One evening, after dozing off, I woke up to an episode of this brand new show called “Growing Pains” with this song playing in my head.
It was called “Never” by Heart. I had heard it earlier in the day, and couldn’t get it out of my head. It may have been the first ear worm I ever experienced.
That was the Fall of 1985 and I had really got into music just a year or so earlier, so there was so much that was new to me.
One of the things was the band Heart. They became one of my favourite bands of that period, as I wore out their two albums from the mid-1980s onward.
Yesterday, I read on my Google news feed that Heart was set to tour again starting in April.
It reminded me of so many songs and the places and times in my life when I listened to them.
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The band Heart in 1985 on the cover of their album "Heart". Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_%28Heart_album%29 (May be subject to copyright) |
“Never” was my introduction to Heart but it was not the first single from their latest album released in 1985, which was actually called “Heart”. The first single was “What About Love”, which I soon heard on the radio and associated with the band.
It turns out, “What About Love” was the debut single from that album. I had heard Heart’s sound was different with this album, and they now had Canadian songwriter Jim Vallance writing songs for them. Vallance is best known as the songwriting partner for Bryan Adams, but has done a lot of other stuff. It turns out Vallance and two members of the band Toronto originally wrote the song “What About Love”. Toronto actually recorded it in 1982, but the other band members decided not to release it.
That was a big mistake. After Heart released “What About Love”, it went all the way to number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and number eight in Canada. It is a powerful song that showcases lead singer Ann Wilson's voice.
“Never”
“Never” was the next single, and one that really resonated with me. I heard it often, and the lyrics just sunk in like osmosis. I took Accounting 30 during the first semester of Grade 11, and recall humming that song a lot while we worked on our assignments. “Never” was even more popular than “What About Love”, peaking at number four on the Billboard Hot 100.
“Never” was the next single, and one that really resonated with me. I heard it often, and the lyrics just sunk in like osmosis. I took Accounting 30 during the first semester of Grade 11, and recall humming that song a lot while we worked on our assignments. “Never” was even more popular than “What About Love”, peaking at number four on the Billboard Hot 100.
That was not even close to the end of their success.
Number one with a bullet
As “What About Love” and “Never” worked their way down the charts, Heart released their third single from the album. This one was a haunting ballad with a horror movie, medieval feel to it. This time, it called on Nancy Wilson to take a turn on lead vocals. She too had a powerful vocal range to elicit emotion. The song was called “These Dreams”.
As “What About Love” and “Never” worked their way down the charts, Heart released their third single from the album. This one was a haunting ballad with a horror movie, medieval feel to it. This time, it called on Nancy Wilson to take a turn on lead vocals. She too had a powerful vocal range to elicit emotion. The song was called “These Dreams”.
By this time, I got a job after school and on weekends at this local greenhouse. No longer was I able to watch “Entertainment Tonight” after school nor was I able to follow the music charts on Saturday mornings as I had been doing.
So, I missed out on some music in that period. The biggest song I initially missed was “Take on Me” by A-Ha. However, “These Dreams” was another song I came to late, and found out even later it went all the way to number on the Billboard Hot 100.
Heart was on fire.
“Heart”, the album
By this time, I had joined Columbia House and was receiving regular music offers in the mail. One such “selection of the month” was the album “Heart”. My brother convinced me to start buying records instead of tapes, because he had one bad experience 10 or 15 years earlier where a tape jammed on him. He always bought records and recorded them on tape. So I followed suit. I bought “Heart” and, after the record arrived in the mail, I got my sister to record it onto tape for me.
By this time, I had joined Columbia House and was receiving regular music offers in the mail. One such “selection of the month” was the album “Heart”. My brother convinced me to start buying records instead of tapes, because he had one bad experience 10 or 15 years earlier where a tape jammed on him. He always bought records and recorded them on tape. So I followed suit. I bought “Heart” and, after the record arrived in the mail, I got my sister to record it onto tape for me.
I still recall writing out all the songs onto the back of that tape in addition to the three that had been on the radio. There was “If Looks Could Kill”; “The Wolf”; “All Eyes”; “Nobody Home”; “Nothin’ At All”; “What He Don’t Know”; and “Shell Shock”. I almost wore out that tape, and know pretty much every song by heart – all pun intended.
“Nothin’ At All” was the fourth single released and went all the way to number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“If Looks Could Kill” was the fifth and final single released from the album, peaking at number 54 on the Billboard Hot 100.
I recall just moving into student residence in the Fall of 1987, and meeting this girl named Kim who lived on my floor. One day I was sitting in the lounge, and someone came through on their way to the elevator and was obviously in a bad mood. “If looks could kill,” I sort of sang. “You’d be lying on the floor,” Kim responded, then sang the whole song. She had a great voice.
I discovered over time, that a lot of albums had a slow song or ballad on them that I really liked, but never hit the radio. They include “Remember the Feeling” on “Chicago 17”; “You are the One” on “Mike and the Mechanics”; and “The River Runs Low” on “The Way it is” by Bruce Hornsby and the Range.
“Nobody Home” from “Heart” is another song to add to that list. It is another ballad, not as haunting as “These Dreams”, but still very good.
The album itself also went all the way to number one on the Billboard 200 album chart. That I distinctly remember hearing on an episode of “Entertainment Tonight” one evening. Tthat was before I went to work at the greenhouse.
