Up Where We Belong – Today’s classic song and a cover by one of the original writers. #MusicisLife #TedTocksCovers #JoeCocker #JenniferWarnes #JackNitzsche #WillJennings #BuffySainteMarie

Today’s feature song will focus on a veritable all-star team of songwriters and performers. ‘Up Where We Belong’ has an interesting origin and the story is worth telling in such a way that features the contributions of the songwriters and then profiles how the song became popularized to become the critically acclaimed piece of music we all know. Here is where it all began.

Actually, at a glance, it is tough to pinpoint where it all began. It truly is a confluence of personnel, influence and reverence.

It seems that the seed for the collaboration began when Jennifer Warnes saw Joe Cocker perform ‘I’m So Glad I’m Standing Here Today’ with the Crusaders at the 1982 Grammy Awards. Warnes had a track record of success in the studio and with movie soundtracks. She had been a long-time fan of Cocker’s all the way back to his performance at Woodstock in 1969. Warnes was even more intrigued with the idea due to the fact that the iconic ‘60s singer had come through a period of struggles with drug and alcohol addiction. About the same time as this revelation, plans were being made for the upcoming movie ‘An Officer of and a Gentleman’. An executive for Paramount Pictures named Frank Mancuso wanted the movie to have a strong soundtrack to promote the film. Despite budget constraints Mancuso and the film’s director Taylor Hackford went ahead and made arrangements to produce a song anyway. Their next step was to find the right singer or singers. Between Hackford, Mancuso and Paramount’s head of music Joe Sill they reached out to Hackford’s friend Gary George who had spent a period of time as head of publicity at Warner Bros. Records. He suggested Jennifer Warnes who had recently become a client in his new role as manager. At first the idea of Jennifer Warnes did not sit well with Joe Sill but gradually the idea grew on him. He became convinced upon meeting with Warnes and she suggested her recent dream collaboration of working with Joe Cocker. Hackford was sold on the duet because the pairing reflected the characters in the movie. The sweet sounding Jennifer Warnes matched Debra Winger’s character and the rough around the edges Joe Cocker resembled the essence of Richard Gere’s personality. Joe Cocker, who had recently moved to Island Records was sold on the idea by the label’s owner Chris Blackwell, but before he committed he wanted to see the lyrics. Enter the combination of Jack Nitzsche, Buffy Sainte-Marie and Will Jennings. Ironically, Will Jennings was the lyricist for ‘I’m So Glad I’m Standing Here Today’.

Based on the final scene of the movie and the relationship between Richard Gere and Debra Winger, director Taylor Hackford wanted a song that reflected the uplifting ending and the theme music that was composed by Sainte Marie and Nitzsche. Initially Nitzsche wanted the prolific Sainte Marie to write the lyrics but Sill and Hackford were concerned her approach would be too folk influenced. At this point Sill reached out to an old associate, Will Jennings. He gave Jennings a rough cut of the film and the accomplished songwriter became enthralled with the score and its spirit of optimism. As he watched, he was captured by bits that suggested a verse here and a chorus there, but the ultimate message was something positive that lifted us ‘up where we belong’.

When the lyrics for ‘Up Where We Belong’ were done Sill’s selection for producer, Stewart Levine and Jennifer Warnes were both convinced it would be a hit, but Joe Cocker described the demo as ‘dreadful’. The only thing that he held onto was the fact his previous work with Will Jennings had been so lucrative. The next step would be to move to the studio. Joe Cocker still had reservations and had to be convinced to even go to the studio. By the time they dragged him there it was revealed that he wasn’t even comfortable with the lyrics and to top it all off, he was skeptical about recording it as a duet. After a period of cajoling Cocker relented and the ultimate recording was done in a couple of takes. The result was described as magical by all who were present, but they still had another hurdle.

Remember earlier in the post I mentioned that the movie’s budget didn’t account for a soundtrack? Well, Hackford and Sill had to convince Paramount executives Michael Eisner and Don Simpson that the project was worthwhile. The pair hated it. Simpson bet Sill $100 that the song would go nowhere, and Eisner made the pair shop the song around in order to find another pair to record it or perhaps even find someone to write something else entirely. During their short journey the beleaguered producers were told the song was dead in the water. Warnes had never had a hit and Cocker was a has been. As time went on it became evident that they wouldn’t find a better option and at the eleventh hour, Eisner and Simpson relented. The song was released in conjunction with the movie in July of 1982. On its own the song flopped. Radio stations refused to play it, and many sent the pressings back to Island records. However, as the movie began to capture the imagination of viewers, the song literally took off. Essentially, the movie sold the song.

