Rock was still very much a boys’ club in the mid 1970s, a fact that Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson learned firsthand as their band, Heart, fought its way into the spotlight.

Ann Wilson is revisiting those early battles in her new documentary, In My Voice, which traces her career with Heart and as a solo artist. The film features appearances from Paul Stanley of Kiss and rising pop star Chappell Roan, who has been covering Heart’s classic “Barracuda” on tour.

But long before Heart delivered arena-ready riffs and radio staples like “Crazy on You,” the Wilson sisters were teenagers trying to figure out how two women from the suburbs might fit into rock’s loudest, most swaggering world.

The sisters were adolescents in 1966 when they had the life-altering experience of seeing the Beatles in concert. Four years later, they caught Led Zeppelin live. Watching Robert Plant stalk the stage with what Nancy later called “super-suggestive” moves was electrifying — and eye-opening.

“We were in a little folk band at the time,” Nancy recalled. “We were from the suburbs, so we were square little hippie chicks to be unenlightened.”

Like countless guitarists of the era, the Wilsons were struck by Zeppelin’s thunderous rock — but they filtered it through their own mix of folk harmony, acoustic textures and hard-rock muscle. Before long, Heart were earning comparisons to Zeppelin themselves.

Breaking through, however, meant navigating a music industry that didn’t quite know what to make of two women fronting a hard-rock band.

“You would build yourself up and do something really great, and you’d feel really good about it — then you could get put down and squashed down very easily by the rest of the men,” Ann told Rolling Stone. “They could make you feel like you were really silly for even trying.”

Women in rock were still a rarity at the time, though trailblazers like Suzi Quatro were beginning to crack open the door.

Heart kicked it wider. When the band released its debut album, Dreamboat Annie, in 1975, Nancy’s razor-sharp rhythm work and Ann’s seismic vocals powered songs that could pivot from acoustic guitar intimacy to full-throttle hard rock — proof that women could command the same sonic territory as their male peers.

Nearly five decades later, that breakthrough still resonates. But as the Wilson sisters have often pointed out, the path there required more than talent — it required resilience in an industry that didn’t always believe they belonged on the same stage as the men they grew up idolizing.

Even after decades in music, Lucinda Williams still finds herself surprised by who listens to her records.

Reflecting on her career, the singer-songwriter says some of the artists who have expressed admiration for her music over the years caught her completely off guard — including punk icon Joey Ramone, David Byrne and Robert Plant.

“I’ve met so many fantastic, legendary artists over the years who like my music,” she tells The Bluegrass Situation in a new interview. “And some might be a surprise.

“I was surprised, actually.”

Williams says discovering that artists she admired were listening to her work has been among the most rewarding experiences of her career.

“Like, Joey Ramone was a fan. David Byrne is a fan,” she says. “Robert Plant is a big fan, and I’ve done quite a few shows with him. Those kinds of things have been a big boost for me.”

Over the years, Williams has had opportunities to meet and even collaborate with some of those artists. She and Ramone once shared the stage for a songwriter’s night in New York City. Williams and Byrne performed the Jimmie Dale Gilmore–John Reed song “Tonight I Think I'm Gonna Go Downtown” at South by Southwest in 1999. (Byrne also covered Williams’ hit “Sweet Old World” in 1993 at New York City’s Bottom Line.)

And Plant, alongside Alison Krauss, recorded a version of Williams’ song “Can’t Let Go,” in addition to sharing festival bills with her.

“Those probably have been the highlights of my career — being able to connect with those kinds of artists,” Williams says. “The people I listened to when I was starting out and looked up to.”

Williams says she was equally surprised to learn that Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson of Heart are fans, a discovery that led to her joining select dates of the band’s 2026 Royal Flush Tour.

“It seemed like with their fans and my fans there was kind of an overlap,” Williams says. “It seemed to work musically as a bill.”

The experience also deepened her appreciation for Nancy Wilson’s guitar playing.

“I don’t think enough has been said about Nancy’s playing,” Williams says. “I hadn’t realized how proficient Nancy was on the electric guitar. I was just sitting there watching it like, ‘Oh my God!’”

Williams is currently celebrating the release of her latest album, World’s Gone Wrong, whose songs draw heavily on the tradition of protest music. It’s her first release since she suffered a stroke in November 2020.

While she continues to recover and has yet to return to the guitar, Williams says she remains focused on the part of music she can still do.

“I still struggle when I walk,” she told NPR’s Morning Edition. “But I can sing.”

The guitar, she says, “will have to come later.”

Heart’s Nancy Wilson knows a thing or two about men with malice in their hearts. Back in the 1970s, the guitarist and her sister Ann wrote a song about a lying scumbag who planted a story that the two founders of Heart had an incestuous relationship.

They called it “Barracuda,” and in 1977 it went on to become a major hit for Heart, one of the most successful female-led groups in rock and roll.

Last Saturday, the Wilson sisters got a new slap in the face when “Barracuda” was used without permission in U.S. president Donald Trump’s military showcase event in Washington, D.C.

WIlson addressed the slight that same day on Instagram.

“Earlier today, during a parade held in support of our nation’s military and organized by President Donald Trump, the song ‘Barracuda’ by Heart was played without permission or authorization from us,” Wilson wrote.

“As daughters of a U.S. Marine Corps major, we hold a deep and abiding respect for the men and women who serve in our Armed Forces,” Wilson continued. “On a day meant to honor that service, it’s important that music used in such settings reflects not only the tone of the event but also the wishes of the artists who created it.🤘🏻”

Reports indicate an instrumental version of the song was among several hits by notable artists played at Trump’s poorly attended, low-energy parade.

By contrast, an estimated five million patriots came together in more than 2,100 vibrant “No Kings” rallies around the country to protest Trump’s policies, making it the largest demonstration in the history of the United States, according to the ACLU.

Wilson’s post pointedly included a photo of herself wearing a hat that reads "No kings but us.”

As Wilson has revealed in a previous talk with Guitar Player contributing writer Joe Bosso, “Barracuda” was a platform for the sisters to unleash their rage at the music industry exec who floated the false story about them.

“He was one of those guys — a slimeball in a satin jacket,” Nancy told GP. “We heard about this totally untrue story at a party and were appalled.

“To think that this guy would diminish our musicianship and songwriting by reducing us to these sexual objects. The whole thing was so slimy and salacious, and we weren’t having it.”

It wasn’t only the sisters who were offended; the entire group rallied to the cause, with Nancy’s co-lead guitarist Roger Fisher creating the song’s powerhouse riff and an outline of the musical structure.

“Roger had the riff and kind of a jam on a cassette,” she recalls. “From there, we all sat down and crafted it as a band. We were into groups like Yes, so we wanted to be tricky, with various time signatures flying around.”

The band — which also included co-lead guitarist Howard Leese, bassist Steve Fossen and drummer Michael DeRosier — were working on their third album Little Queen, at Seattle’s Kay-Smith studio when they hooked the song.

