Heart

Heart, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals Rock 'VH1 Divas'

05 Dec 2010 22:51:37 EST

Acclaimed duo team up with newcomers for 'Crazy on You.'
By Mawuse Ziegbe

Grace Potter
Photo: Frank Micelotta/Getty Images

Decades of rocking out have not faded Heart's spark. The duo shut things down at the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar for "VH1 Divas Salute the Troops" when they played their breakout 1976 single "Crazy on You." This time, the ladies got some back up from relative newbies Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, with Potter splitting vocal duties with Heart frontwoman Ann Wilson.

Nancy Wilson kicked off the set with a nimble solo that scored excited cheers from the soldiers. The screams reached a fever pitch when the bass line from "Crazy" rattled in the speakers, and the service members went wild. Sporting a long dark coat with a generous silver pendant dangling from her neck, Ann helmed the first verse before strutting down the runway to the center of the crowd for the chorus. Potter, who was manning the keys, chimed in for the second verse, later picking up her mic and meeting Ann in the middle of the stage. Although she wasn't center stage, Nancy still commanded attention, leaping in the air as she clutched her guitar. Potter and Ann closed out the performance by belting the last notes in unison. (Click here to see photos from "VH1 Divas Salute The Troops".) Potter and crew also got a chance to run the stage solo. After an introduction from "Jersey Shore" residents Snooki and The Situation, the band cranked out their heady single "Paris (Ooh La La)." Despite her shimmery cocktail dress, Potter looked every bit the vintage rock bad girl, strumming her guitar, whipping her hair and wailing like she's been at this since forever. The bassist and another guitarist plucked fiery solos, and Potter finished the song at the edge of stage, belting directly to the enthused service members. After a few final whips of her mane, Potter wrapped up the song with a sultry grin and strutted back toward her band. The ladies added some rock-and-roll flair to a night packed with pop hitmakers like Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj and Keri Hilson. What did you think of Heart and Grace Potter & The Nocturnal's performances at "VH1 Divas"? Let us know in the comments! Watch bonus performances, browse photos, read all about the most-talked about moments, and find out how you can salute the troops at VH1's "Divas Salute the Troops" hub.

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McCain-Palin Campaign Continues Playing Heart's 'Barracuda,' Despite Band's Protest

09 Sep 2008 14:29:00 EDT

Republican presidential campaign says it obtained proper license to use the song.
By Jocelyn Vena

John McCain and Sarah Palin
Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Republican nominees John McCain and Sarah Palin have ignored HeartHeart's request to stop using their song "Barracuda" at political events, CNN reports. On Tuesday morning (September 9), the 1977 hit played before McCain and Palin showed up for an outdoor rally in Lebanon, Ohio. Heart's Ann and Nancy Wilson initially complained when it was played at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, before Palin's appearance last Wednesday and after McCain's speech on Thursday. Palin gained the nickname "Sarah Barracuda" while on her high school basketball team, and Republicans are likely using the rock anthem to remind voters of the Alaska governor's reputation as a tenacious leader. "The Republican campaign did not ask for permission to use the song, nor would they have been granted that permission," read a statement from Heart's camp. "We have asked the Republican campaign publicly not to use our music. We hope our wishes will be honored." Later, in an e-mail to EW.com, the Wilson sisters said that "Sarah Palin's views and values in NO WAY represent us as American women. ... While Heart did not and would not authorize the use of their song at the RNC, there's irony in Republican strategists' choice to make use of it there." The Republican Party did in fact obtain the necessary license to use the song, which can be played when a venue pays a blanket fee to ASCAP, the organization that protects music copyrights. While the Wilsons are clearly upset, "Barracuda" co-writer and former Heart guitarist Roger Fisher (Nancy's ex) has a different outlook. He's happy to receive the publicity, he told Reuters last week, and he pledged to give part of the royalties from the song's use to Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's campaign.

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Heart Object To McCain Campaign's Use Of 'Barracuda' During Republican National Convention

05 Sep 2008 09:14:00 EDT

Ann and Nancy Wilson reportedly sent cease-and-desist letter to Republican candidate.
By Chris Harris

Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images

In the past week, Republican presidential candidate John McCain and GOP vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin have managed to rile two classic rock outfits, Van HalenVan Halen and HeartHeart, who both claim the Arizona senator's campaign didn't ask their permission to use their songs. First, on August 29, just minutes before revealing Palin as his running mate, McCain strutted out onto a stage in Dayton, Ohio, as Van Halen's inspirational 1991 track "Right Now" boomed through the speakers. Hours later, the band's publicist told MTV News that Van Halen had no idea McCain would be using the track, and "had they asked, permission would not have been granted." Now, the candidate has enraged Heart's Ann and Nancy Wilson, who've apparently issued cease-and-desist letters to the McCain/Palin campaign, demanding that their 1977 hit "Barracuda" not be used as Palin's theme song. The track was used at the convention, both to introduce Palin and on the heels of McCain's acceptance speech at the close of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota. The song was likely chosen to refer to Palin's nickname "Sarah Barracuda," which the Alaska governor earned as a high school basketball star in her hometown of Wasilla, Alaska. "The Republican campaign did not ask for permission to use the song, nor would they have been granted that permission," says a statement from Heart's camp, according to TMZ.com. "We have asked the Republican campaign publicly not to use our music. We hope our wishes will be honored." Later, in a phone call to EW.com, Nancy Wilson expressed her feelings more strongly. "I feel completely f---ed over," she said. And in an e-mail to the site, both sisters said that "Sarah Palin's views and values in NO WAY represent us as American women. We ask that our song 'Barracuda' no longer be used to promote her image. The song 'Barracuda' was written in the late '70s as a scathing rant against the soulless, corporate nature of the music business, particularly for women. (The 'barracuda' represented the business.) While Heart did not and would not authorize the use of their song at the RNC, there's irony in Republican strategists' choice to make use of it there." "Barracuda" is perhaps Heart's best-known single, and appears on the band's third LP, Little Queen.

