There are certain rock singers who are universally agreed to be among the all-time best, based on their range, expressiveness, and just how long their voices have stayed in top form. One of those singers, undoubtedly, is Ann Wilson.Best known as the lead singer of Heart, Ann's soaring and powerful vocals were a main ingredient in what made such '70s hits as "Barracuda," "Crazy On You," and "Magic Man" Classic Rock radio standards. And also, don't forget the mega-hits from the band's MTV era ("What About Love," "Never," and "Alone"), as well as "Almost Paradise," Ann's duet with Loverboy's Mike Reno that signaled the start of the power-ballad era.
On Wilson's first two solo albums, she did transformative covers of rock classics like "Baker Street" and "Immigrant Song," enlisting guest stars like Elton John and Alison Krauss. Her latest album, set for release on April 29, 2022, contains covers of songs by Queen, Jeff Buckley, Eurythmics, and Robin Trower, but is mostly original songs, showing her prodigious talents as a songwriter as well as a vocalist. It's called Fierce Bliss, and features Vince Gill, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Warren Haynes, and even a choir (the Reverend Nathan Young Singers).
Wilson spoke with Songfacts shortly before the release to talk about the album and discuss some key songs from throughout her career. She also shared stories about her time with Alice In Chains and Freddie Mercury, and explained her warm-up routine and approach to singing.
Ann Wilson: My previous solo records were both collections of covers. I think Hope & Glory [2007] had one original song on it, but all the rest were covers. And so was Immortal [2018]. So, this is the first time I've done a full-length studio album where I wrote most of the songs. Out of 11 songs, seven of them are originals. That's the main difference.
And of course, I wrote those songs – most of them – during the pandemic/quarantine/lockdown time. So, I actually had time off of the chaos of touring to be still and quiet, and look out the window and daydream and write. That was a brand new experience for me. The first time ever in my life.
Songfacts: What was the lyrical inspiration behind the song "Greed"?
That's the basic primary drive that's going on in the world, especially right now with the war [in Ukraine] and all the material pursuits and the corporations and the politics. It's just rampant. I think more so than any other time that I've ever experienced.
So, I wrote a song about it. It's just so in our nature – and in animal nature – to be greedy, to want more for yourself and just do what you've got to do to get it.
Songfacts: What made you choose the specific songs to cover on the album [Queen's "Love Of My Life," the Eurythmics' "Missionary Man," Robin Trower's "Bridge Of Sighs," Jeff Buckley's "Forget Her"], and what does each of those songs mean to you?
Wilson: The covers I chose just because I love those songs and I just had to get inside them and sing them myself. The Jeff Buckley song, "Forget Her," I just always loved that one. I think it tells a great story from the inside of somebody's psyche and it's just so interesting. And the chords are really pulling. I really like that song.
"Bridge of Sighs," the Robin Trower song, I think that song is one of the best blues songs ever written. It's much about standing on the abyss – it isn't just about being hungover, being addicted, or losing your wife or husband. It's about being terrified about standing on the edge of a black hole. I just love it, and especially the work that Kenny Wayne Shepherd did on it with me. [Read about how Trower came up with the title "Bridge of Sighs."]
"Love Of My Life," the Queen song, I just thought it would be so beautiful if it was taken to a really organic, raw form, and done as a duet. So, I thought, "Well, I want to duet with a man." And who would be the ideal man to sing with me? It wouldn't be somebody gruff, smoky, and raspy. It would be somebody with an angel's voice. So, that narrowed it down to one guy in my mind: Vince Gill. I asked him if he'd do it, and he said yes. It's a sweet duet, but it's really pulling.
And the other one is "Missionary Man," the old Eurythmics song. I chose that because of what's going on in the States right now, especially with this split between the left and the right, and the right being inhabited mostly by Christian white people. I decided it would be really fun to do that song and just do it up like a big megachurch production. So, I brought in a gospel choir. Forty people singing backup, and each one of them probably as good as a singer as I am! And of course, Kenny Wayne Shepherd again on guitar.
Songfacts: What determines if a song will be a solo tune or a Heart tune?
Wilson: Well, these songs I wrote by myself, so I did not collaborate with anyone else on them. That's one determining factor. Other than that, there is no difference. My solo stuff is as close to Heart as you're going to get – for the moment. I think any of these songs could be done by Heart.
Songfacts: What's a song by another artist that most influenced you as a songwriter?
Wilson: Peter Gabriel all the time. Paul Simon all the time. Because they're lyricists. Their lyrics are so inspiring and so well done. For Peter Gabriel, it would be "Mercy Street" and maybe "Don't Give Up." For Paul Simon, it would be "Graceland" and "Hearts And Bones."
Songfacts: I read recently that Nancy picked "Mistral Wind" as the best Heart song. What's your pick for the best Heart song?
Wilson: "Mistral Wind" is a good one. But I think there are other ones that are less epic that are really good. I always liked "Down On Me." It's a great blues song. And I think "Crazy On You" may be the best song that Heart ever did.
