HEART‘s Nancy Wilson talked to Dave Lawrence of Hawaii Public Radio about her upcoming debut solo album, “You And Me”, which is due later this year via Carry On Music. She said (hear audio below): “Three of the songs are covers. The rest of them — the eight other songs — are originals. I’ve got some really cool guest stars on the album. A version of ‘The Boxer’, a SIMON & GARFUNKEL song, I’ve got Sammy Hagar guesting on that one with me. Taylor Hawkins [FOO FIGHTERS] guests on another song, and Duff McKagan [GUNS N’ ROSES]. And then ‘Daughter’, which is a PEARL JAM song. It was originally meant for a film that is still yet to come out, since everything is stalled out. But [the film is] called ‘I Am All Girls’, based on a true story about human trafficking in South Africa.
“I have an instrumental song on this album called ‘For Edward’, which is dedicated to Eddie Van Halen, obviously,” she revealed. “Because it’s a story about I was the first one to ever give him an acoustic guitar. When we were touring with those guys [VAN HALEN] in the ’80s, he was, like, ‘I like how you play that acoustic.’ And I said, ‘Well, why don’t you play more acoustic?’ And he goes, ‘Well, I don’t have an acoustic.’ And I said, ‘You don’t have an acoustic? What?’ And so I went and got him one out of my stash and I gave it to him. Early the next morning, in the hotels, back when people would ring your room, he rang my room and he played for me this beautiful piece of acoustic guitar instrumental music on the phone. I was so touched, and it was so beautiful, it was one of the prettiest things I’d ever heard. So I tried to return the favor by making a beautiful little tribute to him.”
Nancy also reflected on the experience of touring with VAN HALEN more than 40 years ago. “There were those days where you’d go down to the bar,” she said. “The Van Halen brothers, they won the prize of just how to be totally raucous and totally out of control and drunk. They’d just be, like, cavorting all over the room and all over each other, and fisticuffs would bust out, and then, two seconds later, they’d be hugging: ‘I love you, man.’ [Laughs] They were out of control. They were the first ones to ever introduce us to the kamikaze — the vodka with lime or whatever.”
Last October, Nancy released the first single from the upcoming LP, her stunning rendition of Bruce Springsteen‘s “The Rising”.
A guitar virtuoso from the age of 10, Nancy and her sister Ann lead the multi-platinum rock group HEART. Nancy is revered as an ingenious guitar player, a gifted lead vocalist, and as an award-winning songwriter. Nancy has co-written a collection of indelible songs that have earned their way into the classic rock canon (“Magic Man”, “Crazy On You”, “Barracuda”, “Straight On”). She has also earned several nominations for her film scoring work.
During an era when females in rock ‘n’ roll were scarce, Nancy helped to carve out a place for women to front rock bands, dominate on stage. Her icon status was cemented when HEART, who have sold 35 million albums, was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2012. That same year, she and her sister received a star on the Walk Of Fame in Hollywood. In 2013, the Wilson sisters celebrated another career milestone when they performed LED ZEPPELIN‘s “Stairway To Heaven” at the Kennedy Center Honors. Their note-perfect performance was met with rousing cheers and a standing ovation in the staid concert hall, and brought members of LED ZEPPELIN to tears. The video went viral on YouTube.