“In the case of ‘Barracuda,’ we knew we’d caught a marlin,” Nancy jokes.

The recording got its substantial drawing power from its heady mix of guitars, including Nancy on a Guild acoustic and Fisher and Leese on electric guitars. “They used phase shifters and did some backward tracks by flipping the tape over,” she recalls. “It was incredible.”

But the song’s heart and soul comes from Ann’s volcanic vocals. “Watching Ann sing,” Nancy recalls, “it’s like you’re seeing someone have an out-of-body experience.

“There’s very few singers who can do what she does. It’s magic.”

“Barracuda” rose in the charts within weeks of its release in May 1977, reaching number 11 on Billboard’s Hot 100. It remains a staple of classic rock radio and one of the group’s best-known hits.

Coincidentally, Nancy recently found herself discussing : “Crazy on You,” another Heart hit from the 1970s that conjures up an uncannily familiar feeling these days. In a March 18 interview with The Milwaukee Sentinel Journal, the guitarist explained that the 1975 single was the group’s response to the Vietnam War, still raging at that time.

“We were kind of embarrassed at that time to call ourselves American because of the dirty politics of the Vietnam War,” Wilson told the Journal.

“To be as subtle as possible, it’s more embarrassing now.”

In the same interview, Wilson spoke about “Barracuda” and made a reference to Trump when she noted that the song “is even more relevant in the salacious billionaire culture with the grab-them-by-the-pussy mentality.”

“I think for women in the culture the pendulum will come back again, and there’ll be another renaissance in the arts to push back against the oppression of the cranky old rich white guys,” she added. “I hope I am alive to see that next revolution.”

In related news, Wilson recently celebrated the return of her custom baritone Fender Telecaster after it was stolen from the Hard Rock in Atlantic City on May 30. The guitar was found shortly after police nabbed the suspected thief, Garfield Bennett, a 57-year-old resident of Pleasantville, New Jersey, on Wednesday, May 4. A 1966 Gibson EM-50 stolen from Heart at the same time as the Fender guitar has not yet been recovered.

A suspect has been arrested in connection with the theft of an electric guitar and mandolin taken from the band Heart before they performed at Hard Rock Atlantic City on Friday, May 30.

Atlantic City police charged Garfield Bennett, a 57-year-old resident of Pleasantville, New Jersey, with burglary and theft on Wednesday, May 4. He was arrested after he was spotted on camera attempting to sell the instruments in Atlantic City. Bennett matched the description of the man seen in surveillance video captured at Hard Rock's Etess Arena. .

Heart guitarist Nancy Wilson lost a custom baritone Telecaster Fender with a purple-sparkle finish and a multicolored design on the headstock, while band member Paul Moak was robbed of a 1966 Gibson EM-50 mandolin he’s performed with for more than 25 years.

Neither instrument has been recovered. Police say Bennett sold one to an unknown buyer and have not determined what became of the other. They’re asking whoever has the instruments to come forward and surrender them or face arrest and charges of receiving stolen property.

Anyone with information about the missing instruments should contact the Atlantic City Police Department at 609-347-5766 or submit an anonymous text to tip411 (847411).

The gear was stolen on May 30 after Heart setup for their next day’s show to launch the An Evening With Heart tour. The group has offered an unspecified reward for the instruments’ return, with no questions asked.

“These instruments are more than just tools of our trade — they’re extensions of our musical souls,” Nancy Wilson wrote on her Instagram shortly after the theft took place. “The baritone Tele was made uniquely for me, and Paul’s mandolin has been with him for decades.

“We’re heartbroken, and we’re asking for their safe return, no questions asked. Their value to us is immeasurable.”

Wilson learned of Bennett’s arrest following Heart's June 4 performance in Detroit. .

“It’s a really beautiful thing that you’re helping me reach out to people with their kindest hearts,” she told Fox 29 in Philadelphia. “And appeal to the kindness in people to help find and return these precious things that are so meaningful to me and the band. We’re just hoping against hope and sending the best prayers we can send.”

Heart have been soldiering on since the early 1970s, when the classic rock group scored chart hits like “Barracuda,” “Magic Man” and “Crazy On You.” Even before then, Nancy and her sister Ann, Heart’s lead singer, had cut their teeth performing in a folk quartet. Nancy recently revealed to Guitar Player how seeing the Beatles perform in the sisters' native Seattle in 1966, on the group's final tour, influenced their decision to form Heart.

Sadly, Heart’s gear joins the list of celebrity stringed instruments that have gone missing. Among the more famous are Paul McCartney’s first Höfner bass guitar, which was recovered in 2024 following a global search, and Eric Clapton’s “Beano” Gibson Les Paul, which he played on the Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton album. The whereabouts of Clapton's guitar remain unknown.

Most recently, on June 3, Gibson announced it was launching a search for the ES-345 semi-hollow electric actor Michael J. Fox performed with in a key scene from the film Back to the Future. The guitar has been missing since shortly after the movie was completed in 1985

Heart will perform An Evening with Heart throughout North America until June 28.

You don’t hear too many rockers tell stories about seeing the Beatles in concert in their youth.

So when Heart’s Nancy Wilson said she and her sister Ann saw the group perform in Seattle on August 25, 1966 — one of the last dates of their final concert tour — we were all ears.

As Nancy explains, the sisters attended with the members of their teenage band — and they went with a purpose.

“Our mom and dad drove us there: me and Ann and Bonnie and Sid — our whole little all-girl folk/rock band at the time,” says Nancy, who was 12 at the time. “It was like taking dictation for what it was we wanted to do with our lives. Definitely there was destiny involved. We just had to get guitars and make bands and become the Beatles — as much as we could ever become them.”

The Fabs’ two shows at the Seattle Center Coliseum came toward the end of their final concert trek. After two more dates — one in Los Angeles and another on August 29 in San Francisco — the group stopped touring and would not play what was considered a “concert” until January 30, 1969 on the rooftop of its Apple Corps offices in London.

Their 11-song set at the Seattle Center lasted about half an hour, opened with Chuck Berry’s “Rock and Roll Music” and included two songs (“If I Needed Someone” and “Nowhere Man”) from the Rubber Soul album and their latest single, “Paperback Writer.”

Nancy Wilson recalls that her parents drove the four aspiring musicians to the show, sporting matching outfits made by the Wilsons’ mother especially for the night.

“Our mom was a good seamstress,” she recalls, “so she made us matching uniforms to what the Beatles were wearing on that tour — the khaki, mandarin collar, military tunic jackets as well as the double-breasted, wide-collar fitted military jackets. Of course we had skirts instead of slacks. That was before you would wear pants in school.

“We had our opera glasses and our little miniature binoculars so we could take notes and watch the Beatles and their camaraderie and their energy with each other, which was the biggest thrill of all — their body language, the way they would hold their guitars. How John bowed his legs and bounced up and down, irreverently chewing gum. His snidely attitude, and Paul’s bouncy, angelic, baby-faced thing in contrast to John’s dangerous, sexy thing.