Songfacts: "Magic Man" had a very specific meaning when you wrote it. What does that song mean to you now?
Wilson: Now, it's like looking back on a love affair of the past from this great distance. It's pretty interesting to look back on all that naiveté and just what it's like when you fall in love for the first time. It's so powerful, it becomes a lifestyle.
That song is a "leaving home" song. So, I sing it as my 21-year-old self, just taking off into the world.
Songfacts: What was the lyrical inspiration for the song "Even It Up"?
Wilson: That song was written in about '79 or '80, and it was definitely a response to being obstructed as women in the rock field. There are so many systemic things that get thrown up in front of you, different glass walls and stuff. We were speaking out against it then.
Songfacts: How would you compare your two big hit duets from the '80s, "Almost Paradise" with Mike Reno and "Surrender To Me" with Robin Zander?
Wilson: I think that "Almost Paradise" was a better song, and it was the first of its kind. It was at the very dawning of the bombastic ballad era. I just think it was a great song. A killer song.
"Surrender To Me" was a great song, also. And of course, I love singing with Robin because he's one of the best singers that I've ever met. He can sing anything. He can sing an operetta, y'know? So, that was probably just as good as a duet.
The Fierce Bliss album cover was designed by Roger Dean, who did the artwork for classic Yes albums like Fragile and Close To The Edge. The photo of Wilson on the left with her feathered friend was taken by Criss Cain and clearly inspired by Dean's cover.Songfacts: Since Heart hailed from Seattle, I'll ask: Why do you think the area gave us so many great rock singers in the late '80s and early '90s grunge movement?
Wilson: Right... and then most of them died. I think that Seattle is full of outliers and misfits, especially in those days. It's a seaport, it's a place that rains maybe nine or 10 months out of the year. It's grey and dreary. That does have an effect, especially on sensitive people. So, I think if you're an outlier and you're a singer... you're from Seattle! [Laughs] I just think it's got a lot to do with the environment.
Songfacts: Looking back, it's fascinating to me that that one area gave us so many great singers in a short period of time.
Wilson: Right. And there's one thing: Seattle was never a "place to be from." It was always very unhip to be there, except for a few years in the '90s. It's just really an isolated place. As far as LA and New York are concerned, Seattle is just like an asteroid stuck out there in the Northwest somewhere, so you don't get a bunch of industry-developed people there.
Songfacts: What was it like working with Layne Staley and Alice In Chains on their Sap EP [the songs "Brother" and "Am I Inside"]?
Working with Layne, especially when he came to sing on the Heart album Desire Walks On [1993] – he sang on "Ring Them Bells," the Dylan cover – he was really shy coming into our genre, so he asked that everyone clear out of the studio. He didn't want anyone in the studio hearing him sing. The tape was turned on, so we didn't really get to work with him. We just went into the lounge while he did his vocal.
I went into the studio to record "Brother" with them, and that was back in the bad old days when everybody was drinking and drugging and all that. But I hadn't been doing that for years because I'd had kids by that point and I was sober. So, I went into the studio and there were these piles of blow sitting around on the amps and stuff like that. And everybody had 45 beers under their belt. So I felt like, "Whoa. This is a whole different world from mine." It was very different.
Songfacts: Paul Stanley of Kiss recently listed his favorite singers of all time and included you. Who are your favorite singers of all time?
Wilson: My favorite singers of all time would be Joni Mitchell, Lucinda Williams, Robert Plant, John Lennon, Freddie Mercury, Robin Zander, Vince Gill.
Songfacts: You just mentioned Freddie Mercury, and I recall Heart played with Queen in 1982. Did you cross paths with Freddie?
Wilson: Oh yeah. He was just such a fun person at that point. I think that as the two lead singers, we recognized something in each other and we could party and joke around with each other. And be flamboyant with each other. [Laughs] He was great. He was just so fun. And boy, what a talent. What a super-energized powerhouse he was.
Songfacts: As far as singing, do you think it is a talent that a person is born with, or is it something you can work at and become good?
Wilson: Well, I don't want to take anything away from people who do vocal training, because for some people, that is the only way they can access their instrument. But for me, it's not about the throat or about technique as much as it's about the opening of the soul. It's about just opening up your soul to the divine wind. That may sound kind of stilted, but that's how I see it.
And so, when I warm up before a concert, I just sing along with somebody else's CD for 40 minutes, and that gets me relaxed and ready to sing – not worried about being all uptight about every sound I make and every technique I'm supposed to be using. It isn't about that. If people can just go with their own ability more than doing what a teacher tells them, I'm all for that.
April 26, 2022
Wilson's website, where you can order Fierce Bliss, is at annwilson.com.
Further reading:
Paul Stanley of Kiss
Linda Perry
Dennis DeYoung
Long Live Queen: An Excerpt
Fact or Fiction: The Early Days of MTV
More Songwriter Interviews
