Heart: Rock Legends Led by the Wilson Sisters

Formed in 1974, American rock band Heart is the first female-led hard rock band with sisters Ann Wilson as the lead vocals and Nancy Wilson on guitar and vocals. The band came under the limelight during the mid- to late 1970s with hit singles like Magic Man (1976) and Barracuda (1977). In the mid-1980s, they came back with pop-oriented music and hit singles like These Dreams (1986) and Alone (1987). They have 20 Top 40 hits, four Grammy nominations, and over 35 million records sold to their credit, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013.

The band members of Heart are Ann and Nancy Wilson, Ryan Waters and Ryan Wariner on guitar, Paul Moak on keyboard and guitar, Tony Lucido on bass, and Sean T. Lane on drums. Nancy Wilson is credited as the 40th greatest guitarist of all time.

Heart’s music has the characteristics of hard rock and heavy metal, as well as folk music. The band had a fall in popularity in the early 1980s, but it returned in 1985 and continued into the mid-1990s. Heart distinct music, primarily a mix of hard rock and folk, has made them the longest lasting and most commercially successful bands of all time. Heart’s records consist of 15 studio albums, nine live albums, nine compilation albums, 64 singles, and 35 music videos.

In 1967, Steve Fossen in Seattle formed the band named, The Army. After that, the band had adopted a series of different names and change in the band’s lineup. Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson joined the band in 1972 and 1974, respectively, and the band Heart was formed as we know them today. Heart came under the limelight after the release of their debut album Dreamboat Annie.

The band’s debut album Dreamboat Annie was released in Canada in 1975 and in US in 1976 and sold more than one million (1,000,000) copies. The songs Magic Man hit at No. 9 and Crazy on You at No. 35 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The album had other hit ballads like How Deep It Goes and (Love Me Like Music) I’ll Be Your Song.

Their second album, Little Queen (1977), included their popular early songs Barracuda and Dreamboat Annie. Their third album is Magazine (1978). Disputes and lawsuits were there with their record company related to this album. Their fourth album was Dog & Butterfly (1978), which included popular songs like Straight On and Dog & Butterfly. The next two or three albums did not do well. Heart’s eighth album Heart (1985) hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200. RIAA certified the album quintuple platinum. Their ninth album Bad Animals (1987) included the hit song Alone by Heart.

Nancy and Ann both released their solo albums, Live at McCabes Guitar Shop (1999) and Hope & Glory (2007), respectively.

These Dreams (1986) and Alone (1987) are the band’s no. 1 hits on Billboard Hot 100 and their US Top 40 singles are Magic Man (1975), Crazy on You (1976), Barracuda (1977), What About Love (1985), Never (1985), and All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You (1990).

Other popular Heart songs are Dog & Butterfly (Dog & Butterfly, 1978), Never (Heart, 1985), Even It Up (Bebe Le Strange 1980), Heartless (Magazine, 1978), Kick It Out (Little Queen, 1977), Straight On (Dog & Butterfly, 1978), and Bebe Le Strange (Bebe Le Strange, 1980).

Heart’s studio albums are Dreamboat Annie (1976), Little Queen (1977), Magazine (1978), Dog and Butterfly (1978), Bebe le Strange (1980), Private Audition (1982), Passionworks (1983), Heart (1985), Bad Animals (1987), Brigade (1990), Desire Walks On (1993), Jupiter’s Darling (2004), Red Velvet Car (2010), Fanatic (2012), and Beautiful Broken (2016).

Heart’s live albums are Greatest Hits Live (1980), Rock the House! Live (1991), The Road Home (1995), Alive in Seattle (2003), Dreamboat Annie Live (2007), Fanatic Live from Caesar’s Colosseum (2014), Heart & Friends – Home for the Holidays (2014), Live at the Royal Albert Hall with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (2016), and Live in Atlantic City (2019).

Heart’s compilation albums are These Dreams: Heart’s Greatest Hits (1997), Greatest Hits (1998), Greatest Hits: 1985-1995 (2000), Heart Presents, A Lovemongers’ Christmas (2001), The Essential Heart (2002), Love Songs (2006), Playlist: The Very Best of Heart (2008), Strange Euphoria (2012), and Icon (2013).

Heart disbanded in 1998. However, they reunited in 2002, went on hiatus in 2016, and reunited again in 2019. Heart’s notable tours are Love Alive Tour (2019), Rock Hall Three For All Tour (2016), Heart Rockin Heaven Tour (2014), Heartbreaker Tour (2013). In 2012, Heart’s performance of Stairway to Heaven was highly applauded by Led Zeppelin members.

The Wilson sisters reunited for the 2024 Heart Tour. However, the tour was cut short for Ann Wilson’s cancer treatment. The tour marked their reunion since 2019. In 2025, Heart launched The Royal Flush Tour with a performance at the BleauLive Theater in Las Vegas.

In the male-dominated world of rock, the Wilson sisters triumphed playing their own music.