“George was every bit the gentleman, kind of like a British clothing model, like a dandy or something. And Ringo was just the goofball who all the kids loved. When you loved the Beatles you loved Ringo first, ’cause you were so young. Then when you’re 12 or 13, you went for the other Beatles.

“Then when the hormones kicked in you went to John.

“I remember being pissed off at all of the girls, who were just screaming and screaming, because I wanted to hear the band, and you could barely hear the music. And the whole place was lit up like it was daytime because of all those Kodak Brownie flashbulb cubes that were going off.

“But it was really exciting and, like I said, life-altering, like, ‘Omigod, this is what we've gotta do with our lives!’ We had guitars already and we were getting proficient and we knew all the Beatles songs. We knew every part they played, and all the harmony parts.”

The Wilsons have lived out that dream, of course. Since forming Heart in 1973 they’ve released 16 studio albums (featuring enduring hits such as “Magic Man,” “Crazy On You,” “Barracuda,” “These Dreams” and more), sold more than 50 million records worldwide, been nominated for four Grammy Awards and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013.

After breaking off its Royal Flush World Tour for Ann Wilson’s cancer treatment last year, the group is back on the road and planning to stay there most of the year. May 31 will see the start of the An Evening With Heart spring/summer U.S. trek, with the band performing two separate sets each night, through June 28.

Meanwhile, Nancy — who’s duet with Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard, “A Million Goodbyes,” is sold via the tour’s merch booths — says she’s eager to make “an acoustic Heart” album at some point soon.

“I just turned 71 in March, so I’m feeling even more lucky that I knew what I wanted to do with my life when I was that young,” she says. “To be able to know, and for it to be able to work, is insanely lucky. And that we’re here still doing it... I don’t take that for granted at all.”

Al Di Meola is best known for his peerless classical guitar exploits and, over on the electric guitar side, his tasteful, yet often maze-like jazz-fusion licks. Of course, guitarists will always be drawn to his virtuosity, but he sees that aspect of his playing as icing on the cake.

It's his sense of groove — the result of unified interlocking rhythms — that brings his songs to life.

In his recent discussion with YouTube host Rick Beato, Di Meola is asked, “Can you teach groove?”

The answer, it would seem, is yes, and Di Meola underscores how those rhythmic sensibilities have been finely tuned over his lifetime by both playing and listening.

“I did spend a lot of years by myself, getting into New York City and hanging out in salsa clubs,” he continues. “I just took it all in.”

More importantly, he says many of his key learnings happened away from the instrument.

“I spent a lot of years on desktops, just tapping rhythms,” he explains. “I could do it on my guitar, too, but I did a lot of it with my foot, always concentrating on the 4/4, with that never going out of time."

In short, Di Meola says, if you want to learn groove, "focus on the foot. It becomes very important.

“Whatever syncopations you're playing with the upper half of your body cannot influence that quarter note down there; it's two separate parts.”

He accepts, however, that the disconnect he is able to create between the upper and lower parts of his body is “not achievable” for everyone. In those cases, he points to the obvious solutions: play with a drummer, or use a metronome.

Di Meola has also had the opportunity to learn from some of the best, including the otherworldly flamenco talents of guitarist Paco de Lucía, pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba, whose playing he describes as “off the charts,” and keyboardist Chick Corea, “the master of rhythm."

In the end, however, Di Meola returns to the foot.

“What's magical is when you have the ability to feel the quarter note, you can have these giant pauses in the music," he says, "and that's where the drama is."

Without that sensibility, he says bands can fall apart, but with it, pauses between chords and note flourishes bring a lot to the power of a piece.

His comments would have resonated with the late Tom Petty, who stated that “Rhythm playing is a lost art,” during a 1997 chat with Guitar Player.

“There aren't a lot of people who do it seriously anymore,” he bemoaned. “But it's really important to our band that I play the rhythm because the music sounds different if I don't.”

Indeed, rhythm playing is the cornerstone of session gigs. Steve Lukather says rhythm parts make up “90 percent” of his session work, while Heart's Nancy Wilson has discussed how her approach to rhythm creates a disparity between the hands.

“My hands are the true story of my personality,” she says. “One hand looks glamorous, and the other is a real worker with broken nails.”

For more tips, check out GP's guide to mastering the basics of rhythm guitar and, taking a leaf from Al Di Meola's book, dive into our list of the 50 Greatest Rhythm Guitar Players of All Time.

“It definitely grabs you by the whatevers,” says Heart co-founder and guitarist Nancy Wilson, speaking about the band’s enduring 1977 hit “Barracuda.” “From the first few moments, it says, ‘This is rock’ — spelled R-A-W-K. It’s a great riff, and the guitar tones are so muscular and aggressive. I think it’s one of those amazing moments in time, and we were lucky enough to catch it.”

The writing of “Barracuda” was something of an all-hands-on-deck affair within the Heart camp. However, Nancy gives major kudos to then co-lead guitarist Roger Fisher for coming up with the song’s powerhouse riff and an outline of the musical structure. “Roger had the riff and kind of a jam on a cassette,” she recalls. “From there, we all sat down and crafted it as a band. We were into groups like Yes, so we wanted to be tricky, with various time signatures flying around.”

The forceful nature of the music offered a perfect platform for lead singer Ann Wilson to unleash her rage at a music industry exec who had floated a false story to the press about an incestuous relationship with Nancy, her sister. “He was one of those guys — a slimeball in a satin jacket,” Nancy says. “We heard about this totally untrue story at a party and were appalled. To think that this guy would diminish our musicianship and songwriting by reducing us to these sexual objects. The whole thing was so slimy and salacious, and we weren’t having it.”

Once Ann had completed her venomous lyrics, Nancy came up with a dreamy bridge section that provided a brief respite to the song’s full-on assault. “It’s gets very pretty there for a bit,” she says. “That’s my acoustic influence coming through. I always liked dropping in mood and texture shifts like that.”

The band – which also included co-lead guitarist Howard Leese, bassist Steve Fossen and drummer Michael DeRosier – convened at Seattle’s Kay-Smith studio in early 1977 to record their third album, Little Queen. “In the case of ‘Barracuda,’ we knew we’d caught a marlin,” Nancy jokes. “We ran through the track a few times live in the room. This was before Pro Tools, so we had to nail it perfectly.”

Nancy opted to play an acoustic guitar on the song — a Guild model she borrowed from producer Mike Flicker — while Fisher and Leese shared rhythm and lead duties on electric guitar. “They could play off each other beautifully, and they got amazing sounds,” she notes. “They used phase shifters and did some backward tracks by flipping the tape over. It was incredible.” Of her sister’s volcanic vocals, Nancy is nothing short of awestruck. “Watching Ann sing, it’s like you’re seeing someone have an out-of-body experience. She’s bigger than all of us put together. There’s very few singers who can do what she does. It’s magic.”

The song’s abrupt ending is a head turner, one which Nancy reveals was a post-recording feat achieved when all the band members worked faders on the recoding console and cut out on cue. “We were pushing ourselves louder and louder in the mix until we were pegging into the red,” she remembers. “By the end, I think smoke was coming out of the board.”

