NANCY WILSON’S HEART
Heart certainly weren’t the first group to find women at the helm, but they were one of the few who featured a pair of siblings taking the primary roles. It also put an end to any notion that a female guitar slinger couldn’t hold her own in what had previously been a boys club. Indeed, the combination of Ann Wilson’s searing vocals and younger sister Nancy’s expressive lead guitar found a formula that brought them an enduring streak of success, one that resulted in their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, sales of over 35 million records worldwide, over a dozen Top 40 singles, seven Top 10 albums and four Grammy nominations. More remarkably still, they were able to claim a presence in the upper reaches of the pop charts in three different decades: the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s.
Of course, songs matter more than statistics, and Heart had their fair share of classics, including such radio-ready hits as “Magic Man” (1976), “Crazy On You” (1976), “Barracuda” (1977),” “What About Love?” (1985), “Never” (1985), “These Dreams” (1986), “Alone” (1987) and “All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You” (1990). To be sure, their success has ebbed and flowed over the years and the band went on hiatus in 2016, leaving their future status somewhat uncertain. Ann busied herself with solo projects, including two full-length albums — and — as well as a pair of EPs, various singles and guest appearances on other people’s albums.
