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Today it's guitarist and vocalist Nancy Wilson of Heart, as HPR All Things Considered Host Dave Lawrence continues two weeks of celebrating two pioneering women of rock: sisters Annand Nancy Wilson. Hear Ann Wilson from last week: part one and part two.
Nancyrecently released her first-ever solo album, You and Me, which she told us about when joining Off the Road back in January (hear part one and part two). Now the project is out, and in part one of our two-part feature, Nancy explains how she’ll showcase some of the material, as well as some Heart classics, at a special show she’s doing July 9that Benaroya Hall in Seattle with the Seattle Symphony. The event will be livestreamed, she told us. Also included in part one we both hear some of the new music, including the title track and 4 Edward, Nancy’s instrumental tribute to Eddie Van Halen, plus get details on the origins of several songs, as Nancy tells us stories about her mom and the role spirituality plays in her life.
Tomorrow we’ll get into more fun stories connecting to You and Me, and hear more of the new music, like her cover of Paul Simon’s The Boxer, featuring special guest Sammy Hagar. We’ll also hear some of her new song The Inbetween, co-written with lyrics inspired by a poem from her son Curtis. Nancy will share endearing stories about both sons Curtis and Billy, and some hysterical stories from their early years.
The band Heartemerged from the Pacific Northwest in 1975. Songs like Magic Man, Crazy on You, Straight On, Heartless, Dog and Butterfly and Even It Up became radio staples, to this day core songs on the classic rock / classic hits radio playlists. They were pioneers in rock, with two women fronting a band in a male-dominated industry, and in many cases, Heart were something of a hard rock group, attracting legions of male and female fans. The band would continue racking up hits in the 1980’s with more pop material, like These Dreams, Alone, All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You, Never, How Can I Refuse, and If Looks Could Kill. When the Seattle grunge scene of the early 1990’s emerged, Heart was embraced by many of the acts coming out of the city, with Pearl Jam, Nirvana and Alice in Chains all recording at their Bad Animals Studios in Seattle. As that era progressed, Heart were packaged with other classic rock bands on annual summer bills that would pack outdoor concert venues across the country. In 2012, their notorious love of Led Zeppelin, who they often covered over the decades, earned them a spot with an audience including the band’s three surviving members and President Barack Obama, and First Lady Michelle Obama, as they performed with late drummer John Bonham's son, Jason.
Nancy was among our most popular guests so far on Off the Road, and we’re grateful to welcome her back. Hear her interview from January: part one and part two.
Off The Road is a series of interviews with musicians that began as a way to connect remotely during the pandemic, and evolved over time to be an outlet for discussing their latest projects, hearing some classic storytelling, and offering intimate musical performances. The archive includes many hours of conversation and exclusive musical performances, speaking to artists across the musical spectrum.
Highlight guests Off the Road has welcomed include Jack Johnson, Carlos Santana, Linda Ronstadt, System of a Down, America, Jimmy Webb, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Peter Frampton, William Shatner and The Doors.
Artists who have offered different kinds of intimate, impromptu musical performances along the way include Randy Brecker, Stray Cats, Dave Mason, Soul Asylum, Deep Purple, George Benson, Joe Satriani, 10,000 Maniacs, Herb Alpert and Al Di Meola.
Browse and hear the complete Off the Road series at hawaiipublicradio.org/offtheroad.
MORE NANCY:
Watch Nancy's new video for her cover of Pearl Jam's Daughter from her new solo album You and Me:
See the video for the title track, which is featured in part one:
Hear Dave's other interviews with Nancy from 2004,2010 and January 2020.
Browse and hear the complete Off the Road series at hawaiipublicradio.org/offtheroad.