“Barracuda” was the single off Little Queen, and within weeks of its release in May of 1977, it dominated AM and FM radio, reaching number 11 on Billboard’s Hot 100. “We came out guns blazing,” Nancy says. “There was no doubt about how strong a song it was.” Through the years, it’s been a staple at Heart live shows, and the guitarist says it will remain in the band’s set as long as there is a band. “For one thing, it’s always fun to play, so we enjoy it. But more important, we feel it’s our obligation to our fans to play it. It’s our way of showing respect to them for our whole career.”

The fast-rising pop star Chappell Roan has recently performed her own fiery version of “Barracuda” live, and Nancy gives the singer an enthusiastic thumbs up. “It’s great. She calls it her favorite song. I applaud her bravery for doing it.” But the Wilson sisters were less thrilled when the track was played at the 2008 Republican National Convention as an introduction to John McCain’s running mate, Sarah Palin. “We were pissed off,” Nancy says. “We could have written another ‘Barracuda’ because of that. I dropped an F-bomb in the press about it, and we sent a cease-and-desist letter.” She adds, “They stopped using it.”

As the golden age of shred – think tight pants, Super-Strats, and an emphasis on flashiness – recedes further into memory, boasting in guitar circles about your notes-per-minute count has become increasingly gauche. 

Indeed, though killer guitar moments abound in their voluminous catalog, many-times-platinum rockers Heart have always been known first and foremost as a ‘songs’ band, with guitarist Nancy Wilson leading the charge with ever hooky, song-serving playing. 

In a 1979 interview with Guitar Player, Wilson reflected on the importance of rhythm playing in her repertoire, and how she imbues it – her acoustic guitar playing in particular – with more than enough attitude to go 'round. 

“I’m mainly a rhythm player, and, on acoustic, I play really hard,” she told GP at the time. “My hands are the true story of my personality. One hand looks kind of glamorous, and the other is a real worker hand with broken nails.”

Wilson did, however, take care to note that that heavy-handedness didn't extend to her electric guitar approach, saying that she wished to avoid falling into what she cited as a trap many primarily acoustic players fall into.

“Acoustic players tend to overplay an electric – pushing down too hard on the strings and all that,” she posited, “so it’s really good for me to develop the discipline to hold back and have a lighter touch on electric.”

As for inspirations on the rhythm front, Wilson cited a few big names, among them two classic rock titans arguably known far better as soloists. 

“There are a lot of good lead players, but not a whole lot of good rhythm players,” Wilson said. “Oddly enough, I’ve never really emulated the Stones, but I think Keith Richards is a compelling rhythm player, and John Lennon is a lot like that, too. 

“John Lennon is an amazing rhythm guitarist – he knows how to be loosely tight. John Lennon has more soul than he can almost handle. David Gilmour and Jimmy Page are other incredible players who do both great rhythms and leads.”

Pumping out hits like “Magic Man,” “Barracuda” and “Crazy On You,” Heart ascended to worldwide fame during the ‘70s before going on to sell more than 35 million records.

Guitarist and singer Nancy Wilson blazed a trail in the rock world and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with her sister, lead singer Ann Wilson, and other Heart members in 2013.

Recalling her memories of life as a female guitarist in the early days, Wilson said, “It was as if people were shocked and stunned to see a girl who could actually play with any kind of competence…

“You just didn’t see women playing rock and roll and attacking the guitar very aggressively. So yeah, when they saw me, it was like, ‘Whoa! You’re pretty good for a girl.’”

Now, the rock legend is passing on some of the gear that helped forge her career as one of the most respected and inspirational guitarists in music history.

From October 19, fans will be able to browse over two dozen items – including guitars, amps, and keyboards – at Nancy Wilson’s official Reverb Shop.

Among the various items on offer will be the Heart icon’s late ‘60s Gibson SG she says was her axe of choice when playing the 1977 hit “Barracuda" live.

Speaking of the famed electric guitar, Wilson pointed out, “It's traveled really far with me and we’ve done a lot of stages and shows together. You might recognize this Marine Corps symbol here that I used to flash after ‘Barracuda’ at the end of shows.

“My dad was a military man, and there’s pictures of me saluting at a lot of shows. This guitar is one true hero.”

The following items will also be on sale at The Official Nancy Wilson of Heart Reverb Shop:

• Pre-factory Paul Reed Smith 12-string prototype with dragon inlays (as played on the latest Heart tour)
• 1957 Fender Stratocaster (used live on world tours)
• Late ‘70s David Petschulat Mini Les Paul (as seen on the cover of cover Heart’s Greatest Hits Live)
• Mid-‘80s Duncan Quattro (Wilson's “all-purpose dive-bombing ‘80s style guitar.”)
• TV Jones Spectrasonic with a red and white finish and Bigsby vibrato (also used to play “Barracuda” live)

Visit Reverb for more information.

Heart vocalist and electric and acoustic guitar player Nancy Wilson has released a new single, "Amigo Amiga," that pays tribute to her friend and occasional collaborator, late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins.

Hawkins played on Wilson's debut solo album, 2021's You and Me, as a thank-you for Wilson's own appearance on Get the Money, the 2019 album by Hawkins and his band, the Coattail Riders.

Outside of their collaborations, the two were fast friends, sharing a bond that drives this beautiful and emotional acoustic ballad. You can see the lyric video for "Amigo Amiga" below.

“The night we heard about losing Taylor I started writing the song," Wilson said in a statement. "I heard myself in tears saying ‘too soon too soon’ which became a refrain in the song. 

"I spent quite a few sleepless nights trying to express it all. He was a wonderful friend and we always had funny pet names for each other like Amigo and Amiga as well as Luv and Dahling. I sang on his great solo album Get the Money at his home studio and later he returned the favor and played drums on my solo album.
 
"It is such a painful loss," Wilson continued, "but it also feels like Taylor has galvanized and re-energized rock and roll with so many of his musician friends and fans coming together – it’s a new renaissance Taylor and the Foo family have gifted us all.” 

This Tuesday (September 27), Wilson is set to appear as one of the many guests at the second of this month's two Hawkins tribute concerts, at Los Angeles's Kia Forum. The first took place on September 3 at London's Wembley Stadium, and featured notable performances from Them Crooked Vultures, Wolfgang Van Halen, and the Foo Fighters themselves.

For info on the tribute concert, and how to watch it, visit foofighters.com.

Meredith Brooks and the She Rocks Awards both have cause to celebrate this year.

While the Grammy-nominated artist’s timeless anthem “Bitch” reaches its 25-year milestone, 2022 also marks the event’s 10th anniversary.

The She Rocks Awards serves to honor those trailblazing women of the music industry – from artists, engineers and educators to media, manufacturers and label execs – who have made a real impact.

Previous honorees include the likes of guitar players Nancy Wilson, Lzzy Hale, Lita Ford, Orianthi, Nita Strauss, Jennifer Batten and Malina Moye.

