Along with Rush, Randy Newman and disco icon Donna Summer, the sibling-fronted classic-rock band Heart will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next week. Following that, Ann and Nancy Wilson will embark on a 32-date tour that kicks off in West Palm Beach, Fla., on June 17, and wraps up on August 30 in Portland, Ore.
In a recent interview with Rock Cellar Magazine, Ann says she expects Heart’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to be an emotional night. Asked what she anticipates, Wilson admits that it’s difficult to tell what will be in store for them.
“It’s kind of like projecting into another dimension at this point, as we’ll be getting up onstage with some guys who we haven’t played with in 30 years,” she says, referring to a planned reunion with the original band lineup. “I’ve always said there’s a woman deficit in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but I’ve also felt it would be a huge honor to be acknowledged for our work in this way.
“That night, we’ll be in a moment of intense emotion, being filmed for HBO, and we’re going to be called upon to reach down and say something sincere of gratitude,” Wilson continues. “Looking out at all the faces of these people who inspired me, I imagine that I’ll probably shed a tear.”
For anyone who caught the Wilsons’ Kennedy Center Honors performance of Led Zeppelin‘s ‘Stairway To Heaven’ in December, it should come as no surprise that fans are still talking about it. The video has racked up more than six million views on YouTube. Wilson says the performance holds a special place in her heart.
“When I think back on that night, what comes to mind is the sweetness of it all,” she says. “It was a really great, special moment knowing that the Zeppelin guys were sitting there with their wives and they were being honored in this really sincere, classy way that rockers don’t usually get honored in.
“But I especially remember turning around onstage and seeing that choir, everyone wearing the John Bonham bowler hat, along with Jason on drums,” she continues. “I was a high-school choir girl … [and] I know what it’s like to sing in a big group like that, even though we weren’t that good. But the feeling of standing with 70 or 80 other people and singing, and the sound it makes, is really bone-chilling. And those guys definitely had my hair standing on end.”
-Ultimate Classic Rock
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