
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album | Peak chart positions[3][4] | Label | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US AC | US Country | CAN | UK[5] | |||
| 1968 | I Can Remember Everything | — | — | — | — | — | Parrot |
| 1969 | See Me, Feel Me, Touch Me, Heal Me | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1972 | Jennifer | — | — | — | — | — | Reprise |
| 1976 | Jennifer Warnes | 43 | — | — | 26 | — | Arista |
| 1979 | Shot Through The Heart | 94 | — | 13 | — | — | |
| 1987 | Famous Blue Raincoat | 72 | — | — | 8 | 33 | Cypress |
| 1992 | The Hunter | — | 13 | — | 76 | — | Private Music |
| 2001 | The Well | — | — | — | — | — | Music Force/Cisco |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions[3][4] | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US AC | US Country | CAN | CAN AC | CAN Country | UK[5] | |||
| 1976 | "Right Time of the Night" | 6 | 1 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 18 | — | Jennifer Warnes |
| 1977 | "I'm Dreaming" | 50 | 9 | — | 67 | 6 | — | — | |
| 1979 | "I Know a Heartache When I See One" | 19 | 14 | 10 | 46 | — | 12 | — | Shot Through the Heart |
| "Don't Make Me Over" | 67 | 36 | 84 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1980 | "When the Feeling Comes Around" | 45 | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Lost the Good Thing" (with Steve Gillette) | — | — | 76 | — | — | — | — | Single only | |
| 1981 | "Could It Be Love" | 47 | 13 | 57 | — | — | — | — | The Best of Jennifer Warnes |
| 1982 | "Come to Me" | 107 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Up Where We Belong" | 1 | 3 | — | 1 | 2 | — | 7 | An Officer and a Gentleman | |
| 1983 | "Nights Are Forever" | 105 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | Twilight Zone |
| "All the Right Moves" | 85 | 19 | — | — | 5 | — | — | All the Right Moves | |
| 1987 | "Ain't No Cure for Love" | — | — | 86 | 23 | 1 | 17 | — | Famous Blue Raincoat |
| "First We Take Manhattan" | — | 29 | — | 43 | 6 | — | 74 | ||
| "Bird on a Wire" | — | — | — | — | 16 | — | — | ||
| "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" | 1 | 1 | — | 1 | 3 | — | 6 | Dirty Dancing | |
| 1992 | "Rock You Gently" | — | 13 | — | 50 | 7 | — | — | The Hunter |
| "True Emotion" | — | 43 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993 | "The Whole of the Moon" | — | 49 | — | — | — | — | — | |
Compilation albums
- The Best of Jennifer Warnes Arista 1982 US #47
- Just Jennifer unauthorized (England) 1992
- Best: First We Take Manhattan unauthorized (Germany) 2000
- Platinum and Gold Collection with errors in actual tracks, not Warnes singing, 2004 (recalled)
Other appearances
| Year | Song / Album |
|---|---|
| 1988 | Roy Orbison and Friends, A Black and White Night |
| 1994 | "Up Where We Belong" (live version with Joe Cocker) – Grammy's Greatest Moments Volume III[6] |
References
- ^ "Biography". JenniferWarnes.com. Porch Light LLC. Retrieved December 20, 2009.
- ^ Death of a Ladies' Man (1979) [CD booklet]. New York: CBS Records Inc. The liner notes for the album note that Warnes performed all "Harmony" vocals on the album, including the duet.
- ^ a b "Discography". JenniferWarnes.com. Porch Light LLC. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
- ^ a b "Jennifer Warnes > Discography". Allmusic. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
- ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 591. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ "Grammy's Greatest Moments, Volume III: Various Artists". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2011-11-23.