Heart is known as being one of the biggest bands to have come out of Seattle, Washington, but most people know very little about the path that brought the Wilson sisters to the state. Ann and Nancy, who are four years apart, were both born in California. Their father, John Wilson, was a Major in the Vietnam War, and because of this, the family had to move around quite a bit. They lived in California, North Carolina, and even in Taiwan! When their father retired from the military, the Wilsons settled in the Seattle area. It was here that the Wilson sisters came into their own. While their mother, Lou Wilson, always created music with them and their sister, Lynn, it was in their new home that they took to their craft. Ann came down with mono, and so to keep her from getting insanely bored, her parents bought her a guitar. Nancy fell in love with it and taught herself to play it, earning her the nickname “Whiz Fingers.” Ann was often bullied for her weight and for her stutter, but singing helped her overcome both. Ann and Nancy played their music in churches and at family parties. They were frequent concert-goers, even getting to see The Beatles and Led Zeppelin! Their family was very encouraging of them to play music. When Ann was in her early 20’s, she moved to Vancouver, B.C., and joined a band called Hocus Pocus, soon to be known as Heart. Nancy went away to school for a few years before she ultimately joined her sister.

I would like to dedicate this post to my grandfather who passed away this week. After all, he was the person that bought me my first ever Heart album. I was 13 years old when I spent a weekend (as I often did) at my grandparent’s house. We had decided to go out to lunch and go shopping at Barnes and Noble. I had just began listening to Heart on YouTube, so when we got to the music section of the store, I ran straight for the Heart section. I really wanted was looking for a Greatest Hits album of some sort, because I only knew the big hits and didn’t want all the album filler tracks. I found a CD called “The Road Home,” which is a live acoustic album that came out in 1995, my birth year! It had some of the greatest Heart songs on it, including “Crazy on You,” “Alone,” “These Dreams,” “Straight On,” and “Barracuda.” I ran over to my Grandpa with it and showed him how cool it looked. It was at that moment that he took it up to the counter and bought it for me. I was so appreciative and just super stoked that I had my first Heart album. We started listening to it on the car ride back to his house, and he started playing it over the stereo in his house. I’ll forever be appreciative to him for buying me that album. A lifelong musician, he instilled in me a passion for music. He was a super talented guitarist who once played to a crowd of about 5,000 people! See my next post, as I will post the live video version of the first Heart album I ever owned.

Since Ann Wilson is my favorite singer of all time, it is no surprise that I jumped for joy when she announced that she would be embarking on a solo tour in March and April. The tour is called “Ann Wilson of Heart” and will feature Heart songs, songs from her solo albums, and covers. The tour kicks off tonight in Seattle, and thankfully, she will be making a stop in New Hampshire on April 2! She’ll be playing the Tupelo Music Hall in Londonderry, which she sold out in no time. It’s a rather small venue, less than one thousand seats, but I believe that will make for a beautiful and intimate performance. She posted a picture to her Facebook page this week of the set list that she’ll be performing. She blurred out every song except for four: “Barracuda,” “Straight On,” “Alone,” and “I Put a Spell On You.” A lot of fans are really hoping she goes heavy on the Heart hits. I feel a bit differently about this. I’ve been fortunate enough to see Heart 8 times in concert, and I’ve gotten to hear so many amazing tunes. Now that Ann is going solo for a while, I would love to hear her perform some songs she rarely performs. For example, there is a song on her 2007 solo album called “Little Problems, Little Lies.” It’s a beautiful song about the effects of war, but she never gets to play it during a Heart concert because the fans demand to hear The Big 5 (see my previous post.) No matter what she performs, I know it is going to a special night. Ann has the ability to make the hair on your arm stand up with her powerful and soulful voice. I am so fortunate to know the owner of the Tupelo Music Hall who is getting me a post-show meet and greet with her. I can’t wait until the concert, and I will for sure be posting a review here.