This time around, the She Rocks Awards will be honoring three outstanding guitarists, namely Carmen Vandenberg, Yvette Young and Meredith Brooks.

Guitar Player caught up with Brooks ahead of today’s event in Anaheim, California…

It’s been 25 years since the release of “Bitch.” The She Rocks Awards calls it an “empowering anthem for women around the world.” Do you agree?

I keep reminding people there was more than just that one song. [laughs] It’s funny, I always think of “Bitch” as the resurrection song.

People think of it as an anthemic song, but this was back in the day when albums were stories. The whole album – Blurring the Edges – is full of stories and snippets.

Are those stories based on your own life?

I never told people that it was my life because I wanted them to relate to it in their own way.

Did you have an inkling that Blurring the Edges might go multi-Platinum?

Back in the ‘90s, I thought if it sold even 100,000 copies I’d be happy. So I was pretty shocked when the “Bitch” single took off the way it did.

“Wash My Hands” was going to be the first single and video. (In fact, I just found that unreleased video!) Next it was “I Need,” but then “Bitch” happened. It was like nothing else had a chance.

How did you perceive the reaction among fans?

"Bitch" took on a life of its own. It felt more powerful every day. And I grew more and more into it. 

There were moments on stage where I would see the reaction from people and just feel the power of the lyrics and what I was saying.

I was hoping people would feel the same thing that Shelly [Peiken] and I were feeling when we wrote it. My manager said, "Why don’t you write about that stuff you’re always talking about?" But I wondered who would want to hear about my subpersonalities?

Writing with the right person in that particular moment was what made it all come together.

How do you feel when you hear other musicians covering “Bitch?”

There’s a charge when other people are singing it. When I heard Ruby Amanfu doing her version that appears on the Little Fires Everywhere soundtrack I literally cried. 

I was entranced. It wasn’t like I was listening to a song I wrote – I was just listening to her singing a song that moved me.

The fact that so many people have been able to make “Bitch” their own attests to its strength as a song…

I have encouraged it. I’ve told people, “Take this and make it your own.” I would love for more people to take it and make it their own. There was even talk of Missy Elliott doing a version, which would be amazing!

Right now, my favorite new artist singing it is eight years old. She plays guitar and sings. I’m blown away by this little girl because she’s really meaning it when she sings.

It sounds like people are reacting the same way 25 years later…

Recently, I was watching a reviewer who was in her teens and her conclusion was that the song was “empowering.” 

25 years on and it was like nothing had changed! I got goosebumps! At that point I decided it was time to celebrate its 25th anniversary.

I feel more like a guiding mother to this song than the owner.  At some point it crosses over, and you have to do it justice. 

You have to show up for the things you’ve created. Particularly when people feel that strongly about something. I’m very humbled.

Do you think the music industry has changed in recent years?

I’ve thought about this a lot. My mom was a first wave feminist (I owe everything to her) and I’m a second wave feminist. I think third wave guitar players have no idea what it used to be like. I mean, I just didn’t see a ‘me’ anywhere!

Because we didn’t have MTV, we didn’t really have anything visible. Sure, we had magazines, but rarely did you see a band like the Runaways or the Go-Go’s. 

I was up in the northwest, so we had Heart. You could read the song credits, but you couldn’t literally look at Nancy Wilson as a guitar player until you actually saw her.

To what extent was gender a significant factor for you as a guitarist early on?

I didn’t think of it as male or female; I just played guitar. And that was that. Eric Clapton was my idol. My sister told me to play lead guitar. She started turning me on to stuff like “Layla” and I was hooked. After that, I was off and running.

But as time went by, I started to notice there weren’t any ‘me’ guitarists around. It was hard. Eventually there was enough of us to reach a tipping point and then: boom! 

I think there was finally enough of us that it just shifted everything, and suddenly labels started taking on more female artists.

Do you think the music industry has changed with respect to female guitarists?

There are struggles, but not like there used to be. We’re in a much better place than we ever were. The struggle could be in someone’s mind where they doubt themselves.

I remember when I was younger, my mom said to me, “Don’t worry, honey. One day you’ll get to an age where you’ll mellow out.” I was like, “No! That’s not going to happen, mom! Don’t say that!” But I know what she meant: you’ll just do what you do.

I think that was so instilled in me. She saw me as an artist. She never stopped me from graduating early, going on the road, and doing my thing.

But there was no guidance for me back then. I remember one of the labels I was talking to writing to me and saying, “Sorry, we already have a Patti Smith.”

That’s where I came from.

Would you say the live music scene is a good indicator of change?

I can remember when I went out with Melissa [Etheridge, in the early 00s] it was still one of the first female tours. It was right after Lilith Fair. 

I know some people think it’s still not that common these days, but I can name four or five festivals right now that are all women. It’s awesome!

For more information on the She Rocks Awards click here.

In addition to making her debut solo record this year, Nancy Wilson has become the recipient of her debut Epiphone signature electric guitar, the Fanatic. 

Based on the Nighthawk body shape introduced in 1993, the Fanatic features a mahogany body with a figured maple veneer top, ProBucker humbuckers, a five-way pickup selector, and master volume and tone controls. We asked the designer herself to take us through the model’s background.   

The Fanatic is based on the Gibson Nighthawk. How did it come to be your signature model? 

I designed the shape for Gibson when they asked me to come up with a new body style. This was back in the ’80s, but then they changed management shortly after that. I guess they found the old drawings and decided to make the Nighthawk into the Fanatic. I think it sounds really great. It’s got a lot of muscle.   

It’s almost like the pickup selection options are an attempt to get some Strat-type sounds as well as the expected Les Paul humbucker punch.

Yes, there are five really useable and distinctive options available. I like fat rock-guitar sounds, so that was the idea with the switching options, I also wanted it to be affordable. Epiphone have done a fantastic job and the finish is absolutely stunning. It’s just a great rock and roll guitar.

Are you going to be using the new model, or is the Gibson version that you’ve been playing essentially the same?

Yes, I’ll still be using the original model that Gibson built for me in the ’80s, as well as having a couple of Fanatics on standby. They are indeed essentially the same guitar. I’m not sure if the hardware is identical, but it certainly sounds the same as my Gibson.

When the Beatles debuted in the United States on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, they helped launch countless bands across the country. Among them, eventually, was the tandem formed by guitarist Nancy Wilson and her singing sister, Ann: Heart. 

Although they were female in an era of male-dominated groups, they never gave that fact much thought. Certainly, they found no other female acts from which to draw inspiration.  

“I don’t think there was anyone like us at all,” Nancy says. “Later, we came to learn how much of a novelty we were, and how other people’s preconceptions about women in rock could prejudice the way they viewed us as a band, and me as a guitarist in particular.” 

By then, the Wilson sisters had influenced countless youngsters to become rock and rollers with 1970s hits like “Crazy on You,” “Magic Man,” and “Barracuda.” (And not all those kids were female – male-centric acts such as the Foo Fighters and Soundgarden have noted the group’s importance to them.) 

Heart’s early sound was characterized as much by Ann’s powerful, epic vocals as by Nancy’s dextrous fingerpicking and driving acoustic rhythm, played to dramatic effect against Roger Fisher’s soaring Les Paul–fueled lead lines. 

Heart continued to dominate the airwaves from 1985 to 1990, when their videos were in constant rotation on MTV and they scored 12 hits, including the monster number ones “These Dreams” and “Alone.” Even well into the 21st century, Heart have enjoyed high album sales and remained one of rock's biggest-grossing live acts. 

But with touring cancelled for the past year, Nancy found herself with time to do something she’d never done before: Make a solo album. Titled You and Me (Carry On Music), it features guests like Duff McKagan, Sammy Hagar, and the Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins. 

Among its dozen songs, the highlight may well be her last-minute addition of “4 Edward,” a tribute to the late genius, with a moving story behind it.

Why did it take so long to make your first solo album? 

I’ve wanted to do this for such a long time, and the shutdown, due to the pandemic, gave me the space to do it properly. Being in a band like Heart is like being in the army almost. Everything is so regimented when you tour on the scale that we do, and so much time is spent traveling, which is the hardest part of being on the road. 

If you do get a few days off, the last thing you feel like doing is working on music. That’s why it’s almost impossible to fit working on a solo album into the daily routine of life on tour. 

You have some interesting guests on the album. How did you connect with Duff McKagan and Taylor Hawkins? 

I moved to L.A. before the pandemic. I was already friends with Taylor, and he’d asked me to sing on a track on his Get the Money album. I moved to Northern California after that, and I was telling him that I was making a solo album. 

I asked him if he had any jams hanging around, and he said he’d send me something that he’d been working on with Duff. I really liked it, so I rearranged it and came up with the lyrics. It’s the track “Party at the Angel Ballroom,” and it’s about the angels we’ve lost in rock and how it’s fun to think there might be a hell of a big party going on up there. 

The track “4 Edward” is great. It has enough touches of Eddie in it to make it clear who’s being referenced. You’ve told the tale about you giving him an acoustic guitar and him playing something that he wrote on it for you. Was it one of the pieces that later appeared on a Van Halen album? 

I wish I knew what happened to it. I hope it did get recorded and will turn up. Maybe his son, Wolf, might know about it. If I ever get the chance to speak to him, I’m going to ask him about it. It was really one of the most beautiful things I’ve heard someone play on an acoustic guitar. 

I was half asleep when he played it over the phone to me. I tried to return the favor and do something in the same vein as what he did, with the classical feel mixed with a rock feel, then end it with a pretty classical feel again.

Were you tempted to do all the guitar parts yourself? 

I played all the rhythm guitar parts, but I’ve got so many people that I love to work with from Seattle and who can bring so much magic to a song that I wanted to use them, particularly Ryan Waters who plays all the lead parts. He knows all about restraint, which is something not enough people work with when they showboat and try to fill up all the spaces. 

Are you happy with how it turned out and will there be another solo album? 

I’m very happy with it, so much so that I’ve already been inspired to get songs together for another solo record. 

Years back, when Ann asked you to join Heart, was she dissatisfied with the sound of the band at that time? 

Yes, because Ann and I had both played in a number of different bands prior to Heart and they were often very acoustic-based. I think we both understood that I could bring a whole new dimension to Heart with the mix of acoustic and electric guitars. 

We all loved Zeppelin and perhaps that was also an influence on our sound, as they were a band who could mix acoustic and electric parts freely throughout their albums. We wanted to try to reinvent the wheel a little bit, I guess, and have a multi-dimensional sound. 

When producer Ron Nevison came onboard for your first Capitol album, Heart, in 1985, he told you that he thought the band’s acoustic-based sound was outdated. Indeed, he thought there was no place for the acoustic guitar in his concept for Heart. Did you feel that he was rejecting one of the band’s unique sonic signatures? 

That’s a really good question. [laughs] In the ’80s, according to Ron, the acoustic guitar was really not cool anymore. I’ll admit that I really wasn’t happy about that point of view. I think his perspective was colored by the fashion in the ’80s for cocaine and ego-driven choices. 

This was a very different scene from the ’60s and ’70s, when pot was the drug of choice and the attitude was very much more experimental and open. Of course everything goes around in cycles. People will say rock is dead, and then a few years later it’s back alive and kicking. Similarly, acoustic-flavored music is possibly more popular than ever. 

Your playing style always seemed to reference the English folk tradition. Who were your fingerpicking influences? 

I was definitely trained on folk music even before I played guitar, learning to sing Peter, Paul and Mary songs. Once I started to play, at age nine, it was Paul Simon for me. He was my muse for guitar playing. 

I learned a whole bunch of different styles, like country, folk, rock, and blues, although I was never really interested in learning to play jazz. Ann had that gift of a beautiful voice, and I was mainly an accompanist. I wanted to try to sound like a whole band rather than just one guitar. It became almost a percussion instrument for me, and I still play acoustic rather aggressively. 

Onstage, you often played an Ovation in the early days of Heart, presumably because of the ease of amplifying it back then. Did you use that in the studio as well? 

I rarely used an Ovation in the studio, but as you say, it was perfect for playing live, as you were always trying to battle feedback from a traditional acoustic guitar onstage. I was the poster girl for Ovation. [laughs] 

Are you happiest on acoustic or electric? 

That’s an impossible question, because they’re both entirely different beasts. I have a blue ’63 Telecaster that I play through a Fender Deluxe, and that is my main man. It can get super loud and distorted, and you can go to a whole different planet with that kind of power. 

The acoustic is much more emotional. It is really responsive that way. I just couldn’t ever choose one over the other. The guitar gives you back what you put into it. It is such a rewarding instrument. 

You must have amassed some great guitars over the years. What are your go-to instruments? 

The blue Tele, for sure. The signature Martin HD-35 that I developed with the company is my favorite acoustic, because I helped to design it. I also have a beautiful old Libra Sunrise guitar that was built for me by Ed Myronic in Vancouver in 1976. 

He came to see us play a lot back when we were in Canada, and that was why he built me that guitar. I used it on a lot of the scoring work that I’ve done, and I think of it as an old friend of mine. I’ve had so many guitars in the past that I’ve auctioned or given away for charities over the years. 

In the early ’90s, you got involved in soundtrack work with your partner at the time, Cameron Crowe. You worked on some big movies, including Jerry Maguire, Vanilla Sky, and Almost Famous. Artistically speaking, was that more satisfying than working in a group, where you have to work democratically and make compromises? 

That’s a good way of looking at it. I was trying to start a family at the time, so I was taking a hiatus from working with Heart for a couple of years. I’m glad that I took a break and that I worked on the films, as it gave me a sense of self and identity again as an individual, rather than as a member of a band. 

What’s the current status of Heart? 

The plan is to tour in 2022. Hopefully, the world will be back to something more like normal by then. The last tour that we did was wildly successful. I think maybe I’d like to take a couple of years and do some kind of final Heart tour. That would be a great way to round off the live side of the band.

• You and Me is out now via Carry On Music

Nancy Wilson was all of nine years old when she first saw the Beatles on TV. She remembers it as her “call to Mecca moment.” “That was it for me,” she says. “What the Beatles were doing was so mind blowing, it just went right through me. I immediately set my sights on learning the guitar.”

Her sister Ann was similarly besotted, and after much begging of their parents, the Wilson girls were rewarded with a $30 Lyle acoustic, which Nancy remembers as being nearly impossible to play. “You could not form a barred F chord on it to save your life,” she says. “It was such a struggle. A little later, Ann got sick and our grandmother gave her a much better guitar. I would sneak off and play it, which made Ann furious. But I could actually play that one.”

After college, Nancy joined Ann, now a lead singer, in the band that would become Heart. At their early gigs, she would hear a certain phrase: “Pretty good for a girl.” “It was as if people were shocked and stunned to see a girl who could actually play with any kind of competence,” she says.

“Up till then, there weren’t a lot of female guitarists, and those who did play were usually accompanying themselves and doing very soft folky stuff. You just didn’t see women playing rock and roll and attacking the guitar very aggressively. So yeah, when they saw me, it was like, ‘Whoa! You’re pretty good for a girl.’”

The backhanded compliment stung, but Wilson took it as a challenge. “I wasn’t about to fade in the background and be some wimpy chick,” she explains. “I made it my mission to prove myself and be a really good player – period. 

"I was really serious about it. You can see it on my face,” she says of early videos showing the band in performance. “I was very earnest onstage, concentrating really hard on what I was doing. I was out to prove myself, and I think I did.”

Whether playing alongside Heart co-lead guitarists Roger Fisher and Howard Leese in the band’s classic 1970s lineup, or with current axemen Craig Bartok and Ryan Waters, Wilson has been content to let her rhythm playing do most of the talking. “I like playing solos, but when I do, I try to make the phrases meaningful,” she observes.

“Give me somebody like David Gilmour any day of the week. I’m really into that kind of lead work. But rhythm is my main thing. I like to groove. A lot of people don’t take that role seriously, but it’s what drives a band. I like to play percussively and get inside the song. When there’s too much extra stuff going on, it can sound like clutter.”

1. “Magic Man” from ‘Dreamboat Annie’ (1975)

“We didn’t really have this song worked out before we started recording it. It was pretty much something we built in the studio. Ann had these cool words, so we found a groove for them with Mike Flicker, our producer at the time. Roger, Howard and I worked out our parts, and we left a lot of spaces for us to answer each other on our guitars. In terms of the music, this song is a real conversation between the guitarists.

“I admit I was very nervous when we recorded it. It was my first time seeing that red light come on in a studio and hearing, ‘We’re rolling.’ I felt this immediate sense of pressure come over me, like I had something to prove. That can play tricks with you; it messes with your nerves. Your guitar is so ultra-present in the headphones, so you start worrying you’re pushing too hard, speeding up. Then you start to think that you’re laying back too much.

“I really had to learn how to relax while recording. It was an eye-opening – and ear-opening – experience in so many ways. After we recorded the basics and I was listening to a playback in the control room, I wondered, ‘Is that how we really sound?’ My guitar playing was under the microscope, and it was kind of scary at first. But that’s what makes you grow and improve. You hear your mistakes and learn what you need to do to be a better player.”

2. “Crazy on You” from ‘Dreamboat Annie’ (1975)

“I was in love with the idea that we were making a sort of a concept album, one which had a prologue, an epilogue and a recurring motif. I wanted certain songs to take you on a journey, and this was one of them.

“We already had the rock part of the song – you know, the song itself. It had a big cool riff and those poetic lyrics, and the main rhythm was inspired by the Moody Blues. They had a song called “Question,” which was a definite inspiration for the strummy rhythm. But I wanted the song to have an intro, a free-floating piece.

“I always loved this acoustic instrumental piece [composed by Davey Graham] that Paul Simon played called “Anji,” and I wanted to emulate it. It’s a shuffle, and I just loved the way it moved. So I wrote my own take on that.

“I worked really hard on it for a couple of days. I didn’t want it to sound like this tossed-off jammy thing; I wanted it to have a definite structure and for it to feel like a true part of the song. It’s pretty intricate, and I did a lot of takes to get it just right. I was feeling a little less tentative than when we did “Magic Man,” but I still felt pressure to get it just right.

“I borrowed this big Guild acoustic guitar that belonged to Mike Flicker. It was this big warhorse. Then I just played the intro over and over to get a complete take without any mistakes. At the end, I had some real blisters on my fingers. What’s great is seeing people today learning how to play it. I go on Instagram and check out videos of people playing it. I love that.”

3. “Barracuda” from ‘Little Queen’ (1977)

“We were opening for Queen, and one of the other openers was Nazareth. They had a hit song with a version of Joni Mitchell’s “This Flight Tonight.” They turned it into a real rock-metal track, and it had a really intense riff. We loved it and said, ‘That’s such a cool groove!’ We had the idea to call a song “Barracuda,” so we decided to use that groove for ourselves. We saw the Nazareth guys later on, and they were pretty pissed at us.

“Roger Fisher was really an amazing innovator, and he came up with that really muscular style of muting the strings. That’s the secret to playing “Barracuda.” You have to really chunk down on the strings with the flat part of your hand. There’s a lot of finesse involved. I played acoustic guitar on the track, but I did add some electric guitar stuff with my red Strat at the end.

“We built the song up in sections: two bars here, eight bars there. We had a sense that it was going to be a monster song, so we took a lot of time getting it right. Every time we played it back, it sounded so huge and furious. The song was just galloping along. This was recorded in the days before automation, so everybody was riding the faders during the mix. We were all jostling for position to make ourselves louder. By the end, the VU meters were pinned red.”

4. “Even It Up” from ‘Bébé le Strange’ (1980)

“This was during a period of transition for us. We were soaking up the new-wave vibe, getting a little more garagey and Stonesy. You listen to albums like Dreamboat Annie, and the sound is very precise. There’s not a lot of slop anywhere. So we wanted to shake things up and get a little wilder, gutsier and dirtier.

“This song started out as something I was writing for another track. Annie and I were working with a songwriter named Sue Ennis, and we would go to one of our favorite spots on the beach of the Oregon coast. We had a drum machine named Ringo, and we would jam along to it. I had this intro written on acoustic, and that’s how I thought the song would go, but when we showed it to the band, another idea took shape. We said, ‘Let’s make it raunchier! Let’s have the Tower of Power horns!’ The whole thing changed and it became an electric number.

“It’s a lot less produced than what we had done before, but that was the idea. The guitars in the band were now played by me and Howard Leese, and I was doing a lot more leads. It was a lot of fun for me to have more freedom playing electric guitar. I was using more distortion and working with pedals. I blew up quite a few amps looking for the right sound. The whole vibe in the band was different. Annie and I were stepping out and being leaders, and that’s what this track was all about.”

