Sound CheckHeart: Six things you didn’t know about one of the greatest rock bands of all time
Female powerhouse rock band Heart, which features sisters Ann Wilson (lead singer) and Nancy Wilson (guitar,) are finally being recognized with an induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013.
"(The) running joke in the band was (we) would never get in," Ann told The Associated Press. “Well, it just goes to show you that just when you think you know the shape of rock 'n' roll, it changes shape on you…This is really more than thrilling."
See more: Donna Summer leads 2013 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees
To celebrate Heart’s induction, here are six things that you might not know about these musicians who continue to show fans everywhere that women know how to rock!
1. They came in at No. 57 on VH1’s list of “100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.”
“I didn’t make any discernment between them or any other rock band that I listened to,“ Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell said during the broadcast of the VH1 special. “To me, they were like an American version of Led Zeppelin.”
2. Before settling on their name Heart in the early 1970s, the band went through several name changes calling themselves Army and White Heart at various times.
See more: Rush to be inducted in Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
3. Their No.1 hit “Alone” is actually a cover.
"Alone" was originally written and recorded by the song writing team Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg, who are also credited as writing Madonna’s “Like A Virgin” and “True Colors” by Cyndi Lauper.
The duo recorded it under the group name i-Ten while signed to Epic Records in 1983 for their album "Taking A Cold Look" and then after the project fell apart, they proposed it to Heart who released it in 1987 on their album “Bad Animals.”
“Sometimes an artist will copy your demo exactly as you present it,” Steinberg said. “That would be the case with ‘Like a Virgin’ or ‘Alone’ by Heart - the records copied the demos… We [had] made a new demo of the song very quickly and presented it to Ron Nevison who was producing Heart at that time and he loved it and they cut it. Tom and I were invited to the studio, at which time we met Ann and Nancy. Tom was invited to sing the high harmony parts on the record, which he did.”
4. Former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke joined the band in 2003 for their tour and appeared with them during television appearances such as “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” on June 10 of that year.
5. They’ve never won a Grammy Award.
The band has been nominated for four Grammy Awards for their albums “Heart,” “Bad Animal” (two nominations,) and “Brigade.”
See more: Rush fans react to band’s induction
6. They’ve performed with Fergie.
During “American Idol’s” charity show “Idol Gives Back” in 2008, the Wilson sisters brought out the Black Eyed Peas’ Fergie to perform one of their biggest hits “Barracuda” and rocked the “Idol” stage.
