Ann Wilson
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Ann Wilson
- Genres: Rock
Biography
As half of the sister duo that makes up arena rock veterans Heart, vocalist Ann Wilson has sung on some of the biggest rock radio hits of the '70s and '80s. Born on June 19, 1950, Wilson's family moved often when she was young (her father was a Marine Corps captain), before eventually settling down for good in Seattle, WA. As a shy teenager (due to a stutter), Wilson turned to music and singing as an outlet. By the late '60s, she became equally interested in such hard rockers as Led Zeppelin and folk artists as Joni Mitchell, and as a result, her vocals could adapt between the two styles. The early '70s saw Ann join a local rock outfit, Heart (then White Heart), which led to her trying to unsuccessfully convince her younger sister, guitarist Nancy Wilson, to join up as well. Heart continued on, during which time Ann and Heart guitarist Mike Fisher began a romantic relationship. But before recording could begin on a debut album, Fisher had decided to vacate his guitar spot in favor of becoming the group's sound engineer, which led to Nancy being offered once more to join the group -- and this time, she accepted.The band's debut album, 1976's Dreamboat Annie, slowly became a best-seller (especially after being re-released by Capitol Records), as Ann's soaring vocals contributed to such enduring classic rock radio standards as "Magic Man," "Crazy on You," and the title track. Further hit albums (1977's Little Queen and 1978's Dog & Butterfly) and singles ("Barracuda") followed, as Heart became one of the U.S.' top rock outfits. But the early '80s saw several big-name rock acts of the previous decade find a hard time adapting to the changing musical climate, which Heart fell victim to (this period was also a turbulent one in Ann's personal life as well, due to a less than amicable split with Fisher). Although none of Heart's early-'80s albums performed up to the high standards set by their early releases, Wilson scored a hit with Loverboy singer Mike Reno on the duet power ballad "Almost Paradise" (off the blockbuster 1984 motion picture soundtrack Footloose). Heart switched labels soon after and overhauled their sound and look to keep pace with younger MTV acts. The ploy worked, as their 1985 self-titled comeback album spawned several big hits, including "What About Love," "These Dreams," "Never," and "Nothin' at All." Heart continued issuing similarly styled albums throughout the remainder of the '80s and early '90s -- during which time Ann scored another duet hit, this time singing with Cheap Trick's Robin Zander on the track "Surrender to Me" (from 1988's Tequila Sunrise soundtrack).
The '90s saw Ann and Nancy open their own Seattle recording studio, Bad Animals, during which time the area became a breeding ground for countless chart-topping "grunge" outfits, including Alice in Chains, whom Ann sang with on their 1991 acoustic EP Sap. Ann and Nancy launched a back-to-basics side band soon after, the Lovemongers -- debuting with a cover of Led Zeppelin's "The Battle of Evermore" on the Singles motion picture soundtrack in 1992. In 1993, the group issued a four-song EP (titled after the aforementioned Zeppelin cover song), but it wouldn't be until 1997 that the group would issue a proper debut album, Whirlygig. With Heart and the Lovemongers performing and issuing albums sporadically throughout the '90s and early 21st century, Ann turned her attention mainly toward parenthood. But Wilson continued to perform with others -- including such all-star gigs as The British Rock Symphony (alongside Roger Daltrey, Paul Rodgers, etc.) and the Beatles tribute A Walk Down Abbey Road (which also included Todd Rundgren, John Entwistle, and Alan Parsons). In 2007, the singer issued her first-ever solo album, a collection of covers (but one), entitled Hope & Glory. ~ Greg Prato, Rovi
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Ann Wilson
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Ann Wilson
Not to be confused with Anne Wilson.
| Ann Wilson | |
|---|---|
 Ann Wilson May 2010 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Ann Dustin Wilson |
| Born | June 19, 1950 San Diego, California |
| Genres | Rock, hard rock, folk rock, pop rock |
| Instruments | Vocals, flute, guitar, 12 string guitar, bass guitar, violin, piano, autoharp, keyboards, percussion |
| Years active | 1970–present |
| Associated acts | Heart, The Lovemongers, Alice in Chains, Pantera, Marilyn Manson |
Ann Dustin Wilson (born June 19, 1950) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer, flute player, songwriter, and occasional guitar player[1] of the rock band Heart.
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Personal life
Wilson was born in San Diego, California. Her father was a colonel in the Marine Corps, and she moved frequently. Her family eventually settled in Bellevue, a suburb of Seattle, Washington. Shy because of a stutter, Wilson sought fulfillment in music. In the early 1970s she joined a local band, White Heart, which changed its name to Hocus Pocus, and then in 1974, to Heart.