5. “Tell It Like It Is” from ‘Greatest Hit Live’ (1980)

“We loved Aaron Neville’s original recording of this song. We had the single on our jukebox, and we played it all the time. It’s just so beautiful and melancholy. It’s got everything. We would sing it around the house and at beach-fire get-togethers. I would always play acoustic to accompany Annie. Her voice just slayed on it. It was a natural that we would record it and get the horn section in on it. Annie and I were really psyched to do our own version.

“In the studio, we worked hard to make the sound groovy. Tempo was key. It couldn’t drag, but it couldn’t be too fast, either. The main thing was keeping a lot of space in the track for the horn players to feel comfortable in their zone. It was just a matter of feeling it and laying back, but not too much. The whole thing had to sit in a nice place.

“I’ve got a lot of blues in my arsenal, and I played the song enough times to know what I had to do. I used a [Gibson] ES-335 and a [Fender] Deluxe, and I had this great warm tone. I would slide up to the diminished chord, and I would put in these little bursts of air, these magical spots that really pushed the rhythm. It was a lot of fun showing it to the guys and running through it with them. They fell into it beautifully. In many ways, playing a cover is easier than when you’re trying to create your own song in the studio. You’re starting with something that you know you like, and you’re intent on doing a good interpretation.

“We’ve run into Aaron Neville over the years. He always loved what we did with the song, and we’ve always loved what he did, so it’s been great. He’s a buddy.”

A couple of weeks ago, Heart guitarist Nancy Wilson premiered "4 Edward," an acoustic instrumental she wrote as a tribute to the late Eddie Van Halen.

The closing track on her debut solo album, You and Me, Wilson was inspired to write the piece by an interaction she had with the guitar great when Heart was on tour with Van Halen.

A few days back, Wilson sat down with one of her signature HD-35 Martin acoustics to give an intimate, porch-side performance of "4 Edward," which you can check out above.

You can also give the studio-recorded version of the piece a spin below.

"4 Edward" was inspired by a time when – after he complimented her on her acoustic guitar skills – Wilson asked Eddie why never played an acoustic on stage, to which Eddie replied that he didn't even own an acoustic guitar. 

Wilson soon fixed that, gifting Eddie an acoustic that he promptly used to write a song – which he played for her over the phone – that "stole Wilson's heart." Wilson wrote “4 Edward” as a way of returning the favor.

You and Me features guest spots from the likes of Sammy Hagar, Duff McKagan, Taylor Hawkins, and Liv Warfield, and is set for a May 7 release via Carry On Music. You can check out its track list and cover art below.

Nancy Wilson – You and Me:

1. You and Me
2. The Rising
3.  I’ll Find You
4.  Daughter
5.  Party at the Angel Ballroom (with Duff McKagan & Taylor Hawkins)
6.  The Boxer (with Sammy Hagar)
7.  Walk Away
8.  The Inbetween
9.  Dreams (with Liv Warfield)
10.  The Dragon
11.  We Meet Again
12.  4 Edward

Back in February, Heart guitarist Nancy Wilson announced – just a month after the reveal of her Nighthawk-influenced Epiphone Fanatic signature guitar, no less – her first-ever solo album, You and Me.

At the time, Wilson revealed that the LP would feature guest spots from the likes of Sammy Hagar, Duff McKagan, Taylor Hawkins, and Liv Warfield, and close with "4 Edward," a tribute to Eddie Van Halen.

Now, Wilson has released the acoustic, instrumental tribute, which was inspired by an interaction Wilson had with Eddie when Heart was on tour with Van Halen.

You can check the piece out below.

Having asked Eddie one day during the tour why he never played an acoustic on stage, Eddie replied that he didn't even own an acoustic guitar. Wilson soon fixed that, gifting Eddie an acoustic that he would use to write a song that "stole Wilson's heart." Wilson wrote “4 Edward” as a way of returning the favor.

You and Me is set for a May 7 release via Carry On Music. You can check out its track list and cover art below.

Nancy Wilson – You and Me:

1. You and Me
2. The Rising
3.  I’ll Find You
4.  Daughter
5.  Party at the Angel Ballroom (with Duff McKagan & Taylor Hawkins)
6.  The Boxer (with Sammy Hagar)
7.  Walk Away
8.  The Inbetween
9.  Dreams (with Liv Warfield)
10.  The Dragon
11.  We Meet Again
12.  4 Edward

It may only be February, but Heart guitarist Nancy Wilson has already had a busy 2021. 

Back in January, she unveiled her first-ever collaboration with Epiphone, the Nighthawk-influenced Fanatic signature guitar.  

Now, Wilson is gearing up to release her first-ever solo album, You and Me. Set for a May 7 release via Carry On Music, the album will feature guest spots from the likes of Sammy Hagar, Duff McKagan, Taylor Hawkins, and Liv Warfield.

You can check out its first single, a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "The Rising," below.

Additionally, the album closes with a tribute to the late Eddie Van Halen. Titled “4 Edward,” the piece was inspired by an interaction Wilson had with Eddie when Heart was on tour with Van Halen.

Having asked Eddie why he never played an acoustic on stage, Eddie replied that he didn't even own an acoustic guitar. Wilson soon fixed that, gifting Eddie an acoustic that he would use to write a song that "stole Wilson's heart." “4 Edward” is Wilson's way of returning the favor.

You can check out You and Me's cover art and track list below. 

Nancy Wilson – You and Me:

1. You and Me
2. The Rising
3.  I’ll Find You
4.  Daughter
5.  Party at the Angel Ballroom (with Duff McKagan & Taylor Hawkins)
6.  The Boxer (with Sammy Hagar)
7.  Walk Away
8.  The Inbetween
9.  Dreams (with Liv Warfield)
10.  The Dragon
11.  We Meet Again
12.  4 Edward

Epiphone has teamed up with Heart guitarist Nancy Wilson to create the new Nancy Wilson Signature Fanatic guitar.

Based on Wilson's Gibson Nancy Wilson Nighthawk Standard – which was first introduced in 2013 – the guitar features a Nighthawk-shaped mahogany body and a figured maple veneer top, plus a rounded "C" profile mahogany neck with an ebony fretboard, and a commemorative "Fanatic" truss-rod cover.

Sonically, the Fanatic is outfitted with ProBucker humbuckers, controlled by a five-way pickup selector switch, and master volume and tone controls. 

"In the midst of the distant Eighties, I was approached by Gibson to design a signature model,” Wilson said of the guitar in a statement.

“I put pencil to paper to first design the body shape and chose a curvy female diminutive silhouette for the cut away. Many years later the body shape remains exact and the hardware I requested makes the Fanatic a solid citizen amongst the great rock guitar screamers.”

The Epiphone Nancy Wilson Signature Fanatic guitar will be sold – with a hardshell case included and in a Fireburst Gloss finish – for $529.

For more info on the guitar, stop by epiphone.com.