Ann Wilson | |
|---|---|
 Wilson atWacken Open Air 2022 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Ann Dustin Wilson (1950-06-19)June 19, 1950 (age 75) San Diego, California, U.S. |
| Origin | Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1967–present |
| Member of | Heart |
Ann Dustin Wilson (born June 19, 1950) is an American singer best known as the lead singer of the rock bandHeart.
Wilson has been a member of Heart since the early 1970s; her younger sister,Nancy Wilson, is also a member of the band. One of the firsthard rock bands fronted by women,[2] Heart released numerous albums between 1975 and 2016; the early Heart albumsDreamboat Annie (1975) andLittle Queen (1977) generated classic hard rock singles such as "Magic Man", "Crazy on You", and "Barracuda".[3] Heart has sold over 35 million records worldwide,[3] placed 29 singles on theBillboard Hot 100, and has scored top 10 albums on theBillboard 200 in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2010s.[4][5]
Wilson was ranked no. 78 inHit Parader's 2006 list of "Greatest rock Vocalists of All Time".[6] In 2013, she was inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Heart. Wilson possesses adramatic mezzo-sopranovocal range.[7][note 1] She is known for her operatic abilities.[9]
Ann Dustin Wilson was born inSan Diego, California.[10][11][12] Her father was amajor in theU.S. Marine Corps.[13] Due to her father's military career, the Wilson family moved frequently.[14] They lived near American military facilities in Panama and Taiwan before settling in Seattle, Washington, in the early 1960s. To maintain a sense of home no matter where in the world they were residing, the Wilsons turned to music. "On Sunday we'd have pancakes and opera," her sisterNancy Wilson recalled. "My dad would be conducting in the living room. We'd turn it way up and rock. There was everything from classical music toRay Charles,Judy Garland,Peggy Lee,bossa nova, and early experimentalelectronic music."[15]
Wilson's family eventually settled inBellevue, a suburb ofSeattle, Washington. In 1968, she graduated fromSammamish High School.[16] Shy because of astutter, Wilson sought fulfillment in music.[17] In the early 1970s she joined a local band, White Heart, which changed its name to Hocus Pocus, and then in 1974 to Heart.[18] Wilson also attendedCornish College of the Arts.[19]
Wilson's younger sister, Nancy, joined Heart, and the band moved to Canada. Heart recorded their first albumDreamboat Annie inVancouver in 1975. It was released in the United States in 1976, with "Magic Man" becoming Heart's first Top 10 hit in the United States, peaking at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, and "Crazy on You" hitting number 35. Both songs were co-written by Ann and Nancy Wilson. In 1977,Little Queen was released, and in 1978,Dog & Butterfly. In 1986, "These Dreams" rose to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1992, Wilson appeared onAlice in Chains' EPSap; she sang on "Brother" and "Am I Inside".
The Wilson sisters started a recording studio,Bad Animals, in Seattle in the mid-1980s. They formed a side band,the Lovemongers, which performedLed Zeppelin's song "The Battle of Evermore" on the 1992 soundtrack to theCameron Crowe (Nancy's then husband) movieSingles, and later released a four-song EP. The Lovemongers' debut albumWhirlygig was released in 1997.
Wilson joined producerAlan Parsons inA Walk Down Abbey Road, the 2001 live tribute tour toBeatles music.[20]
Wilson's first solo album,Hope & Glory, was released on September 11, 2007.[18]Hope & Glory features guest appearances fromElton John,k.d. lang,Alison Krauss,Gretchen Wilson,Shawn Colvin,Rufus Wainwright,Wynonna Judd, andDeana Carter. Nancy Wilson also contributed. Three singles were released from the project: "Little Problems, Little Lies", "Isolation", and a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song."
On November 22, 2012, Wilson sang an original arrangement of "The Star-Spangled Banner", accompanied by theDallas Symphony Orchestra, at the beginning of the Thanksgiving Day football game between theDallas Cowboys andWashington Redskins.[21]
The Wilson sisters performed at theKennedy Center tribute to Led Zeppelin on December 2, 2012. Present at the event were the three living members of Led Zeppelin,Robert Plant,Jimmy Page andJohn Paul Jones. The Wilsons performed "Stairway To Heaven", backed by an orchestra and choir, and featuring drummerJason Bonham, son of the late Led Zeppelin drummer,John Bonham.[22]
On July 13, 2015, Wilson announced a solo tour, The Ann Wilson Thing, which began on September 21.[23][better source needed] She released her firstEP,The Ann Wilson Thing! – #1, digitally on September 18, 2015.[24] On July 22, 2016, Wilson announced the release offocus, the second EP from The Ann Wilson Thing! Wilson played a Florida mini-tour in September 2016 as The Ann Wilson Thing! in support of this release.[25][better source needed]
On October 12, 2017, Wilson's first feature film,Ann Wilson: In Focus was released. It featured an intimate interview conducted in her home by Criss Cain along with 20 complete live song performances from the Ann Wilson of Heart tour stop in Wilmington, North Carolina, on March 21, 2017.[26][better source needed]
Wilson andAlice in Chains' guitarist and vocalistJerry Cantrell paid tribute to their late friend,Chris Cornell, with a rendition ofSoundgarden's "Black Hole Sun" during theRock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony on April 14, 2018.[27]
On August 3, 2018, Wilson released "You Don't Own Me" as the second single from her solo album,Immortal. Released on September 14, 2018, the album features ten tracks that pay tribute to Wilson's influences and friends.[28]
In May 2021, Wilson announced her first dates since theCOVID-19 pandemic with the Rite of June mini-tour.[29]
