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‘Are we legends yet?’: Heart’s Ann and Nancy Wilson on 50 years of music and sisterhood

BBG News

50 years after the launch of their 1975 album “Dreamboat Annie”, Ann and Nancy Wilson from Heart are preparing for a concert tour starting this Friday in Las Vegas. This tour, which includes a stop at the Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles on Monday, wasn’t specifically planned to commemorate the band’s debut album anniversary. Heart resumed live performances in 2023 – their first concerts together since before the pandemic – but had to cancel dates last July when Ann revealed she had been diagnosed with cancer.

Despite being postponed, the upcoming concert tour still provides a valid explanation for examining Heart’s evolution over the past five decades. From performing in clubs of the Pacific Northwest to achieving heavy rotation on MTV, they have made a significant impact on rock music. Notably, Ann and Nancy were featured on the soundtrack of the 1992 film “Singles”, sharing space with Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains.

Before the upcoming premiere, the sisters – who faced a strain in their relationship in 2016 due to an incident where Ann’s husband, Dean Wetter, physically harmed Nancy’s twin teenage sons backstage during a performance in Washington state – had a virtual catch-up session not long ago. At that time, Ann was at her residence in Nashville and Nancy was at her home in Northern California.

How you feeling at the moment, Ann?

Ann: I’m back to being myself, having completed a round of chemotherapy a few months back – it was tough. However, I’m now cancer-free!

Did the brutality of chemo come as a shock?

Ann: I mean, they’re putting poison into you. What do you expect?

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What’s it been like to get the show back on its feet after a lengthy break?

Nancy: We require extensive practice sessions. Unlike many forms of entertainment, our live rock show involves a full commitment, meaning we don’t have the luxury of do-overs or retakes. That necessitates thorough warm-ups and rigorous physical training to ensure flexibility and strength for the performance.

You’re saying Heart doesn’t use pre-recorded tracks. Is that a matter of ethics in your view?

Nancy: I don’t have a big, fat opinion about people who use playback — everybody kind of uses it these days — but I think what’s been missing in music is the authentic, real thing. There’s a few old, dogged bands like Heart that are still out there doing it the old-fashioned way, which is actually singing and actually playing. When we were out last time, I made a great big blooper on the guitar while I was doing my famous intro to “Crazy on You” — totally train-wrecked it. But everybody in the audience was like, “Wow, how cool is a mistake?” It wasn’t a perfect playback of something that’s not really happening, and I got congratulated for making a human error on a live stage.

Last year, I was absolutely captivated by your acoustic performance on Kelly Clarkson’s show. The way your vocals shone through was nothing short of amazing. However, it might seem a bit morbid to say this, but…

Or in a more casual and conversational tone:

Man, that acoustic performance you guys did on Kelly Clarkson’s show last year was something else! Your vocals were on point like never before. I know it sounds weird to put it this way, but…

Ann: Let’s get dark for a minute.

If you lost the ability to sing at that level, would you feel you had to quit?

Nancy: Could we consider having a few additional singers join us for the tricky parts? The music is quite complex to perform, with more than just four chords.

You didn’t make it easy on yourselves.

Nancy: At times, we regret composing music intentionally intricate. Back then, during our twenties, we were trying to impress by being complex, but now we must continue meeting those standards.

Music

As a film and music enthusiast, I’ve been captivated by the journey of this talented artist, who’s been honing her musical skills for quite some time. Now, she’s graced us with an album titled ‘Glorious’, which holds a special song dedicated to her remarkable mother, Goldie Hawn.

Going beyond your dedication to music, it appeared as though the tour last year served as an opportunity for the two of you to rekindle your relationship after a challenging time.

Nancy: Performing together, regardless of the emotional hardships or difficulties we face as sisters – it’s a journey towards healing.

Ann: Healing a cut or scrape doesn’t happen instantly; it typically takes around two weeks for it to return to its normal state. Similarly, each time we perform together, we seem to rediscover our shared inside jokes and the unique language we nurtured during our childhoods. We grew up alongside each other – learning how to play guitar, learning to sing, and filling our days with little else but that in our parents’ house. It’s quite a journey to return to those memories.

Could that work of reconciliation continue after the tour was interrupted?

Ann: The stage is where most of the healing takes place. It’s a safe place for us to be.

You two openly discussed the backstage occurrence from 2016 with Rolling Stone, which many celebrities choose not to address.

Ann: I think that people who love Heart and care about Nancy and I deserve the truth.

Nancy: We didn’t come from a Hollywood-style upbringing.

In 2013, Chris Cornell inducting Heart into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, stated, “We never really thought of Ann and Nancy Wilson as women.” However, he meant this admiringly. This statement showcases a historical pattern of referring to Heart’s greatness using masculine terminology.

Ann: It’s something I’ve often found frustrating – the feeling that, as a woman, I’m just imitating what men typically do.

Initially, there was speculation such as, “How do you balance your femininity while playing powerful rock music on a large guitar?” Isn’t it unfair to limit such capabilities to specific genders?

Ann: Things are improving, and Taylor Swift is leading the way by sharing intimate insights into her personal life with her audience. Instead of telling her to toughen up, people appreciate it. No one has managed this since Joni Mitchell did it.