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Heart Heat Up First Album In Six Years

12 Oct 2001 18:40:00 EDT

Record to follow sister duo's second holiday disc, Heart Brings You a Lovemongers Christmas.
By Jon Wiederhorn, with additional reporting by Courtney Reimer

Ann (l) and Nancy (r) Wilson
Photo: VH1

Being married to Cameron Crowe isn't exactly conducive to being musically prolific with your own band — especially when your hotshot director husband asks you to write music for his blockbusters. Which may explain why eight years have elapsed since Nancy Wilson has worked on a studio Heart record with her sister, Ann. The Wilson sisters haven't been completely inactive. They've released three discs since 1993 via their side project, Lovemongers. And while Nancy is tied up with the score for Crowe's upcoming "Vanilla Sky," she and her sis will release Heart Brings You a Lovemongers Christmas, their second holiday disc together. "Having a Christmas album coming out now is a very cool feeling," Ann Wilson said last week. "We did it about two years ago, and if we can do anything positive that we love, this is the moment." After the Christmas album arrives, Heart will reconvene in Seattle to work on a record they're writing material for. "It's just gonna be the two of us, but it's gonna be a Heart album," Ann said. "We've got an assignment: Before we see each other, we each have to come up with five turkeys. That's what we call them before they become polished songs." For those who can't tell Lovemongers from Heart, here's the distinction: Heart sometimes rock. Explains Ann: "Heart has always been acoustic at its core. Even a song like 'Barracuda' had acoustic guitars at the core, but it's much bigger and harder. Lovemongers is mostly an acoustic vocal group. But the line does get blurry at times." With daily reports of missile strikes, terrorist threats and anthrax scares, many artists find it difficult to concentrate. Ann, though, said she's been inspired by recent headlines. "If I ever had writer's block before, it's gone now," she said. "Every time you turn on the TV, somebody says something that could be a song lyric, song title or album title." The Wilson sisters will play most of the instruments on the album themselves. While Ann is excited about the freedom this will allow them, she's nervous about having to wear too many hats at once on the record, which should come out next year. "It will be the first time we've ever done it that way, and I'm a little bit jittery because Nancy is an incredible musician," she said. "She can play anything she touches, and I've always been the singer. I can play pretty good bass, I guess, and I can play OK rhythm guitar. But I'm practicing now. I'm getting ready."

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Ann And Nancy Wilson, Tom Waits, Randy Newman Sue MP3.com

08 May 2001 17:51:00 EDT

Songwriters ask for $40 million in copyright infringement case.
By Brian Hiatt

Tom Waits close up, from "I dont wanna grow up" video
Photo: Sony

Tom Waits, Randy Newman and Heart's Ann and Nancy Wilson have launched the latest legal salvo against online music site MP3.com, asking for $40 million in a copyright infringement lawsuit. Like prior lawsuits by record labels and publishers, the suit from the four songwriters focuses on MP3.com's "My.MP3.com" service. When it launched, My.MP3.com allowed users to listen to CDs online if they proved that they at least temporarily possessed a physical copy of the CD, or bought it through certain online retailers. MP3.com made the service work by building an electronic library of music, which copyright holders argued they had no right to do. The company ultimately paid multimillion dollar lawsuit settlements last year to each of the major record companies, as well as to music publishers. After shutting down for several months, My.MP3.com relaunched in December, though with a much smaller catalog of songs and little major label material. Waits, Newman and the Wilson sisters filed their suit because they are among the relatively few artists who own the publishing rights to their songs, according to their lawyer, Bruce Van Dalsem. "I think anyone who owns something and has someone taking it who's not entitled ... would be upset," Van Dalsem said Tuesday (May 8). "This is their life's work." Other artists who own their publishing rights are discussing the possibility of joining the suit, according to Van Dalsem. A spokesperson for MP3.com said the company would not comment on the lawsuit until it has a chance to look over the complaint. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, cites 270 songs by the four writers, including the contents of Waits' Mule Variations (1999), Newman's Little Criminals (1977) and Heart's Bebe Le Strange (1980). (For complete coverage of online music, check out MTV News' "Napster Files.")

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Indigo Girls Tap Lisa Germano, Ann Wilson, Shonen Knife, Others For Experimental Tour

28 Jul 1998 16:00:00 EDT

Photo:

The Indigo Girls are tapping a host of female performers for a tour that promises to offer what Indigo Girl Amy Ray is calling "a socialist experiment in rock and roll."

Lisa Germano, Jane Siberry, Heart's Ann Wilson, Luscious Jackson's Kate Schellenbach, The Breeders' Josephine Wiggs, Mecca Normal's Jean Smith, Come's Thalia Zedek, Lourdes Perez, and Gail Ann Dorsey (who has played with David Bowie and Tears For Fears) will all be on board for the 12-date tour, which kicks off on August 19 in Portland, Maine. The Indigos are hoping for a harmonious convergence of the differing style and approaches represented by each of the artists who will share the stage. Or as Ray said in a statement released to announce the tour, the plan is to "gather a bunch of musicians from different musical genres who are relatively unfamiliar with each other... throw them on a tour bus together... drop them off at a rock club, and see what happens."

If you want to see what happens (and see opening acts Shonen Knife and Buffalo Daughter), here's where to look: