Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart have been everywhere of late as they promote their current Royal Flush tour. They appeared on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, where a version of Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse Of The Heart was performed during an actual eclipse. They visited with Howard Stern, where Led Zeppelin's Going To California was covered. And now they've appeared with the queen of daytime television, on the Kelly Clarkson Show.
While on the show, the host sang a short version of Heart's debut American single Crazy on You, after Ann Wilson revealed how she approached the original.
"That was the first song I ever recorded as a singer in a studio," says Ann. "You were talking about feeling, and that's what I had. I didn't have a bunch of technique or anything yet, but I definitely felt how to say certain words, how to jump in early sometimes, how to 'blue note' things... just feel that kind of stuff."
Ann Wilson also told the story about the origins of another Heart classic, Barracuda. It's a story she's told plenty of times before, but this time with an added detail: the sleazy record company man who inspired the lyric was wearing a pornographic wristwatch.
"We were in Detroit opening up for The Kinks, says Ann. Back in those days, after your show – especially if you're a baby band like we were – your dressing room would be full of all these industry types. A lot of satin jackets. And they could be pretty sleazy.
"And there's this one guy in particular who had this pornographic watch on – like one of those watches that if you move your hand, it'll do something sexy. Naughty. And so he asked me, 'Hey Annie, you know, how's your lover?' And I went, 'Oh, Michael's fine. He is right over there.' 'Cause I was with Michael Fisher at the time. And he said, 'No, ya sister. Your sister, your lover.'
"It was like, if there's two chicks it has to be sexy, you know? It made me really mad. And I went back to the hotel and wrote the words to Barracuda."
Heart's Royal Flush tour runs until September 22 in Morrison, Colorado. In the midst of the US run, on which they'll be joined by Cheap Trick, the band will travel to Europe and the UK for summer shows, playing a series of festival dates alongside their first arena gigs on the continent in eight years. The second run of US dates includes a trio of stadium shows with Def Leppard and Journey. Squeeze will play support at the UK shows.
Full dates below - tickets are on sale now.
Heart: Royal Flush tour 2024
Apr 25: Hollywood Hard Rock Live, FL
Apr 26: Tampa Amalie Arena, FL
May 01: San Antonio Frost Bank Center, TX
May 03: Thackerville Lucas Oil Live at WinStar World Casino and Resort, OK
May 04: Tulsa BOK Center, OK
May 07: Indianapolis Gainbridge Fieldhouse, IN
May 10: Atlanta State Farm Arena GA
May 11: Charlotte Spectrum Center, NC
May 13: Baltimore CFG Bank Arena, MD
May 15: Columbus Schottenstein Center, OH
May 17: Rosemont Allstate Arena, IL
May 18: Louisville KFC Yum! Center, KY
May 21: Detroit Little Caesars Arena, MI
May 23: Pittsburgh PPG Paints Arena, PA
May 24: Atlantic City Hard Rock Live, NJ
Jun 20: Antwerp Graspop Metal Meeting, Belgium^
Jun 22: Berlin UberEats Music Hall, Germany
Jun 24: Stockholm Grona Lund, Sweden
Jun 25: Helsinki Ice Hall, Finland
Jun 27: Oslo Tons of Rock Festival, Norway^
Jun 30: Clisson Hellfest, France^
Jul 01: London O2 Arena, UK
Jul 03: Birmingham Utilita Arena, UK
Jul 05: Nottingham Motorpoint Arena, UK
Jul 06: Manchester AO Arena, UK
Jul 08: Leeds First Direct Arena, UK
Jul 09: Glasgow OVO Hydro, UK
Jul 11: Esch-Sur-Alzette Rock Hall, Luxembourg
Jul 12: Weert Bospop Festival, Netherlands^
^ = festival show
