Nancy Wilson is one of the most famous guitarists of all time as well as a talented singer and songwriter, but it is only this year that she released her first ever solo studio album. Wilson got inspired to start playing music after watching “The Beatles” perform when she was a child. But the story really began in the early seventies when she dropped out of college and joined her sister in the hard rock band “Heart.”
With her sister on lead vocals and herself on acoustic guitar and backing vocals, the success hit big over the years. Featuring hits such as “Magic Man,” “Barracuda,” “Alone,” and “Crazy On You,” the six-piece band recorded 16 albums and sold over 35 million albums worldwide. They received four Grammy nominations and even became part of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
However, carving out a place as a female rock music guitarist in a mainly male-driven world was not easy. By succeeding, she and the band trailblazed the path for other women the genre and beyond.
“I definitely feel there’s a movement going on right now with people like St. Vincent and Phoebe Bridgers, and a lot of really cool female players coming forward with great writing, great singing and great playing. The objectifying of women in the 80s really set us back for a while. I personally think it took way too long for female musicians to be accepted strictly on their talent, but at least it’s beginning to happen on a larger scale,” she once said.
Earlier this year, she embarked on a solo-album journey with “You and Me.” The twelve-track album includes songs she wrote on her own and songs she co-wrote with her friend and long-time collaborator Sue Ennis. She seems to credit her quick stint at university and the journal she kept as a student, before joining the band, as the key inspiration.
Whether as the first female guitarist to lead a chart-topping rock band or with her own records, she will without doubt continue being celebrated as one of the most famous and talented musicians in rock ‘n roll history.