To say that sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson were a little anxious to return with their band Heart to their adopted city of Seattle, Washington, at the conclusion of the Dog and Butterfly Tour is a bit of an understatement, to say the least. Heart, which had always been spearheaded by the two sisters since they began writing and recording original material, began as oddity in the music industry. Prior to 1975, it had been primarily a man’s world in the music industry, and the band not only featured two women as its leaders…entire summary
Ann Wilson - vocals, guitar
Nancy Wilson - guitar, vocals
Howard Leese - guitar, vocals
Mike DeRossier - drums
Roger Fisher - guitar, vocals
Steve Fossen - bass
To say that sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson were a little anxious to return with their band Heart to their adopted city of Seattle, Washington, at the conclusion of the Dog and Butterfly Tour is a bit of an understatement, to say the least. Heart, which had always been spearheaded by the two sisters since they began writing and recording original material, began as oddity in the music industry. Prior to 1975, it had been primarily a man’s world in the music industry, and the band not only featured two women as its leaders and front-line stars, it also proved that when given the right band to work with, women could rock as hard as the men.
The daughters of a military officer, the Wilson sisters settled with their family in Seattle, WA, as teens after living in various military bases around the world. Though there was a four-year difference in their ages, they grew up close and often shared their love of pop music. As they worked their way through the 60s explosion of rock music, Ann developed her vocal prowess, while her sister Nancy decided to play guitar and sing back-up. But it was Nancy, the younger of the two, who, during her college years, joined an existing Seattle-based cover band named White Heart. White Heart also featured two brothers, Mike and Roger Fisher, and when Nancy suggested Ann as the group’s vocalist, the band became Heart. The two sisters became romantically involved with the two Fisher brothers, and soon after, Mike opted to step down as one of its musicians in order to do the band’s sound and manage it.
In 1975, when the band recorded its debut LP, Dreamboat Annie, the line-up also included: Howard Leese on guitar, Mike DeRossier on drums, Steve Fossen on bass, and Roger Fisher playing lead guitar. The group signed with a Vancouver, Canada-based label, called Mushroom Records, and within six months, sales had exceeded over 50,000 copies due to the success of such FM staples as "Magic Man," "Crazy On You,” and "Dreamboat Annie.”
Soon after, they entered into a prolonged lawsuit to leave Mushroom and moving over to Epic’s Portrait Records. The promotional machine that came with the Portrait deal didn’t take long to grow Heart from a showcase club act to arena headliners. By the time they performed this show, they had had considerably more hits, including: "Baracuda,” "Heatless,” "Straight On,” and "Dog and Butterfly.” This performance was caught for the King Biscuit Flower Hour, while they were still on their 77-city Dog and Butterfly Tour. By the time the tour was over, both Fisher brothers would be gone due to both sisters ending their romantic relationships and Heart would now firmly become the musical vehicle for the Wilson sisters.
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