Nancy Wilson (guitarist)
| Nancy Wilson | |
|---|---|
Wilson in September 2012
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Nancy Lamoureaux Wilson |
| Born |
March 16, 1954 San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Rock, hard rock, folk rock, pop rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer, songwriter, producer |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1972–present |
| Associated acts | Heart, The Lovemongers |
| Website | heart-music |
Nancy Lamoureaux Wilson (born March 16, 1954) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, actress, and producer. She and her older sister, Ann, are the core of the rock band Heart.
Nancy Lamoureaux Wilson was born in San Francisco, California. She is the youngest of three sisters (Lynn, Ann, and Nancy), who grew up in southern California and Taiwan before their US Marine Corps father retired to the Seattle suburb of Bellevue.
On February 9, 1964, when Wilson and her sister Ann watched The Beatles perform on The Ed Sullivan Show, they both instantly wanted to be like the band. In an interview she said, "The lightning bolt came out of the heavens and struck Ann and me the first time we saw the Beatles on 'The Ed Sullivan Show'. ... There'd been so much anticipation and hype about the Beatles that it was a huge event, like the lunar landing; that was the moment Ann and I heard the call to become rock musicians. I was seven or eight at the time.... Right away, we started doing air guitar shows in the living room, faking English accents, and studying all the fanzines."
Two of Wilson's friends who could sing joined her and Ann to form their first music group. Calling themselves the Viewpoints, they were a four-part harmony vocal group. Later that year, Ann bought her first guitar, a Kent acoustic, with money given to her by her grandmother. Wilson's parents soon bought her a smaller guitar, but since it would not stay in tune, Ann's guitar became hers as well.
On August 25, 1966, The Beatles played at the Seattle Center Coliseum. The Viewpoints got tickets. Wilson's mother had made matching outfits like the ones that The Beatles wore so that the girls would "look professional". The girls wore these outfits to the concert.
The Viewpoints' first public show was a folk festival on Vashon Island in 1967. In Nancy's words: "We didn't get paid, but since there were people sitting in folding chairs, we considered it a professional gig." The band played at venues such as drive-ins, auto shows, and church socials. Nancy's and Ann's public debut as a duo took place on Mother's Day at their church.
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Wikipedia