Briefly, I want to highlight the careers of the three songwriters who made ‘Up Where We Belong possible’.

Jack Nitzsche

• Worked as Phil Spector’s right hand man.
• Co-wrote ‘Needles and Pins’ with Sonny Bono
• Helped develop the ‘wall of sound’ studio technique
• Worked with Leon Russell, Glen Campbell, the Beach Boys and the Monkees
• Was instrumental in the work created by iconic studio session players the Wrecking Crew
• Became a huge source of inspiration in developing the background sound that people recognize as key to the Rolling Stones success in their first decade of recordings.
• Introduced Ry Cooder to Keith Richards and Mick Taylor, thus inspiring a guitar sound that defined what many believe to be the Rolling Stones finest era of recordings from 1969-1973.
• Collaborated with Neil Young from 1968 through 1973 and helped Young’s ascent as a solo artist.
• Nitzsche graduated to film music in the early ‘70s and worked on such notable movies as; The Exorcist and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest before his crowning achievement of co-writing ‘Up Where We Belong’ which won an Academy Award for Best Song.

Will Jennings

• Artists that Will Jennings has written for include; Steve Winwood, Eric Clapton, B.B King, Mariah Carey, Jimmy Buffet, Barry Manilow and Roy Orbison.
• Jennings won a Grammy along with Winwood for Record of the Year (Back in the High Life) along with the acknowledgement for Male Vocal Performance for the single ‘Back in the High Life Again’.
• Co-wrote ‘Street Life’ with Joe Sample, for the Crusaders along with ‘I’m So Glad I’m Standing Here Today and ‘Soul Shadows’, which featured Joe Cocker and Bill Withers respectively.
• He co-wrote ‘I Know I’ll Never Love this Way Again’ with Richard Kerr for Dionne Warwick.
• In 1997 he wrote ‘My Heart Will Go On’ for the film Titanic. This was co-written with James Horner and it became a worldwide #1 hit for Celine Dion and also won an Academy Award for Best Song.
• The Eric Clapton song ‘Tears in Heaven’ was also written by Will Jennings. A sad song inspired by the tragic death of Clapton’s four year old son Conor.

Buffy Sainte-Marie

• A vastly prolific and inspiring artist, singer, songwriter, composer, educator, pacifist and social activist.
• Developed her sound as a folk singer in Toronto’s Yorkville district and New York’s Greenwich Village. Worked closely with Leonard Cohen, Neil Young and Joni Mitchell
• Her song Cod’ine chronicled her addiction to the drug which evolved from a chronic throat infection. It has since been covered by such notable artists as; Donovan, Janis Joplin and Gram Parsons. Even Courtney Love.
• In 1963 she wrote the beautiful appeal for peace called ‘Universal Soldier’ after witnessing wounded soldiers coming home from the Vietnam War.
• Her writing took on a decided approach to conveying the plight of indigenous communities in North America from the mid ‘60s on.
• From 1976-1981 Buffy Sainte-Marie appeared on Sesame Street and worked hard to educate young children in the fact that indigenous culture still exists in North America.
• In the ‘80s her songs were used in the CBC TV series ‘Spirit Bay’ and in 1989 she wrote ‘Where the Spirit Lives’ which was a film about native children being abducted and forced into residential schools.
• In 1996 she started the non profit organization Nihewan Foundation for American Indian Education which is devoted to improve native American students access to and interest in learning. Nihewan is Cree for “talk Cree” which is intended to inspire her people to “Be Your Culture.”
• Founded the Cradleboard Teaching Project in 1997 which is a curriculum devoted to understanding Native Americans.
• In 1999 Sainte-Marie revealed that she had been blacklisted by the Lyndon B. Johnson’s White House because she was considered to be a subversive force. This led to her music effectively going underground for a several years in the U.S. and to a lesser extent Canada.
• Throughout the ‘90s and right to the present day Buffy Sainte-Marie continues to write songs and screenplays and continues to promote the themes of indigenous challenges and successes.
• Today Buffy Sainte-Marie celebrates her 78^th birthday

Here is Buffy Sainte Marie’s version of ‘Up Where We Belong’. Enjoy!