NANCY WILSON On HEART's Longevity: 'After 50 Years, There's A Legacy That Exists That's Really Strong Today'

In a new interview with WJFF Radio Catskill, HEART guitarist Nancy Wilson spoke about how she and her sister — HEART vocalist Ann Wilson — were able to discover their purpose in life early on and pursue their passion as professional musicians. She said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It is really a lucky thing. I realize just more and more, the more advanced in age I become, it's, like, 'Wow.'

"I have 25-year-old twin boys, who right now are trying to find their joy, find their bliss, find their own path and their career path and try to figure out in their life what's gonna be fulfilling for them to do in the world in the workforce," Nancy continued. "And being as young as I was, and me and Ann both were, getting started in music so young, it was a calling. And Ann had this God-given talent of voice and I had this burning desire to become proficient on the guitar from nine years old. And so it was, like, the course was set. And I feel so completely grateful, blessed and lucky to have had that direction from such a young age and know what we wanted to do. And we were able to actually get out there, become the competent musicians at an early age, do all of the 10,000 hours that it takes to become competent to begin with and get out there and succeed on the roller coaster up and down."

On the topic of HEART's longevity, Nancy said: "Still, after 50 years, there's a legacy that exists that's really strong today. And the songs are really the hallmark of any music organization, any rock band out there, any band that people love. It's really for the songs. The songs are the things that lasts longer than we last. They're bigger than we are. So it's cool. You see so many bands that are not even original members that are out there, or just even tribute bands that get a lot of business because the songs are so important to people's lives. They're the soundtrack to people's lives and they are also healing — they help people heal and get through the hardships of our lives and songs are there for us in that way. So, it's just a joyful time in HEART for this legacy to be out, like I said, just sharing the magic."

Asked what it means to her to be considered an icon for women who wanted to step into an industry that is "often dominated by men", Nancy said: "It's so interesting because that question has been more and more frequent as we've gone along because there's been more and more change and more successful women out there in the business world, in the corporate world, in all levels of the workforce, including entertainment and music.

"We never walked into this thinking, like, 'We wanna break a glass ceiling,'" she explained. "We were just driven — because THE BEATLES came out when we were little kids, and THE BEATLES just drove us to our calling. It was just like we were aimed like a pistol from the minute… We already had music in our family — lots of singing and playing piano and harmony singing and ukuleles and aunts and uncles and grandparents — so we had all the gifts given to us in a musical family just to go straight into music with, and the calling was loud and clear. But the fact that we were women didn't even register in our minds at the beginning. We were just little kids, so we had no sexual identity to conform to at the beginning. So we just went ahead, like the military brats that we are — we just joined forces and took no prisoners. [Laughs]"

The 2025 leg of HEART's tour saw Ann, performing while seated in a wheelchair after she "busted" her "elbow in three places" prior to the launch of the trek.

HEART's "Royal Flush" tour kicked off on February 28 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The trek made stops in cities including Milwaukee, Montreal, Toronto, Boston and more before wrapping April 16 in New York City.

In March, HEART announced the "An Evening With Heart" spring/summer 2025 U.S. tour. The trek, which saw the band performing two separate sets each night, kicked off May 31 at the Hard Rock in Atlantic City and concluded on June 28 in Hollywood, Florida.

The current members of HEART feature Nancy Wilson (rhythm, lead and acoustic guitar, backing and lead vocals),Ann Wilson (lead vocals and flute),Ryan Wariner (lead and rhythm guitar),Ryan Waters (guitars),Paul Moak (guitars, keyboards and backing vocals),Tony Lucido (bass and backing vocals) and Sean Lane (drums and bike).

In December 2023, HEART played its first three concerts in more than four years — in Highland, California, at Greater Palm Springs in Palm Desert, California, and in Seattle, Washington.

Prior to HEART's December 27, 2023 show in Highland, the band's last performance took place in October 2019 in St. Paul, Minnesota.

HEART toured North America in the summer of 2019 after a nasty split that kept the Wilson sisters estranged for three years.

HEART's 2013 induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame saw Ann and Nancy reunited with the four musicians who helped HEART achieve its initial success in the mid-1970s — guitarist Roger Fisher, bassist Steve Fossen, drummer Michael DeRosier and longtime guitarist-keyboardist Howard Leese.

The Wilson sisters' reunion with HEART's original lineup at the Rock Hall ceremony marked the first time the group played together in 34 years.

When Ann and Nancy formed HEART, the idea of two women leading a rock band was still groundbreaking. From the moment 1975's "Dreamboat Annie" was released, they became stars. With hits like "Magic Man", "Crazy On You", "Barracuda", "Alone", "What About Love" and "These Dreams", the band became one of the biggest hit-makers in the '70s and '80s, selling more than 35 million records. In 2012, their memoir "Kicking & Dreaming: A Story Of Heart, Soul And Rock & Roll" became a New York Times bestseller.