🎸 Heart Studio Album Discography

1. Dreamboat Annie (1975)
2. Little Queen (1977)
3. Magazine (1977)
4. Dog & Butterfly (1978)
5. Bébé le Strange (1980)
6. Private Audition (1982)
7. Passionworks (1983)
8. Heart (1985)
9. Bad Animals (1987)
10. Brigade (1990)
11. Desire Walks On (1993)
12. Jupiter’s Darling (2004)
13. Red Velvet Car (2010)
14. Fanatic (2012)
15. Beautiful Broken (2016)

1. Dreamboat Annie (1975)

1. Magic Man
2. Dreamboat Annie (Fantasy Child)
3. Crazy on You
4. Soul of the Sea
5. Dreamboat Annie
6. White Lightning & Wine
7. (Love Me Like Music) I’ll Be Your Song
8. Sing Child
9. How Deep It Goes
10. Dreamboat Annie (Reprise)

2. Little Queen (1977)

1. Barracuda
2. Love Alive
3. Sylvan Song
4. Dream of the Archer
5. Kick It Out
6. Little Queen
7. Treat Me Well
8. Say Hello
9. Cry to Me
10. Go On Cry

3. Magazine (1977)

1. Heartless
2. Devil Delight
3. Just the Wine
4. Without You
5. Magazine
6. Here Song
7. Mother Earth Blues
8. I’ve Got the Music in Me

4. Dog & Butterfly (1978)

1. Cook with Fire
2. High Time
3. Hijinx
4. Straight On
5. Dog & Butterfly
6. Lighter Touch
7. Nada One
8. Mistral Wind

5. Bébé le Strange (1980)

1. Bébé le Strange
2. Down on Me
3. Silver Wheels
4. Break
5. Rockin’ Heaven Down
6. Pilot
7. Even It Up
8. Strange Night
9. Raised on You
10. Sweet Darlin’
11. Jackleg Man (CD bonus track on later reissues)

6. Private Audition (1982)

1. City’s Burning
2. Bright Light Girl
3. Perfect Stranger
4. Private Audition
5. Angels
6. This Man Is Mine
7. The Situation
8. Hey Darlin’ Darlin’
9. One Word
10. Fast Times

7. Passionworks (1983)

1. How Can I Refuse
2. Blue Guitar
3. Johnny Moon
4. Sleep Alone
5. Together Now
6. Allies
7. (Beat by) Jealousy
8. Heavy Heart
9. Love Mistake
10. Language of Love
11. Ambush

8. Heart (1985)

1. If Looks Could Kill
2. What About Love
3. Never
4. These Dreams
5. The Wolf
6. All Eyes
7. Nobody Home
8. Nothin’ at All
9. What He Don

9. Bad Animals (1987)

1. Who Will You Run To
2. Alone
3. There’s the Girl
4. I Want You So Bad
5. Wait for an Answer
6. Bad Animals
7. You Ain’t So Tough
8. Strangers of the Heart
9. Easy Target
10. RSVP

10. Brigade (1990)

1. Wild Child
2. All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You
3. Secret
4. Tall, Dark Handsome Stranger
5. I Didn’t Want to Need You
6. The Night
7. Fallen from Grace
8. Under the Sky
9. Cruel Nights
10. Stranded

11. Desire Walks On (1993)

1. Desire
2. Black on Black II
3. Back to Avalon
4. The Woman in Me
5. Rage
6. In Walks the Night
7. My Crazy Head
8. Ring Them Bells
9. Will You Be There (In the Morning)
10. Voodoo Doll
11. Anything Is Possible
12. Avalon (Reprise)
13. Desire Walks On (hidden track)

12. Jupiter’s Darling (2004)

1. Make Me
2. Oldest Story in the World
3. Things
4. The Perfect Goodbye
5. Enough
6. Move On
7. I Need the Rain
8. I Give Up
9. Vainglorious
10. No Other Love
11. Led to One
12. Down the Nile

13. Red Velvet Car (2010)

1. There You Go
2. WTF
3. Red Velvet Car
4. Queen City
5. Hey You
6. Wheels
7. Safronia’s Mark
8. Death Valley
9. Sunflower
10. Sand

Deluxe Edition Bonus Tracks:
11. Bootful of Beer
12. Closer to the Sun

14. Fanatic (2012)

1. Fanatic
2. Dear Old America
3. Walkin’ Good (feat. Sarah McLachlan)
4. Skin and Bones
5. A Million Miles
6. Pennsylvania
7. Mashallah
8. Rock Deep (Vancouver)
9. 59 Crunch
10. Corduroy Road

Deluxe Edition Bonus Tracks:
11. Beautiful Broken (early version)
12. Two Silver Rings
13. Zingara

15. Beautiful Broken (2016)

1. Beautiful Broken (featuring James Hetfield)
2. Two
3. Sweet Darlin’ (new version)
4. I Jump
5. Johnny Moon (new version)
6. Heaven
7. City’s Burning (new version)
8. Down on Me (new version)
9. One Word (new version)
10. Language of Love (new version)