LEGACYRECORDINGS RELEASING FANATIC,
"Kickingand Dreaming: A Story of Heart, Soul and Rock and Roll,"
June 27, 2012 (New York, NY) - WithHeart's Fanatic, a new studio album, and Kickingand Dreaming, an insiders'memoir, arriving this fall, 2012 is shaping up as a banner year for the iconicAmerican band who--beginning with hits like "Crazy on You,""Magic Man," and "Barracuda" in the mid-1970s runningthrough 2010's Red Velvet Car--have created an enduring catalog ofbona fide stadium rock classics and power ballads while establishing a lastingtemplate for women in rock.
Fanatic, Heart's 14th studio album, arrivesTuesday, October 2. The group's secondfull-length studio album for Legacy, Fanatic premieres 10 new essential performances from sisters AnnWilson and Nancy Wilson on songs including "Fanatic," "Dear OldAmerica," "Walkin' Good" (featuring Sarah McLachlan), "Skinand Bones," "Million Miles," "Pennsylvania,""Mashallah," "Rock Deep (Vancouver)," "59Crunch," and "Corduroy Road."
The first albumof new music from Ann and Nancy Wilson since 2010's RedVelvet Car had its Top 10debut in 2010, Fanatic was recorded in hotel rooms and studios up and down theWest Coast, with Grammy-winning producer Ben Mink back at the helm with theWilson sisters drawing from their own lives and personal experiences asinspiration for their music. "DearOld America" comes from memories of a military household and is writtenfrom the point of view of their father, a Marine Corps officer, returning fromwar ("When I get home, I'm going to own this town/Shine this medal/Wearthat crown…."); "Rock Deep (Vancouver)" harkens back to the citywhere Dreamboat Anniewas written; and "Walkin' Good" (a duet with Vancouver resident SarahMcLachlan) captures the joy of finding new life in a new love.
The title songis a celebration of the Wilson's life spirit: Ann and Nancy are fanatics aboutlove, art, truth, and the belief that they can do anything together they settheir minds to. Fans looking for a firsttaste of Fanatic can check out the title trackon YouTube.
"What acrazy year we are having," said Ann Wilson. "Our box set, StrangeEuphoria, and our book, Kickingand Dreaming, each tell thestory of our lives so far, personally and musically. Our new album, Fanatic, tells our story as it is now and bringsit all up-to-the-minute. What a thrill to have worked with both Charles Crossand Ben Mink respectively on these, and of course to touch the musical magicNancy and I have always shared together. Anybody want to RAWK??"
Released in 2010, Fanatic's predecessor, RedVelvet Car (the first newstudio album in six years from the groundbreaking Seattle-based band) enteredthe Billboard 200 best-selling album charts at #10, becoming the seventh Top 10album of Heart's career. Heart'scritically-acclaimed first album for Legacy Recordings marked the return ofHeart to the Sony Music Entertainment family, reaching #1 in sales onAmazon.com on Sunday, September 5.
On June 5, Epic Records/Legacy Recordingsreleased Strange Euphoria,the first definitive career-spanning, multi-label boxed set retrospectivechronicling the seminal American rock band Heart, personally curated by AnnWilson and Nancy Wilson.
A carefully-considered anthology ofbiggest hits and best-loved songs set alongside deep catalog treasures,rarities, demos and live performances, Strange Euphoria includes three compact discs and one DVDin a deluxe box.
Ann Wilson and her younger sister, NancyWilson, first showed the world that women can rock when their band Heartstormed the charts in the '70s with hits like "Crazy on You,""Magic Man," "Barracuda," "Straight On,""Even It Up," "Kick It Out" and many more. Not onlydid the Wilson sisters lead the band, they wrote the songs and played theinstruments, making them the first women in rock to do so. Heartcontinued topping the charts through the '80s and into the '90s with huge hitslike "These Dreams," "Alone," "Never," and astring of other hits that showcased the sisters' enormous talents as bothmusicians and singers. Along the way, Heart sold more than 35 million records,had 21 top 40 hits, sold out arenas worldwide, and profoundly influenced thesound and direction of American rock music while inspiring women (and guystoo!) around the world to rock out in bands of their own.
Heart were 2008 recipients of VH1 RockHonors, received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Northwest GrammyFoundation, and received ASCAP's award for Excellence in Songwriting in2009.
What's made Heart endure across fourdecades and 14 studio albums, from Dreamboat Annie (1976) through 2012's StrangeEuphoria and Fanatic is simply the quality of the music andthe Wilsons' deep connection to the emotions, psyches and experiences of theirfans.
Heart will be touring throughout thesummer and fall (June 29-November 17). Alejandro Escovedo and ShawnColvin will be supporting in October and November respectively. Laterthis year, Ann and Nancy Wilson will be awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk ofFame (followed by a live concert webcast).
Tuesday, September 18 marks thepublication of the HarperCollins hardcover edition of Kickingand Dreaming: A Story of Heart, Soul and Rock and Roll, the avidly-awaited insider's memoirpenned by Ann & Nancy Wilson with noted Seattle-based author Charles R.Cross ("Room Full of Mirrors - A Biography of Jimi Hendrix";"Heavier Than Heaven" - a biography of Kurt Cobain).
Since finding their love of music andperforming as teenagers in Seattle, Washington, Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilsonhave been an influential part of the rock music landscape. From 70s classicslike "Magic Man" and "Barracuda" to chart- topping 80sballads like "Alone" up to 2012's Fanatic, Heart continues as an ongoing force inpop culture, inspiring women and men alike with the power and beauty of theirmusic.
Despite their massive success, Ann andNancy have always faced a different kind of scrutiny than their malecounterparts in hard-rock and metal band, and had to face questions that nomale rock star ever would be asked. Kicking and Dreaming allows Ann and Nancy to communicate asdirectly with the reader as their songs do with fans. A first-hand chronicle of tumultuous inter-bandrelationships, thirty years of roller-coaster fame and continual reinvention,and, of course, the kind of excess that can comes from the surreal, andhyper-real demands of life on the road, Kicking and Dreaming is an intimate, honest, and a uniquely femaletake on rock and roll life.
For more information on the band Heart,please visit their official website at
