In the ’70s and ’80s, Pacific Northwest-born rock band Heart paved the way for many more rockers and women to follow. With songs like “Barracuda” and “All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You,” Heart shattered expectations and melted faces.
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Fronted by sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson, Heart was a rocket. From Nancy, the band enjoyed devastating lead guitar playing—for evidence, all you need to do is listen to the song “Crazy On You.” It’s a flame thrower.
But with so much talent and history to her name, one might wonder what the now-69-year-old California-born Nancy has to say about her life, her band, her sister and more. What are her thoughts on life and love and her craft?
Here are the best 30 Nancy Wilson quotes.
1. “Being taken seriously was always the biggest challenge.”
2. “People started to ask me, ‘Do you really play guitar?’ They thought it was a prop.”
3. “We see what music can do for people. Hell, we see what music does for us! When you see thousands of people out in front of you, it’s fixing their lives. It’s helping. It’s healing. It’s bigger than the inconvenience of jealousy or emotional storm clouds.”
4. “We had the idea as women that we could walk into music and be good at it and be as good as any man and have a career in it without being taken advantage of. So basically, those things came true. The obstacle course was just more difficult than we ever anticipated. We were optimistic and very naive.”
5. “A dream set would include songs by other artists like Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, and other favorites. More obscure Heart songs like ‘Wait For an Answer’ and ‘Nada One’ would be fun, plus fan favorites like ‘Love Mistake’ and ‘Language of Love.’ Endless possibilities.”
6. “The Seattle explosion was what saved rock from becoming too pompous! A great moment in music!”
7. “We’re trying to elevate humanity and not preach to humanity in the way we approach our art. We’re always just trying to get a good party going.”
8. “Ann and I were the main writers in Heart. We had the leadership role, and the guys in the band sometimes had a hard time with that.”
9. “Most of our great influences were male rockers, like Led Zeppelin.”
10. “I’ve been through a lot of heartache in my day, and you turn to music to prop yourself up. It’s a healing thing, and it’s a powerful, powerful, beautiful thing.”
11. “We struck out on our own in suburbia with parents who actually helped us get where we needed to go.”
12. “There is a definite sound with all-girl bands, a good rudimentary sound, and that’s what’s cool and punk about all-girl bands that you still find, largely—it’s really kind of primal.”
13. “Grace Slick was a total trip to work with. Lots of jokes and opinions. A strident individual and super talented!”
14. “We always had a lot of admiration for feminists who were out there trying to change things for the better for women, who were trying to find equality in the workplace and at home.”
15. “I play a lot of classical music around the house.”
16. “We were wild-eyed hippies from the late ’60s. We still had the exuberance of the mind-expanding ’60s—that Tolkienesque, Zeppelin, androgynous, wood nymph, forest fairy kind of innocence. It sounds stupid now, but we felt we were changing the world with music.”
17. “I tried to play ‘Barracuda’ on ‘Guitar Hero,’ and because you have to anticipate and push buttons, it’s really counterintuitive.”
18. “Ever since I could remember, women’s issues have been pretty urgent.”
19. “The high road and positivity is never the easy way but always the best way.”
20. “There’s nothing quite as raw and honest as one person and one instrument.”
21. “There was a lot of procrastination on Cameron’s part because of the personal nature of ‘Almost Famous.’ There was a lot of deep, dark doubt about even doing it. I don’t mind being a cheerleader, but I did reach my limit quite a few times. I do my own writing, so I understand, but I was pushed to the point of anger with the insecurity of it.”
22. “The electric guitar was a big step for me, but I didn’t spend a lot of time trying to adjust. It wasn’t like, ‘Hey, little lady, come strap on this here big guitar.’ We took it in steps as much as possible.”
23. “We’re not just ‘ladies in rock.’ We’re weird people!”
24. “My highest score karaoke song is ‘Ben,’ by Michael Jackson.”
25. “I was always so jealous of a band like Fleetwood Mac, for instance, where Christine McVie would sing a whole bunch of songs even though Stevie was the obvious lead singer. It added variety to their shows.”
26. “We get notes sent to us backstage from college students that say, ‘My parents used to play your albums all the time! I grew up with you, and I love the new stuff.’”
27. “Heart had originally relocated to Vancouver because Mike evaded the draft to protest the Vietnam War. We had to deal with a lot at that time—it was a tough period for the band.”
28. “I’m a chameleon when it comes to guitar playing and like to stretch out into different territories.”
29. “As far as havin’ someone to talk to on the road, for instance, who’s not a guy—it’s saved my life many times to have Ann in the same group.”
30.”We came from an era when women normally did not rock.”
Photo Credit: Jeremy Danger / Courtesy MAD ink PR
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