During the 1970s, Ann Wilson was in a relationship with Michael Fisher, the manager of the band, while her younger sister Nancy was involved with lead guitarist Roger Fisher, Michael's younger brother. Both couples co-controlled the band. In 1979, both relationships ended; Ann stated that Michael had fallen in love with another woman and they parted. The song "Magic Man" was written about Michael and contains autobiographical lyrics about the beginning of their relationship.[2]
Ann adopted her daughter Marie in 1991 and her son Dustin in 1998.
As a child, Ann was teased for being overweight. She revealed that in the 1970s and into the eary 80's she would starve herself to stay thin. When Heart created a comeback in the mid-1980s, Ann had gained significant weight. Fearing it would compromise the band's image, record company executives and band members began pressuring her to lose weight. In music videos, camera angles and clothes were often used to minimize her weight, and more focus was put on her sister Nancy. Ann stated she began suffering from stress-related panic attacks due to the negative publicity surrounding her obesity.[3] She underwent a weight-loss surgery called "adjustable gastric band" in January 2002[4] after what she calls "a lifelong battle" with her weight.
Recording career
In 1974 Ann's younger sister Nancy joined Heart, and the band moved to Canada. Heart recorded their first album Dreamboat Annie in Vancouver in 1975; it was released in the United States in 1976. In 1977 Little Queen was released, and in 1978, Dog & Butterfly. Ann also sang the duet "Almost Paradise" with Mike Reno in the movie Footloose from 1984 which reached number seven on Billboard's Hot 100.[5] In 1986 she released a solo single from the movie "The Golden Child" called "The Best Man in the World" which reached number sixty-one in the U.S. She also had a hit in 1988-89 called "Surrender to Me" which was a duet with Cheap Trick singer Robin Zander, taken from the film Tequila Sunrise which reached number six in the U.S. singles chart.
In 1992 Ann appeared on Alice in Chains' EP Sap; she did vocals for "Brother", "Am I Inside" and "Love Song". In 1993, Alice in Chains singer Layne Staley contributed to vocals on "Ring Them Bells," a Bob Dylan cover from Heart's album Desire Walks On. In addition, Alice in Chains bassist Mike Inez and touring guitarist Scott Olson appeared on Heart's 2003 release Alive in Seattle.
Ann and Nancy started a recording studio, Bad Animals, in Seattle in the mid-1990s. They formed a side band, The Lovemongers, which performed "The Battle of Evermore" on the 1992 soundtrack to the Cameron Crowe (Nancy's then husband) movie Singles, and later released a four-song EP. The Lovemongers' debut album Whirlygig was released in 1997.
Solo career
In 2006 Ann began recording her first solo album, Hope & Glory, produced by Ben Mink, and released by the Rounder (Zoe) Music Group on September 11, 2007. That same year, she and sister Nancy were on stage for a series of concerts in Las Vegas. Hope & Glory features guest appearances from Elton John, k.d. lang, Alison Krauss, Gretchen Wilson, Shawn Colvin, Rufus Wainwright, Wynonna Judd and Deana Carter. Ann's sister, Nancy, also contributed. Four singles were released from the project, "Little Problems, Little Lies", "Isolation" and "Immigrant Song".
The Hope & Glory version of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" is available on Ann's official MySpace page, and charted as "the #9 most podcasted song of 2007" on the PMC Top10's annual countdown. Ann's powerful, piercing voice led many to refer to her as "the female Robert Plant" (Led Zeppelin's lead vocalist).[6]
Ann joined producer Alan Parsons in the 2001 live tribute tour to Beatles music called A Walk Down Abbey Road.
In June 2007 she sang with the group Sed Nove and Ian Gillan in the Festival of Music in Paris.
References
- ^ http://www.ascap.com/press/2009/0227_popawards.aspx
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ok2WlhnTRmI Ann Wilson discusses the inspiration behind "Magic Man."
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwr6qe5AXBw&feature=related Ann Wilson discusses the implications of and the responses to her weight gain.
- ^ Mike Falcon (2002) "Ann Wilson finds a weight-loss hit", 11 December 2002, USA Today. Accessed June 2007.
- ^ Mike Reno Billboard chart history, Billboard.com. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
- ^ Doelle, Chris (2008-01-05). "PMC Top10 - 010408 - Top Hits of 2007!!!". PMC Top10. http://www.podmusiccountdown.com/2008/01/05/pmc-top10-010408-top-hits-of-2007/. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
External links
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Mentioned in
Tibetan & Christian Beads
(Visual Arts Film)
Dreamboat Annie
(1976 Album by Heart)
Alive in Seattle
(2003 Album by Heart)
Heart: The Road Home
(1995 Music Film)
Big Ones
(1989 Album by Loverboy)
» More