May the Summer Concert Season Commence!
Even though the calendar indicates that it has been summer for a few months already, my summer concert season hasn't begun to heat up yet. Strangely, I have not attended my first summer concert yet. This time last year, I had already attended three shows: No Doubt, Bad Company/Doobie Brothers, and Godsmack/Motley Crue. Thus, it has been an odd summer for me. However, that will all change in less than two weeks when the rockin' Wilson sisters of Heart will hit the stage in Raleigh.
Let's go back to 1976 and picture a little girl in Southern California with long brown hair singing "Crazy On You" into the bathroom mirror. Back in those days, there were very few women rockers for me to look up to. Yes, the all-female band Fanny and Suzi Quatro did precede the Wilson sisters, but did not achieve the overwhelming commercial success that Heart did. Although these two earlier acts were quite talented and played an important role in the evolution of women in rock n'roll, there were some factors that made Heart a significant contributor to music history.
To begin, Ann Wilson is an amazingly talented vocalist whose gorgeous voice still sounds as crisp and strong as it did back when Heart debuted in the early seventies. Ann has the kind of vocal talent that could lend itself to any genre, which is a rare distinction. Of course, her voice has catapulted Heart's songs into almost operatic compositions that very few singers (male and female) have ever been able to perform.
Next, the heavy sound that Heart has pounded into their music made them more appealing to general audiences, especially the overwhelmingly male rock fandom of the mid-seventies. Who can forget the Nancy Wilson's pounding guitar licks in Barracuda? It's song that has withstood the test of time and still remains a staple on classic rock stations across the American landscape. Ann's heavenly but hard rocking vocal stylings combined with sister Nancy's riveting axe-work created something that had not existed before in popular music.
Finally, having male supporting players in the band probably assisted in catapulting Heart to super stardom. As much as I detest to admit it, having male members probably helped to attract rock's mostly male fans to the band's music. It's strange to think that this may have been the case, but things were quite different for females in the seventies. We're talking about days of the ERA, folks. Thank goodness those days are way behind us.
Until next time, keep it on "11"...
Let's go back to 1976 and picture a little girl in Southern California with long brown hair singing "Crazy On You" into the bathroom mirror. Back in those days, there were very few women rockers for me to look up to. Yes, the all-female band Fanny and Suzi Quatro did precede the Wilson sisters, but did not achieve the overwhelming commercial success that Heart did. Although these two earlier acts were quite talented and played an important role in the evolution of women in rock n'roll, there were some factors that made Heart a significant contributor to music history.
To begin, Ann Wilson is an amazingly talented vocalist whose gorgeous voice still sounds as crisp and strong as it did back when Heart debuted in the early seventies. Ann has the kind of vocal talent that could lend itself to any genre, which is a rare distinction. Of course, her voice has catapulted Heart's songs into almost operatic compositions that very few singers (male and female) have ever been able to perform.
Next, the heavy sound that Heart has pounded into their music made them more appealing to general audiences, especially the overwhelmingly male rock fandom of the mid-seventies. Who can forget the Nancy Wilson's pounding guitar licks in Barracuda? It's song that has withstood the test of time and still remains a staple on classic rock stations across the American landscape. Ann's heavenly but hard rocking vocal stylings combined with sister Nancy's riveting axe-work created something that had not existed before in popular music.
Finally, having male supporting players in the band probably assisted in catapulting Heart to super stardom. As much as I detest to admit it, having male members probably helped to attract rock's mostly male fans to the band's music. It's strange to think that this may have been the case, but things were quite different for females in the seventies. We're talking about days of the ERA, folks. Thank goodness those days are way behind us.
Until next time, keep it on "11"...
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