Heart was also nominated for a Grammy in 1986 for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
History lesson
After I started listening to Heart, I started to learn more about the history of the band. I think it might have been on an episode of “Profile”, a radio show LA-107 FM played late at night, or “Rock Line”, which they aired Monday nights. The band actually formed in Vancouver, after one member moved there in the 1970s to avoid the U.S. Draft for military service in Vietnam. The others followed him. They were led by sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson. I think they were originally from Seattle long before grunge became a thing. Ultimately, they returned there.
After I started listening to Heart, I started to learn more about the history of the band. I think it might have been on an episode of “Profile”, a radio show LA-107 FM played late at night, or “Rock Line”, which they aired Monday nights. The band actually formed in Vancouver, after one member moved there in the 1970s to avoid the U.S. Draft for military service in Vietnam. The others followed him. They were led by sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson. I think they were originally from Seattle long before grunge became a thing. Ultimately, they returned there.
I also learned about their earlier singles such as “Magic Man”; “Crazy On You”; “Dreamboat Annie”; “Barracuda”; and “Heartless”.
Mixed tape
My brother started making me mixed tapes for Christmas, compiling songs from various records that he thought I might like. It was kind of an unofficial music apprenticeship.
My brother started making me mixed tapes for Christmas, compiling songs from various records that he thought I might like. It was kind of an unofficial music apprenticeship.
The first tape had “Magic Man” and “Crazy On You”. That was my first exposure to the early music of Heart.
Incidentally, a few years later, when I was in my fourth year of university in the Spring of 1991, I came across a tape of ballads. One of them was another earlier Heart song I had never heard, called “Tell it Like it is”.
“Bad Animals”
Heart had become more popular than they had ever been, so fans were anxiously waiting for the follow-up to “Heart”. It came in May of 1987 and was called “Bad Animals”. It would be another hit for the band from Seattle.
Heart had become more popular than they had ever been, so fans were anxiously waiting for the follow-up to “Heart”. It came in May of 1987 and was called “Bad Animals”. It would be another hit for the band from Seattle.
The first single was another moving song called “Alone” that went all the way to number one on the Billboard Hot 100. I had this friend, David Perlich, who described “Alone” as deceiving. It starts out slow then explodes. I kind of liked that effect.
My best friend Chris Vining bought “Bad Animals”. He also got an orange Pinto just before our high school graduation in June of 1987 and, after installing a tape deck, we listened to “Bad Animals” all summer.
I remember all the songs from that album by heart as well – all pun intended – “Who Will You Run To”; “There’s the Girl”; “I Want You So Bad”; “Wait for an Answer”; “Bad Animals”; “You Ain’t So Tough”; “Strangers of the Heart”; “Easy Target”; and “RSVP”.
In the Fall we were off to university in Edmonton. We packed all our stuff in my Mom’s station wagon and Vining’s orange Pinto. We then drove together, over two days, to Edmonton. We listened to “Bad Animals” and it was playing on our way to Edmonton. I believe it was actually playing when we entered the city.
Once university got into the swing of things, I didn’t listen to the radio regularly. Even if I did, I didn’t know the stations in Edmonton, or what countdowns they played. So I lost track of the singles off albums I had been listening to – such as “Bad Animals”.
“Who Will You Run to” was released before we left for Edmonton, and would go all the way to number seven. “There’s the Girl” was the next release, peaking at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. Interestingly, Nancy Wilson did the vocals for “There’s the Girl”. “I Want You So Bad” was the fourth and final single from “Bad Animals”, climbing as high as number 49 on the Billboard Hot 100. Meanwhile “Bad Animals” itself peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 album chart.
Up close and personal
In 1987, when we moved onto 10th Kelsey, we made friends with this guy down the hall named Avtar Sangra. The first time I was in his room, I noticed he had an autographed poster of Heart on his wall. His dad was an electrical engineer in Vancouver, and had an electrical company that had the contract for the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver. One of the perks was getting back stage passes to concerts – such as Heart.
In 1987, when we moved onto 10th Kelsey, we made friends with this guy down the hall named Avtar Sangra. The first time I was in his room, I noticed he had an autographed poster of Heart on his wall. His dad was an electrical engineer in Vancouver, and had an electrical company that had the contract for the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver. One of the perks was getting back stage passes to concerts – such as Heart.
Avi didn’t just get an autograph, he asked for a peck on the cheek, and said he got one from Nancy Wilson.
The years after
I kind of lost track of Heart after that period in time. I knew the released another album, “Brigade”, in 1990, and heard the single “All I Wanna Do is Make Love to You”, which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100.
I kind of lost track of Heart after that period in time. I knew the released another album, “Brigade”, in 1990, and heard the single “All I Wanna Do is Make Love to You”, which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100.
They keep on recording and performing, taking periodic breaks, to this day.
In 2012 Ann and Nancy Wilson received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and in 2013, Heart was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Parting thoughts
Heart broke a lot of ground and blazed a lot of trail for other female singers, songwriters and bands. They were a band led by women at a time when not many bands were like that.
Heart broke a lot of ground and blazed a lot of trail for other female singers, songwriters and bands. They were a band led by women at a time when not many bands were like that.
I didn’t really know them before their big comeback in 1985, so I cannot truly appreciate the degree of their makeover and transition because I had nothing to compare it to.
It didn’t matter, because Heart’s music, and those vocals by the Wilson sisters, left an indelible impression on my musical mind.
From the beginning of Grade 11 in the Fall of 1985 to the beginning of university two years later, I went through a lot of change and growth, and Heart always seemed to be playing in the background.
In a list of memorable music from my teenage years, you gotta have Heart.
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