Heart
By All Music Guide
By All Music Guide
After selling more than 30,000 copies north of the border, Mushroom issued the LP in the U.S. where it quickly achieved platinum status on the strength of the hit singles Crazy on You and Magic Man. In 1977, Heart jumped ship to the CBS affiliate Portrait, resulting in a protracted legal battle with Siegel, who in 1978 released the unfinished LP Magazine on Mushroom shortly after the band issued its true follow-up Little Queen on Portrait. The single Barracuda was another massive hit, and like its predecessor, Little Queen sold over a million copies.
After 1978s Dog & Butterfly, both of the Wilson/Fisher romances ended and Roger Fisher left the group. In 1980, Heart issued Bebe Le Strange; following a lengthy U.S. tour, both Fossen and Derosier exited and were replaced by ex-Spirit and Firefall bassist Mark Andes and former Gamma drummer Denny Carmassi. After 1982s Private Audition and 1983s Passionworks slumped, the group was largely written off by industry watchers, and moved to Capitol Records.
In 1985, however, Heart emerged with a self-titled effort that ultimately sold more than five million copies on its way to launching four Top Ten hits -- What About Love?, Never, the chart-topping These Dreams, and Nothin at All. 1987s Bad Animals continued their comeback success; Alone was another number one hit, and both Who Will You Run To and Theres the Girl achieved considerable airplay as well. Brigade, issued in 1990, featured the number two smash All I Want to Do Is Make Love to You, as well as the Top 25 hits I Didnt Want to Need You and Stranded. In the early 90s, the Wilson sisters took a brief hiatus from Heart to form the Lovemongers, an acoustic quartet fleshed out by Sue Ennis and Frank Cox; in 1992, they issued a four-song EP that included a cover of Led Zeppelins The Battle of Evermore. Heart returned in 1993 with Desire Walks On, on which Andes and Carmassi were replaced with bassist Fernando Saunders and drummer Denny Fongheiser. With 1995s The Road Home, Heart enlisted onetime Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones to produce a live, acoustic set reprising hits like Dreamboat Annie, Crazy on You, and Barracuda.
Heart went on hiatus by the late 90s, as the Wilson sisters concentrated on the Lovemongers, issuing a pair of albums -- 1997s Whirlygig and 1998s Here Is Christmas. But Heart wasnt completely silent -- they were the subject of one of the better episodes of VH1s Behind the Music, a pair of best-of sets were issued (1998s Greatest Hits covered their early classics, while their later years were spotlighted on 2000s Greatest Hits: 1985-1995), and their music continued to pop up in movie soundtracks (2000s The Virgin Suicides, among others). In 1999, Nancy Wilson released her first solo album, Live at McCabes Guitar Shop, and a year later penned the score to her husband Cameron Crowes hit motion picture, Almost Famous, while Ann Wilson continued to play with others -- in the summer of 2001, she participated in the A Walk Down Abbey Road: A Tribute to the Beatles tour, which also featured Todd Rundgren, John Entwistle (The Who), and Alan Parsons (The Alan Parsons Project). Heart returned to active recording for Jupiters Darling, released on Sovereign Artists in 2004. ~ Jason Ankeny & Greg Prato,
