Nancy Wilson (rock musician) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nancy Wilson
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Wilson in 2012
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Nancy Lamoureux Wilson |
| Born | March 16, 1954 San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Origin | Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Genres | Hard rock, folk rock, pop rock, arena rock |
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| Years active | 1973–present |
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Nancy Lamoureux Wilson (born March 16, 1954) is an American musician. She became famous as the guitarist and a singer in the rock band Heart. Her older sister, Ann, was the lead singer.
Heart was one of the first successful hard rock bands with women leading the group. They released many popular albums in the 1970s and 1980s. Albums like Dreamboat Annie (1975) and Little Queen (1977) had hit songs such as "Magic Man", "Crazy on You", and "Barracuda". Later, their albums Heart (1985), Bad Animals (1987), and Brigade (1990) were also very successful. Heart has sold over 35 million records worldwide.
Nancy Wilson is known for her amazing guitar playing. She mixes styles like flamenco and classical guitar with hard rock. In 2016, Gibson magazine named her the eighth-greatest female guitarist ever. She is also a talented singer. She sang lead vocals on "These Dreams", which became Heart's first song to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In 2013, Nancy Wilson and the band Heart were welcomed into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Contents
Early Life and Musical Beginnings
Nancy Lamoureaux Wilson was born on March 16, 1954, in San Francisco, California. She was the youngest of three sisters. Her parents were John and Lois Wilson. The family moved a lot because her father was in the U.S. Marine Corps. When Nancy was six, they settled in Bellevue, Washington, near Seattle.
On February 9, 1964, Nancy and her sister Ann watched The Beatles perform on The Ed Sullivan Show. This moment was very important for them. Nancy remembered it like a "lightning bolt" that made them want to become rock musicians. They started pretending to play guitars and sing like The Beatles right away.
Nancy went to Interlake High School. After high school, she attended Pacific University and later Portland State University. In 1973, she moved back to Seattle and went to the University of Washington.
Building a Music Career
Early Bands and First Recordings
Nancy and Ann formed their first music group called The Viewpoints with two friends. They sang in four-part harmony. Ann bought her first acoustic guitar with money from her grandmother. Nancy soon got a smaller guitar, but it wouldn't stay in tune, so she played Ann's guitar. Their first public show was at a folk festival in 1967. They played at many local places like drive-ins and church events.
The Wilson sisters also performed as a duo. At a church event, they sang songs that some people found surprising for a church. Many people walked out, but Nancy felt it "lit a bonfire under us" because they saw their music could really affect an audience.
While still in high school, Ann joined a band that needed backup musicians for a country songwriter. Nancy and Ann went to a recording studio in Seattle to record these songs. The engineer liked a song Nancy and Ann had written called "Through Eyes and Glass." He offered to make 500 copies of it. This song appeared on the B-side of a country track. It was their first single, credited to Ann Wilson and the Daybreaks.
Joining Heart and Early Success
While Nancy was in college, she played solo acoustic shows, singing songs by artists like Joni Mitchell. Her sister Ann joined a local band called Hocus Pocus, which soon became Heart. Ann convinced Nancy to join the band too. Nancy had to audition by learning a difficult guitar part from a Yes song. After playing it perfectly, she officially became a member of Heart.
Heart signed with Mushroom Records. Their first album, Dreamboat Annie, was released in 1975. It included the hit song "Magic Man." In May 1977, Heart released their second album, Little Queen. This album featured the famous song "Barracuda," which reached number 11 on the Billboard charts.
The band's fourth album, Dog & Butterfly, came out in October 1978. Nancy wrote some songs for this album with her friend Sue Ennis. The album sold a million copies in its first month and became a triple-platinum album, meaning it sold over three million copies. This was Heart's fourth album in a row to sell over a million copies.
During a tour, Nancy started playing more lead guitar after a change in the band. This gave her a chance to show off her guitar skills even more.
The 1980s: Chart-Topping Hits
Heart's fifth album, Bébé le Strange, was released in 1980. Their sixth album, Private Audition (1982), didn't sell as well as their previous ones. However, Heart still had very successful concerts.
After some changes in band members, Heart released their self-titled album, Heart, in 1985. This album became the band's first number-one album! The song "What About Love" was a big hit. The album stayed on the charts for a long time and sold five million copies.
This album also featured the song "These Dreams", which had Nancy Wilson singing the lead vocals. It became Heart's first number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in March 1986. Nancy loved the song and fought to sing it, even though some band members thought it didn't sound like a typical Heart song.
The album Bad Animals (1987) was another huge success. Its first single, "Alone," became Heart's second number-one hit. This meant the band had a number-one song even before their tour started. The "Bad Animals" tour sold out many shows, including three at Wembley Arena in Europe. The band continued to work on their next album, Brigade, in 1989.
The 1990s: New Projects and Film Work
Around 1990, Nancy and Ann were asked to play a concert for the Red Cross to help troops during the Gulf War. They formed a new band for this event called The Lovemongers. The name was chosen to promote peace.
The Lovemongers released a four-song EP in 1992, which included a live version of Led Zeppelin's "The Battle of Evermore". This song also appeared on the soundtrack for the 1992 film Singles, which was directed by Nancy's husband, Cameron Crowe.
