This is another in the series on Pacific Northwest Music Legends, with my own personal memory tied in. 

I was at a Christmas party for a Seattle radio station in 1976. This was going to be one big night. There was a buzz in the room. The hugely popular rock group Heart was making a surprise appearance. The sexy Wilson sisters, Ann and Nancy, were going to turn up as a way of showing appreciation to the station -- KZOK -- for helping break the band's records in Seattle and nationally.

Let me tell you, a guy back then would have to have been pretty much dead to not want to see the Wilson sisters, Ann and Nancy. They were lookers, rock stars and what was there not to look forward to? Fact is, the Wilson sisters were military brats whose family settled in Seattle. The girls decided to go professional and moved to Vancouver, BC to join a band called Heart. They stole the show as it turns out. There were guys in the band, but the Wilson sisters were the focal point of the act. Vancouver was their base of operations for a number of years and they released some huge records that went platinum. This band was certainly no stranger to Seattle either.

Heart was one of the biggest bands of the 1970's and 1980's. Their most recognizable hits, of a string of many, are Magic Man, Crazy on You, Alone and the song below that they wrote about a snake they met in the music industry.

Footnote -- If Heart ever showed up at the party, it was after I had gone home. The band still, periodically, performs in Seattle. Having been part of the local scene, they have a huge following. Nancy, the blond guitar player, is married to Cameron Crowe who directed the movie "Almost Famous" about the young rock n' roll groupie. Nancy wrote the soundtrack.

Steven L. Smith

Bellingham WA Home Inspector