In 2022, Wilson was nominated for consideration into the 2023Songwriters Hall of Fame.[30]
In November 2022, Wilson was featured on the Disturbed song "Don't Tell Me" from their albumDivisive. The song reached number 2 on Billboard's Hard Rock Song Sales chart.[31]
On April 25, 2024, Heart kicked off their Royal Flush 2024 Tour at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.[32] The June and July 2024 dates of this tour, in the UK and Europe, were canceled in late May as the organizers informed that "In late May, Ann Wilson will undergo a time-sensitive but routine medical procedure for which the minimum recovery time is six weeks."[33] The tour resumed on February 28, 2025.[34][35]
During the 1970s, Wilson was in a relationship with Michael Fisher, the manager of Heart, while Nancy was involved with lead guitaristRoger Fisher, Michael's younger brother.[36] Both couples controlled the band. In 1979, the relationships ended; Ann stated that Michael had fallen in love with another woman and they parted.[37]
In 1991, Wilson adopted a daughter. In 1998, she adopted a son.[38]
Wilson married Dean Wetter in April 2015. The pair had dated briefly in the 1980s.[39] On the morning of August 27, 2016, Wetter was arrested for assaulting his nephews, Nancy Wilson's 16-year-old twin sons, after the boys had left the door to hisRV open. The incident took place during a Heart performance at theWhite River Amphitheatre inAuburn, Washington the previous night. Wetter pleaded guilty to the charges.[40][41] The sisters' relationship was strained by the incident.[42] Following the end of Heart's 2016 tour, the sisters opted to tour with their own side-project bands, with Ann saying in April 2017 that Heart was on hiatus.[42]
In February 2019, the sisters announced that Heart's hiatus had ended and that the band would embark on the Love Alive tour in the summer.[43] In March 2019, at theLove Rocks NYCbenefit concert, the sisters reunited on stage for the first time since the band went on hiatus.[44]
As a child, Wilson was bullied for being overweight. She revealed that in the 1970s and into the early 1980s she would starve herself and usediet pills to stay thin. By the time Heart made a comeback in the mid-'80s, she had gained a significant amount of weight. Fearing that Heart's lead singer's physique would compromise the band's image, record company executives and band members began pressuring her to lose weight. In music videos, camera angles and clothes were often used to minimize her size, and more focus was put on Ann's more slender sister, Nancy. Wilson stated she began suffering from stress-relatedpanic attacks due to the negative publicity surrounding her weight. She underwentadjustable gastric band weight-loss surgery in January 2002[45] after what she called "a lifelong battle" with her weight.
In the band's 2012 autobiography, Wilson revealed her past struggles withcocaine and alcoholism,[46] stating that she had been sober since 2009.[47]
In July 2024, it was announced that Wilson had been diagnosed with cancer. A tumor had been removed surgically, and Heart postponed touring until 2025 to allow her to undergo preventative chemotherapy.[48] During the tour, Wilson has been performing in a wheelchair onstage as a result of her left arm being in a sling from a broken elbow.[49]
| Year | Title | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Hope & Glory | cover album | [50] |
| 2018 | Immortal | ||
| 2022 | Fierce Bliss | covers and originals | [51] |
| 2023 | Another Door | With Tripsitter | [52] |
| Year | Title | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | The Ann Wilson Thing! #1 | [53] |
| 2016 | The Ann Wilson Thing! #2 - Focus | |
| 2021 | Sawheat 8 | [54] |
| Year | Title | Album | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | "Standin' Watchin' You" b/w "Wonder How I Managed" | non-album single | covers, with the Daybreaks | [55][53] |
| "Through Eyes and Glass" b/w "I'm Gonna' Drink My Hurt Away" | original song b/w cover, with the Daybreaks | |||
| 2020 | "The Revolution Starts Now!" | cover | ||
| 2021 | "Tender Heart" | original song | ||
| "The Hammer" | ||||
| "Black Wing" | Fierce Bliss[51] | |||
| 2022 | "Greed" |
| Year | Title | Album | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | "Almost Paradise" | Footloose | withMike Reno | [56] |
| 1986 | "The Best Man in the World" | The Golden Child | Original song | |
| 1988 | "Surrender to Me" | Tequila Sunrise | withRobin Zander | |
| 1991 | "Autumn to May" | For Our Children - To benefit the Pediatric AIDS Foundation | withNancy Wilson | |
| 1992 | "Am I Inside" and "Brother" | Sap | withAlice in Chains | |
| 1992 | "Blue Christmas" | A Very Special Christmas 2 | withNancy Wilson | |
| 1993 | "Auld Lang Syne" | Holiday Collection Volume III | Traditional song | |
| 1995 | "That's All Right" | Blue Suede Sneakers | Cover | |
| 1996 | "Jezebel" | Édith Piaf Tribute | ||
| 1998 | "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves" | The Yellow Album | Cover, withthe Simpsons | |
| 2003 | "Promise Her the Moon" | Influences and Connections: Volume I - Mr. Big | Cover | |
| 2015 | "Across the Universe" | Keep Calm and Salute the Beatles | ||
| 2022 | "Don't Tell Me" | Divisive | withDisturbed | |
| 2023 | "Magic Man" | Rockstar | withDolly Parton |
| Year | Title | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Live at the Belly Up: The Ann Wilson Thing! | [57] |
| Year | Title | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | The Daybreaks | EP which compiles the two singles recorded with the Daybreaks | [58] |
| Studio albums | |
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| Live albums | |
| Compilation albums | |
| Singles |
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| Related articles | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
