If you are a rock band and you are interested in writing romantic ballads, the following ingredients will take you a long way: Ann Wilson, a singer with a lyric soprano range, and her younger sister Nancy Wilson, an acoustic guitar virtuoso. Then name the band Heart.
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Most people know the revenge track “Barracuda,” but Heart is responsible for tender ballads too. If Nancy is the calm then Ann is the storm. The band mixes soft and sweet with aggressive and soaring melodies. Heart also gets straight to the point. There’s no beating around the bush with this band: Let me go crazy, crazy on you, and How do I get you alone? get straight to the point.
Ann has a vocal register that always seems to have another level of height she can summon. She has the rare ability to get there with seeming ease while delivering raw, in-the-moment emotion. Heart’s influence is in the DNA of Olivia Rodrigo’s song “vampire” and Miley Cyrus’s soaring hit “Wrecking Ball.” Heart is the sound of the ladies punching back. What else would you name this band?
1. “Alone” (1987)
Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly wrote “Alone,” which was not their only No. 1 single. They also co-wrote “Like a Virgin” by Madonna, “True Colors” by Cyndi Lauper, and “Eternal Flame” by the Bangles. “Alone” is taken from Heart’s ninth studio album, Bad Animals, and it’s a continuation of the band’s new hard rock sound they began on their self-titled release in 1985.
Till now I always got by on my own
I never really cared until I met you
And now it chills me to the bone
How do I get you alone?
2. “Crazy on You” (1975)
Nancy Wilson’s guitar intro to “Crazy on You” brings to mind Scottish folk musician Bert Jansch and his song “Angie.” However, Nancy has said it was inspired by The Moody Blues song “Question.” Released in 1976, “Crazy on You” was the first single from Heart’s début album, Dreamboat Annie. The world in the 1970s was chaotic, reflected by a lyric Ann sings, With bombs and the devil, and the kids keep coming, in reference to the Vietnam War. It’s a song about escaping, even for one night, into the arms of a lover. Forget about the war and the protests, Let me go crazy on you!
My love is the evening breeze touching your skin
The gentle, sweet singing of leaves in the wind
The whisper that calls after you in the night
And kisses your ear in the early light
3. “All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You” (1990)
Robert John “Mutt” Lange – no stranger to producing hits – wrote and produced “All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You.” Dobie Gray originally cut the song in 1979 but it wasn’t a hit.
The song tells the story of a woman seducing a hitchhiker with the intention of getting pregnant. She tells the hitchhiker, Don’t try to find me, please don’t you dare. It was nominated for a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group and peaked at No. 2 on Billboard’s Hot 100. “All I Wanna Do is Make Love to You” is the only Heart song certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.
I didn’t ask him his name
This lonely boy in the rain
Fate, tell me it’s right, is this love at first sight?
Please don’t make it wrong, just stay for the night
4. “What About Love” (1985)
“What About Love” was originally recorded by Canadian rock group Toronto. The song was later recorded by Heart in 1985 and featured on the band’s self-titled album, Heart. Marking a reinvention for the band, with a new look and a new sound, it replaced the band’s ’60s folk influences with hard rock. “What About Love” was a Top 10 hit on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, giving Heart their first Top 10 single in five years.
What about love?
Don’t you want someone to care about you?
And what about love?
Don’t let it slip away
5. “These Dreams” (1985)
During this period of Heart, they began using professional songwriters. “These Dreams” was written by Bernie Taupin and Martin Page—the duo responsible for “We Built This City” by Starship. “These Dreams” was originally offered to Stevie Nicks, who declined, and later sent to Kim Carnes, but she didn’t like the vocal range.
The first single sung by Nancy became the band’s first No. 1 hit on Billboard’s Hot 100. The song is about wanting what you cannot have. A dream has hope because you can go back each night and try again. But there’s also frustration in the dream, with everything just out of reach.
In a wood full of princes, freedom is a kiss
But the prince hides his face from dreams in the mist
Photo by Richard Creamer/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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