Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
In a career that has taken her from Barracuda to motherhood and back, Heart's Ann Wilson hasn't forgotten how to have fun.
By GINA VIVINETTO, Times Pop Music Critic
© St. Petersburg Times, published June 30, 2002
Heart enjoys the distinction of being one of rock's premiere female-fronted groups. Sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson, once dubbed "the female Led Zeppelin," have performed together with their band for three decades. The act's live shows are still electrifying, jam-packed with hits such as the raucous Barracuda, Crazy on You and Magic Man, as well as the poppier 1980s smashes What About Love?, These Dreams and Never.
From her Seattle home, the very funny Ann Wilson, 52, answers 10 Pressing Questions, solving the mysteries of reincarnation, boy groupies, the Seattle grunge scene and what the heck Barracuda is about anyway.
(1) You've got one of the most recognizable voices in rock. You're on the record as being a huge Robert Plant fan. Who else influenced you?
I think that I never stop being influenced by other singers -- in the early days, a lot by Aretha Franklin and Elton John. And, of course, Robert Plant.
Nowadays, I've probably been influenced by Lucinda Williams and (blues rocker) Susan Tedeschi more than anyone else. I'm a huge fan of Lucinda's. She's totally awesome and original. She's so relevant, and she's just worked her butt off to get where she is.
(2) As an elder stateswoman of rock, comment on these young female singers:
Alanis Morissette: I like her. She's got a lot of edge. She's obviously the real thing. And the stuff that she comes up with is not like anything else. I think she's occupying a really good space in the world.
Christina Aguilera: That's kind of more like being an acrobat. (Laughs) It's not so much about pulling out the soul, it's about, "How many notes can you sing?" I don't mean to be harsh and judgmental; some people like that kind of singing. But for me, it's a little soulless. I just want to say, "Hey, kid, slow down, slow down. Pull out the soul. Where's the meat?"
Sinatra used to say. "Swing a little. Relax."
(Laughs) Yeah, right. Too many notes sometimes.
Tori Amos: She's another one I think is very interesting. I think she's a poet. There's a lot going on there.
I know Courtney Love is buddy-buddy with your brother-in-law, (director) Cameron Crowe.
Yeah. I know that in the movie industry she really respects Cameron. They have hung a little bit.
What about Courtney's delivery? It's something you've got to be ready for. (Laughs) I think she writes good songs. But I think she's more an actress than a singer. Her thing is a lot of theater. It's hard to separate that from the actual pain.
(3) An alien lands on earth today and wants to learn about Heart. You can play one song. Which do you pick?
(Laughs) A Heart song for an alien, who might be scared of too much aggression, right? (Ponders) Probably Barracuda.
What's the story there?
That was a song about rage. It's filled with rage because it was written after someone really insulted Nance and I. This real sleaze bag backstage was trying to be like (creepy voice), "Hey, you and your sister, you know, we could get into a threesome together, and I could watch." Nance and I just went, like, (fake sultry voice) "Oooh, you're so cool, you know, like, we're just here for you, for your pleasure." (Laughs)
(4) Tell me about the boy groupies. You were some of the first female rockers to have them.
Well, we've never really been that much into sex with strangers. (Laughs) But they were there, sure. They were mostly little, really scared, trembly people who were way younger than me.
What a conquest!
(Laughs) I know, right?
I think the guys who would call themselves groupies have a basic difference than women who call themselves groupies. The guys are apt to be all sweet and romantic and starry-eyed. The chicks just want to give guys a (sex act).
(5) Do you believe in reincarnation?
Totally, totally. (Laughs) I do.
(6) What's the most stupid thing you've done onstage in 30 years?
Oh, I can remember some horrible things, but it might be too much information. I've fallen on my butt a few times and partied too hard the night before where I couldn't do my job very well. That's real embarrassing.
You know, I've gotten away pretty scot-free. The lion's share of my stage experiences have been pretty good.
(7) In your hometown, Seattle, you've got the Experience Music Project. It has a booth where aspiring singers can chime away with a recorded Ann Wilson.
(Laughs) Isn't that cool?
Which begs the question, have you ever done karaoke?
Of course. I've never done a Heart song. I've done a couple of Patsy Cline songs. Stuff like that.
What's in the water in Seattle? Home to Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Heart.
(Laughs) It's sort of a real rough and tumble seaport town. There's just a lot of different crossroads going through here, from Canada, to the Orient, from everywhere. So, it's a real rich creative mixture.
(8) Other rock bands featuring siblings -- the Kinks, Oasis -- seem to have inner turmoil. What about you and Nancy?
I can't tell you that we were always just 100 percent sweet on each other. That would be surreal. We can have our really frosty moments. But we usually thaw out really quick because we love each other and we want to keep loving each other. We choose our battles really carefully.
Now, of course, we both have kids, who are cousins. So, it's worth it to us to keep the larger family cool.
I'm a single mom. I have two kids. My daughter, Marie, is 11. My son, Dustin, is 4.
Do they understand who you are?
Marie kind of does, but at the same time, it's like, (annoyed adolescent voice), "Too embarrassing!" So, she likes to pretend she doesn't notice. Right now, she's getting used to just hitting puberty. That's bad enough without a mom who is recognizable.
(9) Dogs or cats, Ann? Dogs! I've got three, an Old English sheepdog named Jolly, a Wheaton Terrier named Boppy and a miniature beagle, Beagie.
Pretty happy names. You don't fit in at all in gloomy Seattle, do you?
(Laughs) Maybe not.
I don't mean to disrespect your hometown, but it's not very upbeat.
(Laughs) It's not.
Did you catch that whole grunge thing? You're not supposed to be happy.
(Seriously) Well, that whole grunge thing involved a whole lot of drugs. A whole lot of depressants being consumed. That's just something you don't want to do when you live in Seattle, I mean, duh! (Laughs)
It rains here until the end of June, off and on, and then we have this 21/2-month summer, a beautiful fall, and then it starts all over again. You have to find ways to not let yourself slip down the dark ladder.
(10) Back in the day, when Heart was -- I'll quote John Lennon on fame here, "bigger than Jesus" -- (Laughs) Oh, Heart was never bigger than Jesus. Bigger than someone like Pontius Pilate, maybe.
-- what's the most indulgent thing you did? Ever wake up rolling around in caviar?
The year we had our first No. 1 album -- that would be 1985, I guess -- we were on tour, and we heard that the album was No. 1, we just started partying, and we literally didn't stop until 1989. We just went (screams) "Yahoo!" for about three or four years.
That was a good party.
That huge 1980s comeback -- did you anticipate that?
That was the first wave of the big pop thing. We had this big pop machine behind us. In a sense, we were sort of being driven by it.
Did you like the material as much, huge hits like These Dreams, All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You?
I prefer the early material.
How many times have you sung Barracuda?
(Laughs) Oh, over 6-million served!
Heart performs at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Ruth Eckerd Hall, 1111 McMullen-Booth Road, Clearwater. $39.50-$75. (727) 791-7400.