Heart released a live album, Rock the House Live!, in 1991. Their album Desire Walks On came out in 1993 and was certified gold. Heart then recorded an "unplugged" album called The Road Home in 1995. John Paul Jones from Led Zeppelin produced it.
In 1995, Nancy decided Heart should take a break. She wanted to spend more time with her husband, Cameron Crowe, working on film music and starting a family. Nancy had already contributed guitar music to Crowe's 1989 film Say Anything.... She became more involved in his film Jerry Maguire and wrote the entire film score.
During her break from Heart, Nancy still performed occasionally with The Lovemongers. In 1996, she played her first solo acoustic show in 30 years. A recording of this show was released as an album, Live from McCabe's Guitar Shop, in 1999. The album featured Heart songs, cover songs, and new original music. The Lovemongers also released a full album, Whirlygig, in 1997, and a Christmas album in 1998.
For Cameron Crowe's 2000 film Almost Famous, Nancy wrote the main theme and two original songs. She also helped the actors learn how to act like musicians on stage. She was nominated for several awards for her film music.
The 2000s: Back on Tour and New Music
In 2002, Heart went on tour again after a 10-year break for Nancy. The tour was a big success, and a performance from Seattle was released as the Alive in Seattle DVD.
Nancy also continued to compose music for films, including Vanilla Sky (2001) and Elizabethtown (2005). She received nominations for her work on these films.
The sisters decided to record a new Heart studio album, Jupiters Darling, in 2004. Nancy co-produced the album and wrote most of the songs. In 2009, Nancy released Baby Guitars, a solo album of instrumental lullabies for children.
Later in 2009, Nancy and Ann began recording Heart's 14th studio album, Red Velvet Car. It was released in 2010 and included two songs by Nancy: "Hey You" and "Sunflower," which she wrote for Ann's 60th birthday. The album reached number 10 on the Billboard 200 chart. This meant Nancy and Ann had albums in the top 10 in four different decades!
The 2010s: Hall of Fame and New Bands
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In 2011, Heart was nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. On December 11, 2012, it was announced that Heart would be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2013. Nancy and Ann also received a star for Heart on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in September 2012.
Heart released their 15th studio album, Fanatic, in October 2012. In 2016, Heart released their 16th album, Beautiful Broken, which featured Nancy singing lead vocals on two songs.
In late 2016, Nancy formed a new band called Roadcase Royale. The band included R&B singer Liv Warfield and other talented musicians. They released their first song, "Get Loud," in January 2017, and their first album, First Things First, in September 2017.
In February 2019, Heart announced that they would be touring again, ending their break.
The 2020s: Solo Album and New Tours
In 2021, Nancy released her first solo rock album, You and Me. In 2022, she started touring with a new band called Nancy Wilson's Heart. This band includes singer Kimberly Nichole and former Heart members.
Personal Life
In 1981, Nancy Wilson met screenwriter Cameron Crowe. They married on July 27, 1986. Nancy and Cameron had twin sons, Curtis and William, in January 2000. Their marriage ended in divorce in 2010.
In 2011, Nancy began dating Geoff Bywater, who worked in music production for television. They got engaged in 2012 and married on April 28, 2012.
In 2016, there was an incident involving Ann Wilson's husband and Nancy's sons. This caused some tension between the sisters. However, Nancy later said she is an "eternal optimist" and believes their strong family bond will help them get through any temporary difficulties. In 2019, Heart announced they would tour again, showing their strong bond.
Discography
Studio albums
| Year | Title |
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| 2005 | Elizabethtown |
| 2009 | Baby Guitars |
| 2016 | Undercover Guitar (with Julie Bergman) |
| 2021 | You and Me |
Other appearances
| Year | Title | Album |
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| 1989 | "All for Love" | Say Anything... |
| "Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella" | Christmas Guitars | |
| 1996 | "We Meet Again (Theme from Jerry Maguire)" and "Sandy" | Jerry Maguire |
| 2000 | "Lucky Trumble" | Almost Famous |
| 2001 | "Elevator Beat" | Vanilla Sky |
| 2005 | "Oh Yeah" | Songs for the Ride Home |
Live albums
| Year | Title |
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| 1999 | Live at McCabe's Guitar Shop |
DVDs
Nancy Wilson: Instructional Acoustic Guitar (2007, DVD)
Awards and Recognitions
Awards
- 1997: American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP Award – Top Box Office Films) for Jerry Maguire
- 2012: Star on the Walk of Fame (Recording) – shared with Ann
- 2013: Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Heart
Nominations
- 2000: Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards (Sierra Award – Best Score) for Almost Famous
- 2001: Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards (PFCS Award – Best Original Score) for Almost Famous
- 2001: BAFTA (Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music) for Almost Famous
- 2002: Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA (Saturn Award – Best Music) for Vanilla Sky
- 2006: Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards (Critics Choice Award – Best Composer) for Elizabethtown
See also
- Heart discography
Images for kids
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Wilson in the early 1970s
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Wilson (left) and Roger Fisher on stage in 1978
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Wilson in 1998
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Wilson performing in Sydney in 2011