Rock Hall aside, do you think Heart has gotten its due?

Ann: We’ve never been included or considered first, like for “SNL” or similar opportunities. It seems there’s a certain “They’re not cool or trendy enough” stereotype at play, which we’ve never fully grasped.

Me: Back in the ’90s, I guess we began to question whether we’d become legends. We had been active for decades, from the glorious ’70s to the successful ’80s albums and their accompanying videos with our big hair and flamboyant style – right through to the ’90s when it was hip to associate with the grunge musicians we admired. However, our album “Desire Walks On” didn’t perform as well as we had hoped, leaving us wondering if we were still not legends in the eyes of many.

Music

On this day, the renowned Grammy-award-winning vocalist and pianist took her final bow at the age of 88. Let me share some of her most significant creations with you.

The acclaimed Grammy-winning singer-pianist passed away on Monday at 88 years old. Here are some of her most notable pieces.

Or:

Monday marked the passing of our esteemed, Grammy-honored vocalist and pianist, aged 88. Allow me to introduce you to some of her most crucial works.

As accomplished songwriters, were there complex emotions that arose when “These Dreams” and “Alone,” songs you didn’t compose yourself, achieved massive popularity during the 1980s?

Ann: We were composing our music back then, and many people would look at it strangely, as if to ask, “How will this ever be performed?

Nancy: In the instance of “Alone” and “These Dreams,” it was impossible to overlook their brilliance. “Alone” is a track reminiscent of World War I, one you might hear in an old movie or a European cabaret. Similarly, “These Dreams” shares this quality. It’s a deeply romantic, otherworldly song that any era’s talented vocalist could have made captivating. However, there were other songs from the Los Angeles songwriting factory — the ones churned out by the star-making machine — that we found ourselves resenting.

What’s an example?

Nancy expressed dissatisfaction with certain songs due to the victim-like tone in their lyrics, specifically the line “Why don’t you call me back?” instead of a more proactive approach such as “How do I get you alone?” which she finds more effective and assertive.

Ann: That tune definitely wasn’t one of the highlights in our evening performances. It seemed rather empty and lacked depth, so we affectionately dubbed it “Where Are You Going to Sit Your Backside?” instead.

Nancy: It felt a bit like high school. At one point, even our song “Magic Man” wasn’t appealing to Ann and she hesitated to sing it.

Ann: When “Magic Man” was penned, I was 24 years old and it marked my first love. Consequently, I’d take on tasks like washing the sheets by hand and drying them outside – quite romantic, wouldn’t you agree? However, as we progressed in our career during the ’80s and ’90s, I struggled to connect with that 24-year-old version of myself. Performing that song on stage and conveying its essence became increasingly challenging.

How about now?

Ann: Now I can do it because I’ve got enough distance from it.

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Nancy, why did you sing lead on “These Dreams”?

As a music enthusiast, I’m not just a guitarist, I also have a deep passion for singing, and I love trying my hand at it. One memorable moment happened when we were auditioning demos with our producer Ron Nevison. Most of them fell flat, but the last one, “These Dreams,” stood out. It was far from what Heart would typically produce, but Ron found it intriguing, and it had lyrics by Bernie Taupin. As soon as I heard it, I knew I could make it my own because of its unique quality. Initially, our management company wasn’t convinced, but I persisted and eventually got the opportunity to sing it. The reaction was surprising: “Wait a minute — that really worked!” They even said, “Remind us never to say no to you again.” I guess they were right, because it became our first No. 1 song.

What was your takeaway from that?

Nancy: That the guys in suits, their ears are painted on.

It’s said that Taupin and his collaborator, Martin Page, initially proposed “These Dreams” to Stevie Nicks, right? Have you heard if they ended up using it?

Nancy: Actually, Bernie informed me afterwards. Yet, I understand the reason now – it carries a certain enchanting, wicked charm similar to Stevie’s.

What’s a great power ballad that you wish Heart had gotten?

Ann: We previously discussed “The Woman in Me” by Donna Summer. Another song we tackled was “The Living Years,” a track by Mike + the Mechanics.

Movie Critic: I couldn’t help but feel a pang of disappointment when the opportunity to sing Shania Twain’s “You’re Still the One” didn’t materialize. That song has long been a dream role for me as a performer, and I could hardly contain my excitement at the prospect.

Following the trend of glamorous big hair, Heart was among the not many bands from that period who managed to persist and thrive during the alternative rock ’90s.

Ann: It was like some kind of purge.

Nancy: Initially, we believed everyone would dislike us as they seemed resistant to hair bands and the Los Angeles music scene. Fortunately, we weren’t from L.A., and at that time, being from Seattle was trendy. We managed to escape criticism by a slim margin.

Ann: During the ’80s, we initially felt at ease with perhaps the first two albums. However, the continuous repetition of outfits, music video-making, and numerous performances began to take a toll on our emotional well-being. It seemed that the artificiality had grown too much and was no longer genuine. We needed to discard all the unnecessary elements and get back to being truthful.

Nancy: We swapped our corsets for combat boots, and it felt fantastic – that era of music was electrifying! The moment I first heard “Smells Like Teen Spirit” still stands out; it was as if someone had started strumming guitars once more!

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2025-02-28 14:32

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